Victor Dlamini

My latest column for The Daily Maverick:

When did it become a status symbol to spend more time and money hunting down a complimentary ticket than it would cost to just buy the thing?

The strange thing about freeloaders is that they aren’t hard up; those addicted to freebies are usually middle-class professionals. I have come to realise that for many of them it is not about the money, but rather a matter of personal pride to get something for free. Then they can boast about how well-connected they are to receive these freebies. And I don’t mean that they accept the odd gift here and there, with which there is nothing wrong. These are people who have positioned themselves at the front of the queue for anything they can get.

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