Prof Adam Habib on the state and future of South Africa

By Thabo Ditsele

I am a great fan of listening to intellectuals’ commentary on what is happening in our country, region, continent and globally. One of such commentators is Prof Adam Habib whom I respect so much. Over the years, Prof Habib has established himself as an intellectual who carefully analyses situations in an interesting manner, and also has an art of striking a healthy balance between being sophisticated, diplomatic and charismatic. One factor that I like about him is that unlike some commentators who think that using jargon and bombastic words would earn them respect, he always expresses his ideas using a register that an average person would have access to.

Thanks to Regenesys Business School we had the honour and privilege to host Prof Habib in May 2008. From the moment he started speaking, I was completely focussed and riveted. I was particularly impressed with the following:

• His demonstration that a strongly unionised environment such as in Scandinavian countries can develop a country rather than the perceived perception that it is disruptive;
• He went into a mind of angry criminals and analysed the underlying socio-economic factors that would drive them to brutalise their perceived “rich” victims who represent the system that has supposedly advantaged them while they (the criminals) are still to realise a new South Africa and grab the opportunities that come with it; and
• He conscientised the so-called “middle and upper classes” in South Africa to abandon their “us and them” mentality and also challenged them that they should make it their business to contribute to the narrowing of inequality gaps between the rich and poor in our society – in doing this, he cited an example of how after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the “richer” West Germans reached out to their relatively “poorer” East Germans by paying social tax to ensure that the East Germans’ economic status would quickly be at par with theirs. This led to a peaceful establishment of a “new” German nation. This was never done in South Africa after the defeating of the apartheid system.

I feel honoured to live in an era of heavyweights such as Prof Habib and would urge him to continue with his independent thinking, analysis, diplomacy, charisma, choice of language and priceless contribution that he is making.