The late Piet Koornhof was a jovial chap who seemed to deliberately obscure the contradictions in apartheid policy with convoluted explanations that nobody could understand.
He once said to a journalist who admitted after an interview that he had not understood him: "Well, that's exactly what I want you to convey."
As Sports Minister he complained that when he tried to explain sports policy people thought he was joking, and when he told a joke people thought he was describing the policy.
It was no joke, of course, that black people were discriminated against in sport.
But there are often contradictions even today in the politics of a full democracy.
I am always amused when the proponents of "decent jobs" praise the "work opportunities" of the Expanded Public Works Programme that pay only R1000 a month and last 45 days on average.