2018: News that mattered

19 December 2018   By GroundUp Staff

Land occupations on the increase, Post Office takes over social grant payments, corruption exposed at PRASA and DAFF, but also good-news stories featuring ordinary South Africans

Fatima Isaacs protests against development in Bo-Kaap. There is fierce debate over the future of the famous suburb bordering Cape Town’s city centre. Many protests this year have opposed gentrification. But the community is far from united on the issue. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Andile Skuthalo and other residents of Siyahlala queue daily for water. Photo: Peter Luhanga

Dam levels were perilously low in Cape Town for much of the first half of 2018. Day Zero made headlines across the world. A huge water-saving effort and good winter rain have brought at least two years’ respite. But plans to increase the future supply of water to the city remain vital. Those plans need to cater for the thousands who have to stand in queues daily to collect a meagre amount of water, as they battle Day Zero-like conditions.

Children at the Path Out of Poverty centre in Riebeek Kasteel just after eating, before settling down for learning exercises. We told the story of Goedgedacht — which means “good thinking” — a South African success story that is helping rural children play sport, do homework, improve their social skills and eat nutritiously. Photo: Aidan Jones

GroundUp exposed a dodgy deal for guarding the Helen Bowden Nurses’ Home. Several hundred people have occupied the property since March 2017. The security company’s dogs, one of whom is pictured above, made playful pets but ineffectual guard-dogs. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Nombi Arosi sits in the ruins of her shack which was demolished by officials. Her building materials were confiscated. “I’m heart-broken. I don’t know where I will stay now,” she said. Photo: Vincent Lali

Riot police form a chain barring Dunoon residents from shacks they built on vacant land. Photo: Peter Luhanga

Land occupations increased dramatically in 2018. GroundUp covered occupations in Dunoon, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Cato Crest and Brakpan. Reclaim the City continued its audacious occupation of two large state-owned buildings near Cape Town’s city centre.

Zoleka Mapikana waits outside the Net1 Moneyline office at Philippi Plaza. She holds a green EasyPay Everywhere card given to social grant beneficiaries who take out a loan with a Net1 subsidiary. Photo: Barbara Maregele

The Post Office took over the payment of most social grants this year. This was after the Constitutional Court ordered the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to cut ties with Net1 subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). For the past six years, CPS had been paying grants on behalf of SASSA. Will the Post Office do a good job? It remains to be seen. There have been some serious teething problems.
It was not a good year for former Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini. The Constitutional Court found her personally liable for 20% of grant payment litigation costs. The National Prosecuting Authority may also bring perjury charges.

Workers wait in Sea Point for a bus home to Khayelitsha. Photo: Barry Christianson

In Masakhane, Gansbaai, one wet Tuesday morning, an abalone poacher waits for a lift to the sea. Photo: Kimon de Greef

In May, Mortimer Booysen, a Hout Bay man who poached abalone for a living, was killed in unclear circumstances when police chased the boat he was on. This story raised troubling questions about the history of poaching in the Western Cape, and the state’s approach to poaching.
These questions were compounded by GroundUp’s exposé on the culture of corruption and in-fighting at the Department of Fisheries and Forestries, including the theft of millions worth of poached abalone that was supposed to be auctioned.

Natania Nitzky from Mitchells Plain with her sparring partner and instructor, Cobe Jephte. Nitzky is among seven students selected for a martial arts tournament in India in December. Photo: Barbara Maregele

At the end of the Border War, Angolan members of 32 Battalion were moved to Pomfret. Photo: Shaun Swingler

Implicated in human rights abuses during the last years of apartheid, 32 Battalion veterans and their families have been left in limbo in the military town of Pomfret. Living in abject circumstances, they have endured broken promises and face an uncertain future.

Vhafamadi High School in Limpopo was built with Lottery money, but the tenders went to dodgy contractors who did a poor job. Photo: Raymond Joseph

The Lottery was controversial for targeting poor people from the day it started. But the counter-argument was that it would be used for pro-poor projects. We ran a series of stories this year exposing projects gone bad and corruption.

Tristan Manh (14) from Mitchells Plain hoists a barbell during a weight lifting competition. Mitchells Plain Powerlifting Club hosted the competition for the township’s Open Streets celebration. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Robot 5 was built entirely from scrap, says Hoosain Dixon. Dixon is an Athlone artist who specialises in building robots. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Residents of Redhill near Simon’s Town in Cape Town have been waiting for years for government housing. Photo: Thembela Ntongana

“When Mandela was released from prison in 1994 I was staying in this place and had been here for years.” Sixty-six-year-old shack dweller Nowethu Ngxangana is one of hundreds of Redhill residents hoping for a house in the new Dido Valley housing project.

