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Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Mikhail Gorbachev Eulogy

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Dear Editor

As we received the news of the passing away of the legendarily irrepressible Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the last Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] figurehead and the widely recorded originator of my favourite concepts that are Glasnost (openness & accountability in governmental matters) and Perestroika (restructuring of the political & economic system), I am reminded of Hillary Rodham-Clinton who opined quite simply that; “A politician thinks about the next elections, whilst a statesman thinks about the next generation”.

Mikhail Gorbachev, in my humble opinion, has entered hands-down in the pantheon of world-wide statesmen albeit his cover-up of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant explosion of 1986, within the current Ukraine, is most-probably the greatest blight in his leadership of the USSR and his overall legacy. The fall of the USSR, which is dubiously credited to Mikhail Gorbachev, is akin to our fall of the Apartheid regime and their ripple effects, hence Russian politics tend to be easy to grasp as they are comparable to those of South Africa’s after a long period of iron-fisted rule.

Quite simply, what happened in Russia after the fall of outright Communism, was the enrichment & protection of those who were anointed by the political bosses, hence the birth of oligarchs like the currently exiled Mikhail Khodorkovsky who proved to be intimidating to the presidency of Vladimir Putin mainly through his fine intellect and charisma; compared to the bland and narcissistic strongman’s bulldozing ahead when his demands are not met.

As much as Mikhail Gorbachev was instrumental in the bringing down of the “iron curtain”, he also haplessly opened the doors for an immoral, greedy, unpatriotic & increasingly oppressive clique; just like what has been happening in South Africa particularly since the advent of the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) blue print that is clearly fashioned from the Afrikaner Broederbond of yesteryear and its remnants today whose motto seems to be; “We take care of our own”, meaning that South Africa is also being ruled by oligarchs too that are spearheading a governing cartel hell-bent on self-service instead of a growth medium that is adding value to a country and its citizenry.

Regards

Luyanda Marlon Kama
Kwa-Dwesi, Gqeberha

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.