In South Africa last week, First National Bank’s (FNB) newly launched ad campaign was the subject of much freedom of speech controversy. The campaign featured South African school children reading out their hopes for the future of the country. Interestingly enough, the controversy was evident entirely within the ranks of the ANC, ANCYL and SACP. The rest of the South African public barely blinked an eyelid.
While the public was thinking: “Oh that’s so sweet, even the children have something to say about our future,” the ANC, ANCYL and SACP were frothing at the mouth with conspiracy theories about a possible plot to overthrow the government. Their immediate reaction was to call FNB irresponsible for their devious attempt to stimulate what Wonkie calls a Zuma Spring (like the Arab Spring, but in South Africa. This is not to be confused with the Zuma Offspring of which there are plenty).
So is there some subversive intention by FNB here, or is it simply the case that the truth hurts for the ANC? Wonkie takes a closer look at some of the controversy:
“The country is being overrun by poverty… while Jacob Zuma is renovating his home” – KZN tertiary student
Objectively, the quote above is absolutely true and verifiable. Even the slowest member of the ANC on a bad day cannot deny it. So clearly the issue is not that this statement is slanderous. It is either a case of sour grapes that the statement has been publicised, or that these facts are glaringly obvious to even young children.
“… politicians tend to be the most destructive and eruptive aspect of our country… We need motives and a clear vision… we must not depend on our leaders. Each person must become their own hero.” – KZN High School student
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Yes, according to the South African Constitution, even non-ANC members and children can have one – Wonkie checked. There were a number of such expressions of discontent with government leadership and corruption. But should these kids be reprimanded because they are disrespectful of elders? Nelson Mandela was also very naughty when he spoke out against his elders.
“The government is only thinking for themselves… I’m from a rural area and the government doesn’t see what’s happening.” – Gauteng tertiary student
The irony of these statements is that the ANC itself was probably the most likely to make equivalent comments about the previous regime. They would, of course, have been labelled brave freedom fighters amongst themselves (and terrorists by the apartheid government). Isn’t it funny how the tables have turned?
The question is if even children are smart enough to figure out the level of incompetence in government, why does the ANC do nothing about it? Angie Motshekga, for example, is still happily floundering around in the education department after the disgusting Limpopo textbook saga that would have seen her sacked in any country with decent internal governance.
Perhaps it’s time for the ANC to take a step back and evaluate the validity of the statements being made instead of shooting the messenger. Assuming they were unscripted, which FNB claims they were, the messages should be hammering alarm bells for the ANC leadership.
Instead of being defensive, it would be smarter for the ANC to figure out how they’re going to win over their future voters. Clearly, the young’uns already know that the ANC gravy train is almost full capacity and want a real alternative for a better future.
.
.

If all this talk about corruption in South Africa sickens you, now might be a good time to exercise some positive thinking, pick some lucky numbers and play lotto online here. That way if you don’t score big on the next tender, at least you have a backup plan.
For the more risk-seeking amongst you, check out Wonkie’s updated online casino South Africa page or if you’re based in India, then visit this excellent website or Wonkie’s international best online casinos page instead.
.

.

Related articles on freedom of speech in South Africa, corruption and the ANC:
.
I think this is a load of bollocks that the ANC keeps screaming about malicious intentions of anybody that says anything negative about it – regardless of whether it’s the truth or not!
I agree with Wonkie – it’s time for them to take a closer look at their own houses and make some much needed changes instead of whining about others rightfully criticising their practices.
I’m surprised the ANC hasn’t decided to gag the ad using the protection of information bill – after all, it does seem to threaten national security doesn’t it? LOL
“Perhaps it’s time for the ANC to take a step back…”
The ANC is so close to the edge that, if it took even a SMALL step back, it would fall off the cliff ! ! ! ! !
How many voters out there will help these children push ? ? ? ?
Sometimes you’d swear that ANC is some kind of movie script. These guys are doing the exact same thing that the oppression government did to them but just doing it in a more “civilized” way. they are constitution to hide their devious acts and they are using the acts in the constitution way out of context just to cover their filth. Freedom of expression means simply that,Freedom to express your self… These guys are our leaders but I’m sorry to say this, they are messed up BIG TIME
I will help. …………..let us all push together. That is why they canned it, scared of being pushed off the gravy train.
Out of the mouths of babes….I believe the ANC is in for a big shock come the next election. They should take note of what the youngsters are saying because when they get to voting age they will far outnumber the uninformed and uneducated. No wonder Angie is trying to deny them a decent education.
By the way, I am moving my account to the FNB. At least they are not licking the ANC’s boots, like some other banks I know.