The 2017 trend of train arson (when this photo was taken) continued this year, with dozens of carriages burnt beyond repair. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

New forensic reports, by Werksmans, on corruption at PRASA were leaked to commuter activist group #UniteBehind and handed to GroundUp. The reports have been sitting with Parliament for most of the year; it’s unclear why they have not been officially released. The reports continue to paint a picture of grand-scale corruption at the state-owned enterprise. In particular, they show why security on Metrorail has collapsed. They implicate one of Jacob Zuma’s key backers, Roy Moodley.

© 2018 GroundUp.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Of the trillion photos taken in 2018, which were the most memorable?

What makes some images memorable and others easily forgotten? It’s a question I’ve been studying for nearly 20 years.

Estimates suggest that more than 1 trillion photos were taken in 2018.

With so many in circulation, it’s difficult for any single photo to capture our attention and become a famed iconic image.

In the golden age of photojournalism, news photographs became iconic largely because they appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world – think Iwo Jima and the Hindenburg.

But that age has come to an end: Digital journalism and social media have changed the way we consume images. Each day, audiences are bombarded with photos. Many are shocking, inspiring and heartbreaking. But in their overwhelming volume, they’re easily forgotten.

Nonetheless, some do rise to the top.

Two colleagues and I developed a model to help predict when and how certain images may become widely known.

The model shows that certain characteristics of an image – such as its timeliness, its cultural resonance, its political potency or its likelihood of being turned into a meme – can influence its rise and reach.

Images that exhibit these qualities can quickly go viral, turning them into what communication scholars call “instant news icons.” While these images don’t typically endure to become truly historic, they nonetheless help citizens navigate and understand complex events.

So which images did this in 2018?

Enough is enough

On Feb. 14, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. Following such a mass shooting, there’s a predictable pattern of news media coverage – breaking news reports filled with speculation, details about the perpetrator, elected officials responding with “thoughts and prayers” and debates about mental health and gun control.

But after the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, we saw something new: images of resistance. The students there spoke fervently, demanding action from elected officials.

These images of resistance spurred school walkouts and nationwide protests, culminating in the March For Our Lives.

A photo of firefighters goes viral

Forest fires continued to rage in 2018.

During the devastating Carr Fire that burned more than 200,000 acres and claimed the lives of three firefighters, Redding, California resident Richard Tuggle captured a photo of five firefighters resting in a backyard in his neighborhood on July 27. The firefighters were clearly reeling from the exhaustion of battling the deadly fire.

Richard Tuggle went to check on his home, saw three firefighters taking a break, snapped a photo and posted it online, where it quickly went viral.
Richard Tuggle/Facebook

What’s particularly interesting about this photo and its rise to prominence is that it was captured by a citizen rather than a journalist. The photo went viral on social media and was ultimately picked up by news outlets across the country, showing how instant news icons can come from citizens as well as journalists in this new age of photography.

Kavanaugh confronts #MeToo

Amid controversy and protests, the Senate narrowly confirmed Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court on Oct. 6.

The contentious confirmation hearings pitted the image of an incensed Kavanaugh against images of impassioned protesters standing in solidarity with a calm, composed Christine Blasey Ford.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool

Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool

Security cameras upend the Saudi narrative

In early October, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared. The Saudis initially denied that they had anything to do with his disappearance.

But security-camera footage emerged showing Khashoggi entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. It served as evidence to support the claim – later confirmed – that he was killed inside.

CCTV video obtained by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.
CCTV/Hurriyet via AP

In this case, the image was captured by a security camera, rather than a photographer. Nonetheless, it became an instant news icon. It’s just another example of the changing nature of the production and consumption of news imagery.

Time magazine named journalists as their 2018 Person of the Year, partly in response to the Khashoggi killing.

Devastation in Yemen

A devastating war in Yemen has led to economic instability and widespread food shortages.

On Oct. 26, The New York Times published photojournalist Tyler Hicks’ gut-wrenching images of starving Yemeni children.

A few days later we learned that Amal Hussain, the 7-year-old girl in Hicks’ haunting photo, had died.

