We are a nation of suckers

We are a nation of suckers. We believe con artists – be they mutual bank marketers, pyramid scheme punters or religious prophets, who sell us dreams for their own profit.

Many of us, sadly, believe the promises spouted by our politicians, not seeming to notice when they’re seldom honoured. And we accept their bald-faced excuses about why our tax money is disappearing faster than a drop of water on a desert sand dune.

Not to mention breathless journalists reporting we’ve got a world record 10 babies in a single birth…

It’s no surprise, then, that thousands of people have been drawn to the rocky hills around KwaHlathi in KwaZulu-Natal, to dig for diamonds.

The “gems” have, up to now, remained undiscovered, mind you, by huge corporations and legions of geologists. They’re most likely to be bits of quartz crystal.

Alexandra resident Thulani Manyathi took his four daughters to the site to dig for the diamonds which, he says, mean: “We are going to live in Dubai. This is going to change our life.”

In reality, this hope of a “better life” is more than most of these impoverished people have been offered by their government. There are no diamonds. No pot of gold. No rainbow either.