Kabuleta’s advice to SA is not well thought out

Jul 22, 2009

Editor—I read on July 19 with some amusement Joseph Kabuleta’s article on South Africa and the country’s bid for the world cup. <br>He seemes to think that South Africa should not attempt to impress visiting fans or even counter the current bad pre

Editor—I read on July 19 with some amusement Joseph Kabuleta’s article on South Africa and the country’s bid for the world cup.
He seemes to think that South Africa should not attempt to impress visiting fans or even counter the current bad press it is receiving in European newspapers. I found the logic in this faulty.

I am a big fan of Kabuleta’s column, largely for its candour and often surprising on-point analysis of matters unrelated to sport.

However, his advice to ignore all detractors is foolhardy.

It is the equivalent of advising South Africans to ignore lies in a child’s ‘sticks and stones’ fashion. Unfortunately, tourists are influenced by what they read and a successful media campaign is so often the thin line between success and failure (refer to Paul Busharizi’s July 18 column on Ugandan coffee).

Public opinion is important, regardless of ‘racial superiority complexes’.

Lee kwan Yu and the singaporean revolution can attest to this. Singapore is one of the cleanest and safest countries in the world.

This is not because of some inherent desire to be clean or safe but because a clean country or indeed city, portrays certain underlying characteristics of the people who live there. It is a sign of responsibility, hard work, etc.
For a columnist who is so in tune with the perception/reality debate, i thought this article overlooked this side of the issue.

George Oriokot
goriokot@hotmail.com

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