Journalists have continued to document this humanitarian crisis. In mid-December the Senate voted to end U.S. military support to Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

But the crisis continues, and millions of people still face starvation.

The politics of immigration

Political, economic and ethical debates about immigration dominated the year, with two photos driving the conversation.

Getty photographer John Moore’s image of a 2-year-old Honduran girl in a pink shirt sobbing as U.S. Border Patrol agents searched her mother became the face of Trump’s “zero tolerance” family separation policy. The image was even modified for a Time magazine cover under the headline “Welcome to America.”

John Moore’s photograph of a young Honduran girl sobbing instantly came to symbolize the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policy.
John Moore/Getty Images

The image continued to spur discussion after it was made clear that the mother and daughter were not actually separated. However, hundreds of other children have been separated from their parents and recently a 7-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody died.

Then, on Nov. 25, Reuters photojournalist Kim Kyung-Hoon snapped a picture of a mother and her twin daughters fleeing tear gas at the border wall between the U.S. and Tijuana, Mexico. Appearing in news outlets and on social media feeds across the country, it spurred further public and political outrage.

Some said the photo effectively contradicted Trump’s narrative that refugees were dangerous. Others noted that the photo evoked the iconic image of a naked Vietnamese girl screaming in pain following a napalm attack.

Nicole Smith Dahmen, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

What's wrong with Huawei, and why are countries banning the Chinese telecommunications firm?

A major Chinese technology firm is under international scrutiny for its potential role in spying.
AP Photo/Andy Wong

The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei is under scrutiny around the globe over concerns that its close ties with the Chinese government present national security threats to the U.S., Europe and allied countries. Huawei, which denies all the allegations against it, is “the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms gear” and has plans to “dominate the market” for the next generation of wireless communications, called 5G. But its hopes are threatened by governments around the world, which are restricting the company’s prospects and even banning it from operating in some areas.

No Chinese company is fully independent of its government, which reserves the right to require companies to assist with intelligence gathering. Huawei is even more closely tied to the government than many Chinese firms: Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former technologist in the People’s Liberation Army. As his company grew, so did international concerns about whether Huawei equipment could be used to spy on companies and governments around the world.

As far back as 2003, the company was accused of stealing intellectual property, including from U.S.-based network hardware maker Cisco. The companies settled out of court, but Huawei has been accused of stealing other firms’ intellectual property and violating international economic sanctions. Throughout 2018, a flurry of activity has signaled the level of concern in the international intelligence community, and pressure on the company – and other Chinese technology firms – has mounted.

Months of setbacks

In February, the heads of six U.S. intelligence agencies told a Senate committee they didn’t trust Huawei or its rival ZTE, which is also based in China, and would recommend Americans not use the company’s smartphones or other equipment.

Six top U.S. intelligence officials told the Senate they didn’t trust Huawei or ZTE not to spy on American citizens, businesses and government agencies.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

On July 17, the intelligence chiefs of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand reportedly met in person, in part to make plans to publicize their concerns about allowing Huawei equipment to operate in their countries and governments.

Two days later, the United Kingdom’s government-run lab specifically set up to evalute Huawei hardware and software reported finding “shortcomings” in Huawei’s engineering processes that raised security risks. After a big push from the British government, Huawei agreed to spend US$2 billion to address those problems.

In mid-August, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed, a law specifically prohibiting U.S. government agencies from purchasing or using telecommunications and surveillance products from Chinese companies like ZTE and Huawei – both of which are named in the law.

A week later, Australia announced a similar ban, barring firms “who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government” from supplying equipment for its nationwide 5G rollout. The announcement did not specifically name Huawei or ZTE, but Huawei criticized the decision as political and based in “ideological prejudices,” rather than actual security concerns.

In late November, New Zealand’s intelligence agency barred Huawei from participating in its 5G development, citing “significant national security risks.”



In Canada, where telecommunications companies use Huawei equipment extensively, the government is still discussing a possible ban. But the country did arrest Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wangzhou, who is also the daughter of the company’s founder, as a result of a U.S. allegation that she violated international sanctions against Iran. China threatened Canada with “severe consequences” if Meng was not released immediately. She is now out on bail with extradition proceedings pending.

Days after Meng’s arrest, the private company that dominates U.K. telecommunications, BT Group, announced it was removing Huawei equipment from its existing mobile networks, and would not use Huawei technology in future mobile systems.

