In the heart of South Africa, amidst the vibrant markets and bustling urban landscapes, the face of Nelson Mandela graces every banknote, is a symbol of freedom and resilience and to some, this is a symbol of crime and corruption by black leaders at the expense of their own people. As we reach into our pockets to retrieve these notes, a crucial question lingers: Who sanctioned this decision to replace neutral symbols of our big five animals with the face of a politician? Was there ever a public consultation before this decision was taken? Nelson Mandela was a politicians and a leader of a specific political leader and not a leader for all South Africans as paraded in mainstream media. With this in mind, replacing neutral symbols on our bank notes with his face was an extremely divisive and dangerous decision! The absence of discourse around such a significant choice is not just an oversight; it reflects a troubling trend in which decisions about our national identity are made behind closed doors, without the input of the very people they affect.
