The entrepreneurial spirit of Scam[e]lot

Of course, we are not talking about legal money. We will come up with all kinds of scams and shams, even pretending they are lawful, or wrapping them it some illogical justification, all for own gain and benefit.

In this land, we will steal anything, bribe our way to wealth, cover up corruption without losing a moment’s sleep, rob people blind through dubious costs of service, and so the lists simply go on.

Remember the King Author story? It is a tale of a mystical city called Camelot, which stood for the ideals of brotherhood, high morals, fairness, goodness and hope.

I would like to think we have dismantled the idea of the Rainbow Nation and, instead, built our own mystical city of Scam[e]lot, because, really, under the African sky anything goes to get ahead in life.

And, sadly, we don’t have noble knights seated around a round table fighting for justice and liberty; we have politicians and all kinds of other “creatures” of the realm, making sure their own pockets are filled with gold coins.

When Columbus hit the shores of America, in 1498, he introduced a world to a country that would become the land of hope and opportunity.

Over the years, people from over the world, some, unfortunately, with dubious agendas, have flocked to the land of stars and stripes in the quest for the holy grail of better living.

South Africa has also become the land of hope and opportunity, but for all the wrong reasons.

They flock to these shores not for noble reasons, but because this has become the haven for all kinds of criminal elements.

We have the drug lords, unscrupulous business operators and the morally deprived gold diggers.

We work very hard to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in this country, but the government has missed the plot, because a very thriving entrepreneurial spirit does exist – but it is one that lives in the halls of Scam[e]lot.

Take for example the fact that people are now stealing the metro’s refuse bins.

I mean really, how desperate or how morally low have we become to steal bins?

And you can bet your bottom Rand it will not take long before syndicates are formed to effectively steal these bins and get a good price for them.

But, for now, how does this work? Is it simply someone who waits like a predator in the bush, scanning the neighbourhood until the coast is clear before jumping out and grabbing the bin?

And what do you do then? Run like hell (silently as possible as the wheels clatter on tar) with it down the street? Or do you load it into a van? It poses an interesting scenario.

Best of all, how do you prevent a bin from being stolen? Should you tie it to a tree? Tie a pit bull to it? Hire a guard to watch over it with a baseball bat? How about putting a tracking device on it?

Scary thing, there is the suggestion that once your bin is stolen, you have to pay for it.

If this is the case, I can envision the insurance companies finding another means to suck the consumer dry. After all, we live in Scam[e]lot, where you use every opportunity available to make a quick buck.

And then you will probably get comprehensive cover on the bin just to push up the premium, or maybe, if you are lucky, there is a fire and theft only option.

And afterwards, once it is stolen? I have heard of stolen vehicles being stripped or recoloured; what do you do with a bin? Melt it, spray it, or simply re-use it for another purpose?

Then you get the real entrepreneurs, who are willing to climb down an abandoned mine-shaft, knowing they put their lives in danger, all in the hope of scoring some kind of precious metal for sale.

Now that is a die-hard entrepreneurial spirit, or is it simply stupidity?

Crawling into a dark hole takes some guts, but I guess a lot of politicians and civil servants also dig their own dark holes at the rate they steal from the public.

Yes, in this country there are plenty of opportunities to make money, albeit to sell drugs, to pose as a traditional healer who clearly cannot restore your long lost love, or to steal copper cables to leave frustrated residents once again in the dark.

Tragically, Scam[e]lot directly involves the joy of people and, in many cases, some pay with their lives in the wake of the criminal element.

And then you get to the real low lives, who poach rhinos.

A prison sentence is probably not good enough for them.

Let us not even talk about corruption in the political and business circles, or unfair business practices, or the daylight consumer robbery, such as Sanral, whose e-toll system, even though legal, runs on exorbitant tariffs.

This is the sad state of affairs of Scam[e]lot, where Nkandla and the arms deal scandal is swept under the carpet. Money and power talks, after all.

And how about the recent announcement by Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa’s office, that more than 1 000 police officers with criminal records will be removed from the SAPS service?

Talk about seizing every opportunity to make a buck, even when in uniform. No wonder no one feels safe in this country.

The sad thing is that Scam[e]lot is not something unique to South Africa, it is a worldwide epidemic, and there is aren’t any places left where it will not be found.

Yes, even in the churches [it happens a lot] people are are fed incorrect doctrines as part of the prosperity teaching, to fund the spiritual leader’s mansions and fancy vehicles.

Long gone are the noble ideas of Camelot; it is now a world where you pick and run, even if it’s an innocent refuse bin!

Sadly, because the moral compass has gone haywire, I hardly think anyone’s conscience is bothering them at night, even while proverbial Rome burns.