In early December, Japan also announced it was poised to ban Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks.

In mid-December, French telecommunications company Orange, previously known as France Telecom, announced it would not use Huawei equipment in its 5G network.

And Germany’s Deutsche Telekom said it was reviewing security concerns about Huawei equipment.

On Dec. 17 Czech authorities warned their citizens against using Huawei equipment for security reasons.

Tensions over evidence

All these countries and companies are expressing concern that China’s government could exploit Huawei’s technology to spy on them, stealing corporate or government or military secrets.

Tensions between free commerce and national security are not new. Security skeptics, and those who favor free and open trade, will ask to see evidence supporting the claims that Huawei, ZTE or other foreign companies have spied, or might spy, on conversations and data transmissions. Security proponents will counter that the evidence must remain secret, to protect intelligence operations.

The situation with these Chinese companies is even more challenging, because the full extent of any relationship between Huawei and the Chinese government is masked. However, it’s extremely rare for the U.S. and allied governments to take the sorts of steps they have taken to restrict specific companies. Those moves suggest that – even without detailed public proof – there is solid evidence supporting the intelligence community’s worries.

The focus of many security agencies and countries on Huawei’s involvement in 5G systems raises the stakes, too: The next generation of wireless technology is expected to fuel even more connectivity in the “internet of things,” linking smart cars, smart homes and smart cities together. Billions of devices will be involved, all communicating with each other, forming what could become a surveillance web over much of the planet, and exponentially expanding the number of potential targets for spying. As governments seek to ensure 5G is secure and trusted around the world, Huawei may find its prospects limited by its links to the Chinese government.

Frank J. Cilluffo, Director, McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, Auburn University and Sharon L. Cardash, Deputy Director, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, Auburn University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Why the ANC itself is the chief impediment to Ramaphosa’s agenda

South African’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. One of the biggest obstacles to his success is the party he leads, the ANC. Fllickr/GCIS

Even his detractors would concede that Cyril Ramaphosa has greatly improved the political atmosphere in South Africa since assuming the presidency in February 2018. True, the scope for any further deterioration was minimal. So squalid was his predecessor’s rule that virtually any new leader from outside the Zuma patronage machine would have offered some respite and improvement.

That said, Ramaphosa provided a reassuring presence and brought an impressive skills set to the position. He was considered a safe pair of hands, a skilled negotiator, conversant in international diplomacy and economics, untainted by corruption, and a competent administrator – all qualities sorely lacking in his predecessor.

He has drawn on a substantial reservoir of goodwill – at home and abroad - from people who have been only too keen to give him the benefit of the doubt. As a result 2018 has been a year of relatively easy wins. But that indulgence is unlikely to continue long into 2019.

Merely improving on Zuma’s shameful presidency is to set the bar of achievement extremely low. Ramaphosa must deliver substantial improvements in 2019. He needs to improve the quality of governance. He must also combine economic progress with social justice. And do so in the heat of a general election campaign which is likely to be fiercely contested and in which he requires an emphatic victory to give credibility to his leadership.

Unfortunately for Ramaphosa, however, all the principal barriers to his success resides within the African National Congress (ANC) itself. The broader national fixation with the malign nature of Zuma’s presidency perhaps allowed an underlying fact to be obscured, namely that the country has a systemic ANC problem rather than simply a Zuma problem. As he tries to advance his agenda Ramaphosa will confront this political reality sooner rather than later.

A toxic legacy

Ramaphosa has been handed a poisoned chalice. The nine-year Zuma presidency left South Africa in dire straits. The country remains one of the most unequal societies on earth. Anticipated growth is below 1%, unemployment is catastrophically high at over 27% and 12 million people continue to live in absolute poverty.

And if that wasn’t enough, the education system (the best long-term hope for inclusive economic development) is chronically under-performing, corruption has become all pervasive and the country attracts insufficient levels of foreign direct investment.

Zuma also left an array of state institutions and state-owned enterprises in a dysfunctional condition, often systematically looted by private interests around the former president.

Ramaphosa has been actively seeking to address this array of problems. His agenda is both congested and complex. He is trying to restore clean, orderly and functional government and to build a state capable of driving development. He’s also working to halt and reverse the state capture and corruption of the Zuma era which is now being exposed by the Zondo commission.

But instead of having a party that’s working with him, the ANC often acts as a drag on his ability to fix things, and is often at odds with his agenda.