As far as I can see its a case of the blind leading the blind, the ANC are always blind when it comes to helping out all those poor voters living in cardboard/plastic shacks. While the government fat cats lavish in their multi million luxury homes. These youngsters are our future and should be taken seriously and not pushed aside. There are elections coming up in the not so distant future, the ANC should be shuddering in their shoes as the multitude of voters could without warning decide not to vote ANC. The SACP are our worst enemies and their rantings should be nipped at the bud before they swing the ANC over.
Out of the mouth of babes and FNB’s advert is only a threath to intellectual babes.
All “offended” politicians ranting against the FNB advert are showing their intellect or lack thereof. If the ANC cannot stand the heat in the kitchen, they must get out of it.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of this campaign is the use of English. The vast majority of the blind who are being led by the greedy blind (blind to everything but their own greed) are limited to greater or lesser extent in their understanding of this “universal” language. If the ads had been made in the languages of the majority demographic, or even dubbed or had “local language” subtitles, the impact would have been far greater and at a much more fundamental level. The ANC should be grateful that their “grass roots” are kept so under-educated that they would miss almost all of the commentary offered by these young South Africans.
On the other hand, THANKS, ANC, for making so many more people aware of FNB’s campaign. Nice way to shoot yourself in the foot!
At last we have an organisation with the strength of their convictions overriding their drive for profit from business derived from the real traitors. Well done FNB!!
An attack on the president, the government, his self aggrandising, self enriching, self gormandising ministers and the entire incompetent, overpaid government is long overdue.
What have the ANC, Ancyl, the Sacp ever produced to ensure concrete solutions to the challenges confronting our nation, given that a huge proportion of these problems are born from the deployment of incompetent, unqualified cadres?
Of course the naïve litle children of ANCYL will have a lot to say, they do not have the intellect the school children have to grasp the enormity or complexity of the problems facing our country. Let us not forget that they are also aiming for a place at the corruption, easy money, tender rigging trough and the gap left by Julius is not large enough to accommodate all contenders.
Do any of these mindless critics of the factual presentaion of the status quo by the children realise that they are the prime perpertaitors of treason?
Treason is, amongst other things, spending millions on fancy hotels, lavish breakfasts, first class air travel, limosines, opulent mansions, of which Nkandla is but the tip of the ice berg, designer clothing etc. ad nauseum.
This is why we have collapsed health services, education facilities, homeless, starving people, destitute street children and fathers and mothers of the nation.
They have no voice, so FNB needs a special pat on the back for being there for them and to hell with the bile which the real treasonists may spew in their futile attempt to validate their inept, useless bungling of governing the country effectively.
It must be frightening to be a liberal at an ANC meeting…
When I remember what ANC use to be, when I remember the fight and integrity of the ANC members of old, when I remember the principles the body was built upon I can’t help but shed tears of pain and sorrow, for I continuously ask myself- what is the way forward. Rather than putting their acts together our politicians under the body of ‘ANC’ are busy displaying their art of incompetence . They should know one thing for sure, we are not only watching but our children do too.
this wat we call FNB stunt ,it plays a huge role -by means of playing fools game. i think its anti-constitution. mayb it does this to improve a division against the nation
The truth hurts
And the deeper the truth, the deeper the hurt!
The FNB has clearly struck a nerve in the ANC. The President condemns corruption, but when an y else does so, the ANCYL calls it treasonous. Are we on our way to a dictatorship?
What can Nando’s do with with. Maby they can do a tag team?
a-maize-ingly-corny put it in a nutshell. If the ANC and their allies didn’t get themselves into a tizz at every perceived criticism, few people would have known about the FNB campaign since it was only on FNB’s website and not destined for public dissemination via TV.
Fortunately the ANC has now brought knowledge of the campaign to the public at large and seriously injured their image by once again acting so childishly. Many of their supporters must be very embarrassed by the ANC’s inability to accept even perceived criticism and at their vindictiveness against a call for a better life for all South Africans proving that they are not prepared to provide that themselves (but only to themselves).
The truth hurts heh! It has the ANC spitting like cobras instead of keeping their mouths shut and listening to the people. Everything to them is about conspiracies. They need to understand what the word democracy means their interpretation is obviously different to that of the public.
The FNB ad suggests that we all have a brighter future where there will be no poverty where we will live with good education, health services, better roads sewage, water and all the services that make a better life for all. We know that will not happen with current ANC policies and governance that seems to destroy hope causing more unemployment and reducing us to a laughing stock, therefore they see this ad as a threat to their existence and thus treasonous. But the ad is misleading, the 1976 Soweto riots were not the beginning of the end of apartheid but merely another another nail in its coffin. These semi educated youth believe the ANC propagated myth that the ANC brought down apartheid. They did not, some languished on the beaches of Dar es Salaam,some luxuriated on the banks of the Zambezi, and those who stayed were mainly in jail. iT was mainly the promised effect of massive and punitive sanctions by the US and the wish to avoid a civil war that informed the Nat government to change. The sins were there under PW Botha sonme six years before De Klerk. of course we have forgotten that and the Kids of today have believed the propaganda.
