They Are Shouting Nobama In Cape Town

President of The United States of America, Barrack Obama arrives in South Africa today, 28 June 2013, and in Cape Town by Sunday.
Not too long ago, there was great euphoria in Cape Town, all over South Africa and the world for that matter, when in 2008 the people of The USA elected their first ever Black President.
“Yes We Can!” – It resonated with all of us.
In Cape Town, especially amongst Coloured people, there was the added novelty of Barack Obama being of ‘mixed racial origins’. So why wouldn’t they be happy that he’s visiting now?

The euphoria of ordinary Capetonians, and South Africans, quickly turned to incredulity a few months into his presidency when Barack Obama was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The man hasn’t even warmed up his seat yet, he was still getting used to finding his way around the White House and he was already being honoured for changing the world?
South Africans take that Nobel Peace Prize very seriously. After all, we’ve had four winners and we’ve already as a nation viewed one of them as being some sort of a compromise, since FW De Klerk at the time was not so much bent on bringing peace but was rather skilfully avoiding the possibility that White South Africans could be over-run by a full-on revolution. We didn’t like that one was once again being given to someone who hasn’t worked hard for it.

So with bated breath, Capetonians and the rest of the world waited for the promised “Change” that the Obama-era was supposed to be ringing in but the peace-bringing changes worthy of that hallowed prize have still not happened.
I can imagine for a Capetonian, and the rest of SA, seeing Obama getting a Nobel Prize was like handing out soccer trophies at the start of the season.
It’s like handing the PSL Trophy to Chiefs before they’ve even played Ajax; Except, Chiefs eventually did go on to win the 2013 PSL Trophy.
So President Obama is now in his second season and the Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille, along with the Democratic Alliance (DA) majority in the council, have decided that Barack Obama deserves another trophy in the from of giving the US First Couple the Freedom Of The City of Cape Town.
Never would one expect such a wide and varied field of individuals & organisations, accross racial, political and religious divides standing together all protesting what they at the very least believe to be an absurdity if not an absolute disgrace.

The Obamas have already indicated that they will accept the award despite the controversy of it all. That has sparked even more outrage as many believe that the Obama’s should have gracefully declined seeing that they know for a fact that they have not ever made a tangible difference in the lives of ordinary Capetonians. Certainly for an individual to receive the freedom of a city anywhere in the world, that individual should have had to actually done something to deserve it. Well, the DA-led city council seems to think the Obamas do but this is not the impression one gets when talking to ordinary Capetonians about it.

The reasons for opposition to the award (and the visit in itself) varies across a whole range of issues, from the US military campaigns, to the US economic policies and even their environmental policies.
However the common thread seems to be that people are cognitively aware that such an award should only be bestowed on persons who positively impact the lives of a city’s inhabitants.

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape (WC) are of course having a field day with this whole debacle because they can for once claim to have the moral high-ground. They have called on the Obamas not to accept the awarding of The Freedom Of The City.
The ANC alliance partners, the SACP and Cosatu are already planning to protest the Obama visit whether the awards are accepted or not.
However seeing the type of protests the ANC in the WC and / or their alliance partners are lately being accused of instigating, they would do well to make every effort to ensure that any protests led by them does not bring disgrace to the ANC-led National Government who ultimately are the hosts of the US President or worse create an international incident.

Whether the visit holds any tangible benefits for South Africa and Africa as a whole remains to be seen and there is definitely the possibility that the US will want to improve bilateral trade relations with South Africa in the light of recent bilateral agreements between South Africa and one other world economic super power that is China. However the Obama entourage would be wise to not portray their visit as an image of ‘saviours’ coming to rescue South Africa from itself. Aside from the pomp and ceremony of highly controversial awards from universities as well as possibly the City of Cape Town administration’s award, it being a state visit, the hosts of the Obamas are after all the South African government and state visit protocols will be followed that ‘dignifies’ the visit.

However, the reception from ordinary citizens will in all likelihood not be the hero’s welcome Obama received as a senator in 2006.