A clean slate, a new start

Thanks to the World Cup, South Africa is a rebranded story, but now we have to preserve this reputation in a skeptical world

Those of us engaged in public discourse around the state of the nation grumble a lot. That's why I propose some well-earned praise, the most creative of balms, as we suspend our copious critical faculties to congratulate President Zuma's government and the South African people on an inspiring performance as one of the most successful hosts in World Cup history.
Moving swiftly on, though, the question arises: how do we preserve this new-found reputation in a skeptical world? After all, once-reviled South Africans earned international respect when Nelson Mandela was freed from his imprisonment to become who beloved founding father – but then we proceeded as a nation to squander his legacy via Thabo Mbeki's shockingly inhumane denial of HIV/Aids, among other lapses, and Jacob Zuma's compromised integrity on a number of issues.
I like President Zuma for his warm smile and human heart. He seems a sweetie, which is presumeably why so many women fall for him. As of today, I support him anew as my president, trust bringing out the very best in people  - hopefully. But let's agree, JZ: you've run out of chances. Far too many scandals litter your recent career.
Fortuitously, we have a ready-made reserve president, Kgalema Motlanthe, in the wings; an able and decent man who has done the job before. So our current supremo must either take us forward unerringly from our World Cup triumph – or step aside. As South Africans, we understand the value of a good role model. We have had the very best. When the incomparable Madiba beat frailty, family tragedy and the cold to do a turn on the field at Soccer City, it was a reminder to us all not just of the courage and moral rectitude of that single saintly individual, but also of how far we have all come. And how much of our progress as a nation was inspired by his exemplary leadership.  
Modern South Africa doesn't need the Wizard of Oz at the helm but a responsible, organized, caring equivalent of Madiba, preferably, or even a Zille clone. Indeed, we have the opportunity to show real leadership on the great but misled continent of Africa: let's now go for it resolutely.
Never mind how many own goals we've scored to date.  South Africa is a rebranded story, paraded before the global community as capable, ethical and charming. Let's build on our gains with newfound vision. As Mahatma Gandhi once said: "If I have the belief that I can do it, I will surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning."
The wonderful thing about success is that it releases the imagination to make new associations. (As does art, by the way, but I digress.) Seeing Afrikaners in Bafana Bafana jerseys and feeling free to walk home alone at midnight because criminals had been intimidated by effective policing and F ifa's special courts made us see the South African realities we had considered hopelessly intractable – crime, racialised politics, "cultural" sports divides – as no longer inevitable.
Squandering one's reputation achieves the polar opposite: it feeds negative stereotyping that tends to stalk the world's dark-skinned people, among other targets of prejudice. Some South Africans were reputed to be foremost among racist oppressors, while others among their liberated victims all-too-soon succumbed to corruption. What a ghastly image to have created for ourselves.
Luckily, though, the salutory picture of Jackie Selebi slumped in court after a judge called him a liar – with his son crying beside him and his wife looking distraught - was seen throughout the universe during the World Cup. It was a sad end for a former president of Interpol and brave struggle icon, who will now be remembered as a dirty cop. But it was satisfying that Selebi's conviction could be noted worldwide during the soccer, since the spectre of a South African police chief taking bribes had helped in no small way to give us a bad name in the post-Mandela era.
If our police commissioner, earning close to R1-million a year, could be in the pocket of criminals, what might be expected of ordinary law enforcement officers? In an immaculately-timed response, the Selebi case offered proof that justice in South Africa works albeit, ironically, that his demise came at a time when there were unproven newspaper reports of stolen cash in the home of the current police commissioner, Bheki Cele.
Thankfully, our World Cup performance has won South Africa a reprieve in the eyes of the world. As a nation we are seen as greater than the sum of our parts. But that won't last, because it is the parts that make us whole.
If unity does shine brightly as a by-product of the famous tournament, let's resolve to leave xenophobia in the shade. If rampant criminality could be pacified for a month, why not for evermore? If JZ's charm and charisma was enough to warm the hearts of royalty, celebrities and world leaders in the winter chill of the VIP viewing box, why not turn that energy to an unwavering determination to bring light, loos and running water to the millions of this country's most neglected?
Reputation is hard-won and easily lost.  Tiger Woods' penchant for barmaids and porn princesses cost his biggest sponsors around US$12-billion in lost share value, but thanks to inherent gifts that transcend his flaws, he will rise again in star status and can expect full brand rehabilitation – provided he behaves himself from now on. Perhaps South Africa can look forward to something similar.
Failure is common in a global internet environment, where bad news travels incredibly fast and  executives have an 82% chance of facing corporate disaster within any five year period.  Redemption can come as quickly, though. Apartheid-era white South Africans were unconditionally pardoned by Nelson Mandela in the interests of national reconciliation – a giant gesture.
World Cup success has wiped the slate clean again, but is not guaranteed to last. Its endurance is our collective responsibility.