It is about time that FNB stop trying to be politically correct avoided seemingly some arse creeping ads and got down to decent banking, including a demend that JZ pay off his overdraft.
corny, I meant demand.
Shocking how a whole executive can be so naive and expect all of South Africa not to realise the the plaintive cries of gravy train passengers defending their seats and plates.Sies! and viva FNB!
Dear Wonkie. Thanks to the idiot anc and its kow-towing cohorts, we are all now aware that even young children are peering through the bullshit curtain and seeing the corruption and nepotism and just plain stealing that our so called elected leaders are mostly up to!
Open your guys, this is a strategy and Angie is the perfect candidate to accomplish it; The national Party created Bantu education and now ANC has created the Zumaliser Education system. These Kids are expected to know nothing of value according to the new system and having them say what they were saying in those videos is disappointing to the leaders because it implies that their system is not working.
Bravo, Kids!! If they can see what is happening in our beloved country, why can’t others see it as well? as someone once said: anyone with two braincells should be able to see this….
Push, Kids, push!! We will help you, come next election…
@Ivory – you have summed it up perfectly!
What happened to the freedom of speech? The ANC should listen to what the kids have to say about our democracy and do their best in correcting the wrongs instead of crying like a baby.
I love this country and looking at our young, i know the future will be bright whether ANC is in power or not. This kids are demonstrating leadership and vision that our current leaders can only dream of and i am very proud of them.
Absolutely pathetic and childish reaction from the anc! The children did better, they can see the light!
The only approved and welcomed freedom of speech with our government is one of obedience and showering them with praises. there is greatness in being able to take positive criticism.
And so the wheel “SPINS” for the ANC Gravy Train, they are falling Faster than they grew.
OK – I know this is TOTALLY off the topic, but the following facts have just come to my attention:
In the last 9 years of Thabo Mbeki being President (2000-2008) a total of 208 rhinos were poached in South Africa – the worst year being Thabo’s last full year, 2008, when 88 were poached.
In the first FOUR years of Jacob Zuma (2009-2012) a total of – wait for it – 1313 – YES – ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN – rhinos were poached in SA – more than fourteen times the rate of poaching under Mbeki !!!!!
Oh sh*t – why can’t FNB’s kids vote ?
Wow!!!! That’s very interesting facts. It’s our responsibility to ensure that people who are suspected of corruption never see public office, unless they were tested in court and found innocent. those who run from the court are not worthy of public office. reason being that power makes a corrupt person too corrupt and it sends a message that we tolerate and condone crime
The truth have a funny way of revealing itself.What did we expect? FNB is a coward, it should take a leaf out of Goodman Gallery, only when violence was threatened it was then that it cowered. As for the SACP and ANCYL, who could want his or her gravy train derailed? I was hoping to hear “Boycott FNB boycott…Sies!
Sies Kenny, jy praat a klomp stront. FNB bravely tells it like it is. It has given these youngsters the opportunity to assess this ANC disease.
As Pieter Dirk Uys said about the apartheid regime: They write his scripts for him!! The anc seems to be doing the same!! Never a dull moment!!
it is not surprising to hear such comments from fnb,they were the difender of apatheid.
Great that they had the time to bully the FNB over this but no time to say anything, as the ruling party, about the riots in sasoltown! Apartheid is back – or at least the tactics of Apartheid governments are back!
WELL, NOW IT IS OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES AND SUCKLINGS. WHAT A HOOT. NOW WATCH REAL GOOD AND SEE THE F.N.B. BECOME THE FIRST NATIONALISED BANK IN SOUTH AFRICA. THE BIG ANGRY BULL IN THE CHINA SHOP HAS BEEN HURT. OH BOY IT MUST REAL BAD. AND THE ANC IS SO THICK SKINED ! !
Thick, not skined!
Subverting education is the modus operandi of many corrupt governments, with the belief that non-thinking citizens will be unable to upset their status quo. It is a hopeful sign for ZA that despite the ANC efforts, thinkers are emerging out of the ashes.
Amazing! Real “young stars” (What the news readers call them) In spite of the determined efforts of the anc to keep the youth ignorant, they are thinking for themselves, and realise they are being bullshitted! Viva Young Stars!!
Hopes dashed!! Excerpted from iafrica.com this morning – “FNB met African National Congress leaders, including secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, about the adverts on Thursday, and apologised to the ANC on Friday.”