An African jolly, lunacy recollected in tranquillity – and the rise of kleptocracy

On the left is Brian Mdluli’s beautiful 4 year-old daughter Katlego who was with us for most of the day yesterday.

We went on what turned out to be a 12-hour jaunt in a minibus with Brian, his wife, and 6 friends. Or was it seven? Hard to tell because we travelled in the closest thing to a mobile bar I’ve ever seen.

I realised I’m getting too old for this – and for no particular reason my mind flew back 29 years or so to a day we took a coach-full of our agency staff down to a very smart country hotel in Sussex.

On the way there we had a drink or two and some nibbles. Some thoughtful soul had cooked a cake with some hash (unknown to us) in it, so what with the odd glass of champagne we were all feeling exceptionally spirited after lunch.

At one point in the afternoon the hotel’s owner asked one of our art directors who was browsing in the library and who seemed relatively respectable, “Are you in charge of this rabble?”

“No, they’re in the swimming pool.”

It was true.

My partner Glenmore and I had jumped in with all our clothes on.

On reflection our little trip yesterday was by comparison downright tranquil.

***

When we saw the Apartheid Museum on Friday I was reminded what an important role the press -especially a magazine called Drum -played in exposing the dreadful facts in those dark years.

Today they are doing much the same thing. The papers are full of detailed reports of the astonishing corruption and greed of politicians here. One junior politician squandered astounding sums – millions – over a four year period staying at a 5 star hotel because he didn’t like his free official residence.

What a lot of good that money – and he is just one example – could do for the millions of desperately poor people here.

He has just been promoted.

A sad betrayal.

By the way: here’s the best argument I’ve ever heard of in favour of marriage. Polygamy is legal here, and I’m told the President gets a few million rand when he takes a new wife.

I have no idea if this is true, but with me it’s usually worked out the other way round.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

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