Tour de Life 2

My first departure point was relating to the guys that I travelled with and the fact that they are from different industries entirely, but yet have the same fears and concerns about the future of our country.  The same questions about poor leadership, corruption and dishonesty at all levels of government, unacceptable service delivery in every sector and a deep concern about a failing economy.  The comments were not isolated or political by nature, but the message was the same, that our country is not doing well.  A stop off in Polokwane made it abundantly clear that there is decay and total lack of pride as the streets were filthy and vendors are totally oblivious to the law.  This is the capital of the North of South Africa and it is a shambles.  I came to realise that I most certainly lived a sheltered life as I was growing up and there were no doubt countless examples of racial discrimination, but I believe that the “New South Africa” has done very little in the smaller towns and cities and people’s lives look no different than they do now.  It is almost as if 20 years of democracy has done nothing to the men and woman in these parts.  I paused and thought of my last twenty years and what I have accomplished in that time.  Have I put enough effort into my business and its growth and development, have I succeeded in making a difference in my small sphere of influence and can I allege that I have done anything to make a difference to the lives of people I have come into contact with, in 2 decades.  Sadly and like most I am disappointed that I have looked mostly at my own needs and wants and tried to make sure that I was the centre of the universe and done what needed to be done to get to the top.  It was all about collecting things and accolades and titles and material gods and not so much about what teamwork and genuine social responsibility can mean to the area we are operating in.