Time to reconcile and forgive

We can make allowances for South Africa falling on tough economic times when such are occasioned by events beyond our control. As things stood before the tumultous events sparked by the removal of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, we were already in bad shape economically. Our economy is not growing at the required rate, government has had to dip into the country's contingency reserves to meet some of its current expenditure, government debt has increased from 26 percent of GDP to 47 percent and we are expecting a tax shortfall by year end. In such a precarious situation, one would expect those who are in power to tread cautiously on anything economic.

It is now public record that President Jacob Zuma's decision to relieve Nene of his position was ill-advised. The markets punished all of us and added to our economic woes. The pain was self-inflicted. Economic experts say it wiped out almost R170 billion off the value of equities in a matter of days. No doubt, the outrage and investor exodus forced a change of heart by the president, which saw him bring back to Treasury an old hand in Pravin Gordhan. That went some way to calming the markets.

There are a few lessons to be drawn from this episode. First, dont fix that which is not broken - you may cause even greater damage. Second, if you have broken it, fix it. In this regard, Zuma showed political adroitness by quickly appointing Gordhan and the pronouncing that he had listened to the people and responded to their views. Of course, it was all messy and a big gamble but it cannot be denied that his decision to recall Gordhan was politically astute and has momentarily confused his detractors.

The third lesson is that business must be more vocal about the direction of the country. It was their representations to President Jacob Zuma that resulted in his change of heart. Business has a very important role to play in our country and can criticise government without necessarily coming across as the opposition. And it can get what it wants without being belligerent. It is an open secret that business was not comfortable with the lesser-known David van Rooyen and in his place got a minister with a proven track record in the portfolio.

The same applies to my colleagues in the religious sector. They had expressed concern - and I fully agreed with their view - that the firing and replacement of Nene bordered on being financially irresponsible. To this end, they sought a meeting with the president - which I unfortunately missed - to seek clarity on his cabinet reshuffle.

Then there were the marches against President Zuma, which were unfortunately tarnished by a few white right-wingers who reportedly holsted the old South African flag. Thankfully, no incidents were reported at these marches - a march against a sitting head of state in the past was met with batons and tear gas.

All the above lead one to reflect on the state of democracy. It is messy but maturing and testifies to our resilience as a people. A few days ago we were staring at an economic abyss. Tempers were running high and citizens, both black and white, were calling for the removal of the president.

In this season, when those of us who are of the Christian faith reflect on the story of God becoming a human being in the Person of Christ, let us not lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. We celebrate Christmas out of gratitude for what God did for us. Christmas is a time to reconcile and forgive others as we have been forgiven. As we celebrate the birth of Christ we remember to be a blessing to others, especially the less fortunate. We call upon all South Africans to be responsible when driving on the roads and please don't drink and drive.

Merry Christmas to all.