If the late Shaka, the King of the Zulus could read the international headlines addressing the so called Xenophobic anarchy that is escalating across South Africa, I am pretty sure he would sit up in his grave, scratch his head and say ‘Eish – What a load of bollocks’

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with the term: ‘What A Load of Bollocks’ let me explain?
It is an old colonial expression that King Shaka was familiar with around the year 1830 as he rubbed shoulders with Dutch, French and British colonialists. One October evening in King Shaka’s honour, a huge cocktail party was organized at the British Embassy hosted by the British High Commissioner at the time, Sir Rupert Wanklott. VIP guests arrived in horse drawn elephants and diamond studded carriages. It was a gala affair of note. But to the embarrassment of Sir Rupert, King Shaka was denied entry to the state banquet because of his dress code and the additional 300 uninvited guests he brought with him.

An added problem was that Lady Phinella Wanklott loathed bare midriffs, people singing loud songs, over the top hair styles and beads that rattle around the ankles. Eventually, after sorting out the misunderstanding the party raved on through the night and a wonderful time was had by all.
A couple of days later King Shaka was invited to at an official God Save The Queen breakfast where Sir Rupert presented King Shaka with a gold embossed proposition from Her Majesty the Queen – in true British fashion it was attached to a slaughtered cow. Sir Rupert was convinced the Zulu King would accept it without hesitation. ‘King Shaka’ Sir Rupert announced ‘I bring a message from Her Majesty the Queen. ‘It is’ I quote’ time that we colonize your country so that you can enjoy the spoils of being part of the British Empire’
We have it on good authority that King Shaka stood up, drove a spear into the ground screaming ‘What a load of f#$@%^ bollocks’

Being a wild life adventurer, movie maker and an avid lover of Africa, I read the international press on a daily basis and less frequently watch the television news headlines on the BBC CNN and the rest. I see images of death and destruction and police violence - headlines flash across TV screens: ‘Stop the Anarchy’, ‘Death Toll Rises’ ‘Xenophobic Massacre’ ‘Where is the Army?’

I agree with the King of the Zulus ‘What a load of bollocks’

This is a no brainer folks, the current outbreak of violence has very little to do with Xenophobia. For many years our beleaguered, under staffed, almost non existent police force has battled to cope with the huge increase in crime. These brave under-equipped law enforcement officers face heavily armed, murderous gangs every day of their lives – even gangs of up to 15 with military fire power. There are scary statistics that prove the South African Police force has one of the highest casualty rates in the world, and it is rising every day.

I feel the reality in South Africa is: Highly skilled criminal organizations have masterminded and networked a national crime rampage which allows them (under the guise of ‘why are the foreigners stealing our jobs’) to loot and steal from anybody regardless of where they come from.
Although the violence is mainly in the townships and squatter camps our people are being robbed assaulted and murdered by lawless killers– opportunists of death, capitalizing on Zimbabwe’s instability.
It is a known fact that countries north of South Africa like Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia are hard working people and through the years this has created an underlying resentment amongst our people in South Africa. The fact is and we may not want hear it, many of our people are inherently lazy and do not want to work. The difference being, a South African makes demands - a foreigner works for the money.

Historically South Africa and Zimbabwe have been allies and close friends for a long time, though I do believe seeing television footage of Robert Mugabe and President Mbeki holding hands is pushing the envelope somewhat – maybe they should get a room.
In my humble opinion the bulk of the ‘anarchy’ is not politically motivated, it is the collapse of the law enforcement system – our cops are tired, they have been overrun by criminals with no help from the Government.
You have to understand South Africa is Africa, in every respect - without us there is very little left. We are the continent’s economic stabilizer and industrial power. Yes, we have a lame ineffectual president who should retire and open a launderette in East London.
And yes it has been proven in the courts that the politicians are corrupt as all hell – with the ANC government leading the field, and yes we have a government that will blame a tsunami or an earthquake on apartheid and the previous regime – which has really become boring.

What you read in the press is not what you get when you come to South Africa so if you want to experience the real truth come and visit our lovely land.

At the moment I’m sitting on the patio of a private game lodge overlooking a beautiful herd of Elephant at a watering hole, whilst sipping an exquisite glass of Rupert and Rothchild. To quote the King of The Zulus once again ‘Everything, apart from what I’m doing right at this moment is a load of bollocks’

Great Video from George Ayittey: Economist George Ayittey sees Africa’s future as a fight between Hippos — complacent, greedy bureaucrats wallowing in the muck — and Cheetahs, the fast-moving, entrepreneurial leaders and citizens who will rebuild Africa.

Why you should listen to him: Ghanaian economist George Ayittey was a voice in the wilderness for many years, crying out against the corruption and complacency that — more than any other factor, he believes — are the bedrock problems of many troubled Africa states. “We call our governments vampire states, which suck the economic vitality out of the people,” he says.

His influential book Africa Unchained has helped unleash a new wave of activism and optimism — especially in the African blogosphere, where his notion of cheetahs-versus-hippos has become a standard shorthand. The “Cheetah Generation,” he says, is a “new breed of Africans,” taking their futures into their own hands, instead of waiting for politicians to empower them. (He compares them to the previous “Hippo Generation,” who are lazily stuck complaining about colonialism, yet doing nothing to change the status quo.)

Ayittey is a Distinguished Economist in Residence at American University in Washington, DC.