South Africa: Turning Mandela into the ‘mandie’

last updated 8 January 2015

Chris Roper

Mail & Guardian

The rand is getting a makeover, said Chris Roper. The government announced last week that our new banknotes will feature the face of Nelson Mandela. This would be great news, except that people have already begun calling the new rands “mandies.” That’s also the street term for Mandrax, an illegal addictive downer that South Africans abuse in great numbers. It’s hardly an auspicious nickname. Still, the new look is a welcome change from the wild animals that currently grace the currency. Every time I see a 10-rand note with an endangered white rhinoceros on it, I wince. “Not being able to save the rhino seems a sad indictment of our economic capabilities.” The animal notes just didn’t inspire confidence—they made South Africa seem like a vast jungle instead of a modern country. Hopefully the “white-friendly face” of Mandela will “make our seedy South African currency more palatable to Western investment.” And maybe it will even help clean up our government. If there is “a vestige of shame left in our corrupt officials,” then having “the old man’s face staring up at them” might make them pause before accepting that next wad of cash.