I have a dream…

The eight-hour train trip from Vienna to Zagreb allows you to daydream. And, involuntarily, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dream of a new South Africa sweeps aside any romantic thoughts that should occupy the fantasising space.

What probably triggered it all was witnessing the entire Balkans region boasting an efficient transport service.

Trains actually run on time, tram cars service inner cities, taxis on every corner (here, a war exists between owners, often leading to shoot-outs on every corner), buses running to every nook and cranny (here, bus services are hijacked by the taxi industry reckoning it owns the roads).

The president’s dream did away with all the negative stumbling blocks, replaced by an efficient and sustainable system. Is it possible for his dream to come to fruition?

There was another president who also had a dream.

Remember Marshal Tito? He dreamt of a united Balkans. This despite the ugly warring factions existing for many years in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Unlike our president’s dream, his came true.

Why? Tito used uncanny diplomacy to get the countries, all independent of each other, to join to form a coordinated body resulting in solid local infrastructures, of which transport was one. Meaning jobs.

Today, the region boasts a bustling tourism industry, bringing in a load of lolly.

I was among the first to deride Cyril’s dream, but I have witnessed first-hand that all good things start with a dream.

All he needs to do now is weed out his corrupt colleagues with an iron fist, allowing him the freedom to approach all role players, inside and outside of government, including labour unions, and, as with Tito, do some serious persuasion.

He does possess the necessary charisma – all he needs is the political will to see it through. And the nation will be behind him with or without the ANC.

As we near Zagreb, I’m getting all excited at the prospect of returning to my beloved country with a charismatic president setting up structures to improve the lives of his people.

No more pussyfooting around political nincompoops.

Cliff Buchler.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.