Senior Lecturer, Walter Sisulu University (NMD)
The second 25 years of my life
I knew my life would involve sacrifices, hard work and an overwhelming amount of discipline.
As a young boy, I dreamed of becoming a chartered accountant and the most educated individual in the Vuzane family. I thought it would be simple, not knowing that when I realised my accomplishments and wanted to implement what I had learned and do what was right, it would no longer be possible because the world had become corrupt and crime-ridden. My success coincided with a corrupt South Africa where everyone is fighting for safety and spending só much on insurance and security; a brand-new world that did not exist when I decided to become a chartered accountant.
How then should I respond? How many other chartered accountants are faced with the same dilemma? The South Africa I envisioned is completely different and has a huge impact on professionals because it is a country where it has become almost impossible to do the right thing.
I object to SAICA’s Code of Professional Ethics. That code was designed to operate where the majority were able to do right, but now more people are engaged in the opposite. The code represents an ethical duty found only in the few and not in many South Africans who do not care. It indicates a serious rift in the economy, management of corruption and crime, access to justice, the National Development Plan, governmental policies, and unemployment statistics.
Recently, my fears manifested in an horrendous nightmare where I dreamed I was being forced by a gang to commit a murder. On awaking in a cold sweat, I thanked God that I was safe at home in my bed and that it was only a dream, but for so many South Africans my dream is a reality where people live in an unsafe environment.
Life in South Africa is no longer guaranteed. While I carry myself with fear, I continue because I worked so hard to be a better person, to inspire and to influence. If South Africa is unable to offer that, then I am a victim of my own success and if my country cannot help me to do right, think correctly, project about the future or at least to see my children growing up, what am I left with? My dream remains unfulfilled!
They say the sun is always faithful, but how can people have lived so differently under that same sun? I wish I could turn back the clock and re-imagine my destiny and life in the new South Africa. I was never told how to use my professional attributes to fit into today’s new chaotic South Africa.
However, I recently realised that life has its own plans and surprises. One is truly blessed if one does not hurt anyone. I pray that South Africa, our beautiful land, will return and that is will be possible to live in peace and harmony − no more hurt but everlasting laughter. Give me a chance to fulfil my promises to my children and preserve my life!