Why the ANC’s the problem

The ANC is a cumbersome and unwieldy instrument with which to deliver effective government. Its eclectic character hinders decision making. For fear of antagonising various factions within the broad church, equivocation replaces policy clarity.

Policies are replaced by bland declarations, a lowest common denominator approach designed to preserve ANC unity. In this sense the ANC is serving as a brake on the country moving forward in other ways too.

In addition, Ramaphosa’s commitment to restore constitutional rule is odds with the ANC’s culture of exceptionalism which drives its politics. A combination of its role as leader in the struggle and its huge election victories has caused the party to view itself as a unique political actor. It considers itself synonymous with the nation. And it dismisses its opponents as illegitimate or as threats to liberation of which it remains the sole custodian.

Ramaphosa’s commitment also clashes with the long-standing ANC commitment to use the state as an instrument of its will. This is an approach that long predated the Zuma presidency. Ramaphosa’s desire for a capable state and his efforts to clean up state owned enterprises and promote efficiency and expertise fundamentally contradicts this approach. It also is at odds with the ANC practice of deploying functionaries throughout the state apparatus. This ensures that party loyalty is prioritised over anything else.

This means that Ramaphosa’s emphasis on technocratic capabilities will not be allowed to proceed unchallenged.

Embedded corruption

This brings us to the final ANC obstacle in his path.

Corruption is now deeply embedded in the ANC at all levels. In parts of the country it more closely resembles a criminal enterprise than a political party. Tender corruption, the rampant plundering of state assets, and kickbacks have become the new normal.

Attempting to turn back this tidal wave of malfeasance will lie beyond the powers of one individual, however well intentioned. A sustained anti-corruption crusade will pose an existential threat to the material self-interest of ANC elites. It will generate intense resistance even if, for appearances sake, that opposition will have to be couched in pseudo-political language.

Complicating Ramaphosa’s position still further is his relatively fragile position in the ANC - a product of his narrow leadership victory in December 2017 - and the fact that he still has to deal with a divided National Executive Committee and an ANC “top six”. Both contain the very gangsterish and corrupt elements he is committed to defeating.

Ramaphosa finds himself in the unenviable position of having to use the ANC as an instrument to clean up the state when the deep-seated corruption is largely the product of the very same organisation. Noble intentions and talk of “new dawns” notwithstanding, nobody should hold their breath waiting for success on that front.




James Hamill, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

McDonald's is a social and healthcare burden – whatever its charity PR might indicate

aboutmcdonalds/flickr, CC BY-SA

Stepping into a McDonald’s in Dublin, the front window is covered with little yellow cut-outs of children’s hands. Donation boxes are displayed prominently on the counter top when you order. By donating €1 with your Happy Meal order, McDonald’s can transform you, body and soul, by putting tasty food in your child’s belly and a warm glow in your heart.

The donation goes to Ronald McDonald House, a charity whose Founding Mission Partner is McDonald’s. The charity offers vital accommodation to the parents of sick children. Its latest fundraising campaign aims to build a 53-room house at Ireland’s new national children’s hospital. A vital, noble cause, but how and why is it related to the burger and fries you just bought? Let’s step back a little and view the fuller picture.

McDonald’s has sustained catastrophic brand damage in the last two decades, as the tide turns against both the industry of fast food and its brand behemoth, due to health, labour and environmental criticisms. McDonaldisation, McJobs, McJunk, McLibel are all common currency to describe the low-wages, precariousness, slick marketing and poor foods, cultural imperialism and economically homogenising force that McDonald’s represents.

Of course, there have been recent moves on the part of the brand to make its Happy Meals more healthy, but this step blindsides us from McDonald’s most important strategy of recent years: the dedicated way the brand builds an enchanted, seamless, full sensory experience. To put it simply, it’s hard to order those carrot sticks in a place that smells of delectable French fries and has touch screen menus that foreground big strawberry sundaes.

McDonald’s: bringing people together?
RonaldMcDonaldHC/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Further undermining its “healthy” new image, consumer research has demonstrated that adding healthy additions to what is otherwise an unhealthy eating environment actually prompts people to eat even more unhealthily. McDonald’s sales say it all: while they have added salads and fruit to their menus, this is only a tiny fraction of their market. This reflects the deep disconnect between their corporate social responsibility speak and their strategic ambition to “convert casual to committed customers” and “enhance snack and treat offerings”.

From marketing to PR

Aside from straight-up marketing and advertising, McDonalds, like other corporations, relies on public relations strategies that are less tangible and take indirect paths into our consciousness. McDonald’s PR positions the company as caring and moral, and as having the same concerns as the community.

This happens through a cognitive process that every first year business student learns: classical conditioning. Take a thing that evokes an innate, intense emotional response (a cute puppy, a sunset, a sick child), and pair it with a thing that doesn’t evoke the same response (a toilet roll, a perfume, a fast-food restaurant). Over time, a powerful meaning transfer happens. The second thing comes to evoke an emotion similar to the first.

McDonald’s cannot advertise the golden arches on hospital buildings, or persuade paediatricians to give Big Mac stickers to kids. Such direct methods are technically legal in most countries in the world but would backfire because the brand commands so little trust or respect.

Instead, McDonald’s frames itself as a facilitator through which community can gather. It “donates” money to charity. It “allows” the charity to place permanent collection boxes prominently on its counter tops, helping customers to help this worthy cause. It “gives” a portion of every sale of its Happy Meal. It “lends” the charity crucial expertise through having McDonald’s management on the charity board of trustees. It “celebrates” its employees who volunteer their time and energy to the cause. It “helps” organise events like the “Pop Tab” campaign, which encourages children to collect tabs from soft-drink cans in exchange for a pledge from the company. It “gives permission” to Ronald McDonald House to use McDonald’s brand assets and other corporate resources.

It’s a classic PR strategy – you appropriate the signs and meaning that comes from the roots of community and background the brand itself. This puts the brand in the character role most loved in all mythic tales: the humble, generous and deeply kind servant, only too happy to help. McDonald’s successfully uses the gratitude parents naturally feel for what should be a basic right – to be beside their children when they are sick.

The link that Ronald McDonald House creates between itself and sick children is not just positive, it is sacrosanct. The final result of this 40-year PR strategy? Taking care of sick children seems like an impossible task without the help of a fast-food brand.

Kids get involved in a Ronald McDonald House project, 2012.
Maryland GovPics/Flickr, CC BY

Who’s responsible?

In most countries there are not enough public resources to care for the carers of sick children. They are “externality costs” that the health system cannot, or chooses not, to take on. The medical model draws a boundary around the sick child as the physical body in the hospital bed, taking away the tendrils that attach them to what sustains them emotionally and physically: their family.

Covering the cost of this seems to be off the table for public health systems. As a result, we outsource this extended care to the highest bidder. Yet our governments absorb other externality costs: health budgets pay, for example, for the consequences of obesity. There is a causal link between food brand marketing and obesity, but no food company incorporates that cost into its bottom line.

There is a direct link between fast food marketing and obesity.
Napocska/Shutterstock.com

Concerns about the presence of Ronald McDonald in children’s hospitals don’t arise from a lack of appreciation for the good work the charity does, nor even from anti-commercial sentiment or smug distaste for a junk brand, but out of recognition that the dangers to public health are unacceptably high, however pernicious and unquantifiable they are. One could target chocolate and football or beer and rugby instead, but the provision of indirect care to the sickest and most vulnerable citizens within Ireland’s flagship paediatric hospital by Ronald McDonald House is a good place for the frontline in the war on obesity to be drawn.

We pay for obesity. For example, Ireland’s cost of obesity is predicted to reach €5.4 billion by 2030. McDonald’s support of the Ronald McDonald charity in Ireland, meanwhile, is €90,000. So from one perspective, McDonald’s is not giving at all, but taking. McDonald’s is a social, fiscal, healthcare burden in Ireland and presumably everywhere else it sells its delicious, convenient, cheap food that is high in sugar, salt and fat.

Our failure to mitigate this is symptomatic of a moralistic view of obesity as a personal choice, despite the fact that the nature of the spread of the obesity epidemic is also down to dietary environmental factors, such as the widespread introduction of cheap and potent sweetening agents such as high fructose corn syrup.

McDonald’s should be less concerned about their public relations and market share and more concerned about a changing sentiment. There is ever growing public support for the implementation of ambitious and sweeping public health initiatives like complete bans on marketing junk food to children and minimum unit pricing for alcohol. Legislators and policy makers should therefore feel encouraged to do their bit to protect us from these undeniable harms.

Norah Campbell, Assistant Professor in Marketing, Trinity College Dublin and Francis Finucane, Professor of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.