I'm writing this article in response to this one: http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/How-Mandela-sold-out-blacks-20120717
In short, the author couldn't be more wrong. I hope he reads this and realises how and why. I hope he discovers that the only way this country will become a shining beacon is by reading the facts of the matter that I shall describe and lay down in the body of what comes below.
The author mentions he was 5 when the first democratic elections came around in 1994. I was 7. Not much older, not much wiser. I do remember though that I was still gripped by the excitement and anticipation that flowed through the nation on that fateful day. I remember I only had one name on my mind Nelson Mandela. Now bear in mind - I was a white child, raised by a white family, a family who like many others, worked tirelessly to make ends meet, educate me and my siblings and put food on the table - like most other families in this country did then and still do now.
But in 1994, I was inspired by the feeling hope that was so easily picked up on. I knew even at that age, that this man would change the lives of the 40 odd million people in South Africa at the time.
Nelson Mandela painted a picture of one nation, united. The Rainbow Nation. Many colours in one, together. He never mentioned that we are a Black Nation, now a White Nation, nor an Indian Nation, nor a Bushman Nation. We are the Rainbow Nation, and we are all South Africans - He wanted us to forgive, learn from our past and build a new future together.
Nelson Mandela was the man who delivered us the opportunity of freedom and the means to start afresh. He started the ball rolling towards a bright new future. Because of his age, he was unfortunately only able to over see one tenure as president. He would have to leave it up to the party that he belonged to - The ANC, to further his vision of a truly unified South Africa.
In 1994 I was 7. The author was 5. We had both been born into what was effectively a post-apartheid South Africa. At that age, we did not experience the apartheid system at first hand. In fact, we were born at the beginning of an era of opportunity.
I started school in 1993. The Author by my calculations in 1995/6. He started and finished school in the New South Africa - In theory, we have had equal opportunity to learn and go out into the world seeking our fortunes.
Over this period, and over the tenure of 2 presidents, the ANC had a job. To make this country better than what it was before 1994.Let's review what existed in South Africa at the time of the elections:
- A pristine road network.- Functional and successful agriculture.- A world class education system.- A police force with excellent response times functionality.- A functional defense force.- Quick and effective service delivery.- A crime rate lower than what it is now.- A strong economy.
The above is remarkable, as South Africa had achieved all of this amid heavy sanctions.
So the ANC essentially had half their work done. All they needed to do was to maintain the infrastructure and services that existed already. However, over the years, these are all now non existent, barely functional or a poor reflection of what they used to be. Corruption is rife, farms affected by land claims are in poor or non functional condition, our education system is laughable, our police force underfunded, under supplied and full of corruption, our services suspended half the time due to strike action, a crime rate, despite all efforts to sugar coat it, still incredibly high and an economy burdened by increasing tariffs from monopolies such as Eskom and Telkom and heavy taxation on fuel.
While the ANC inherited a lot of functional services in 1994, they also admittedly had a steep hill to climb with others:
- Millions needed basic services such as clean water and electricity.- These same people needed homes.- A fair and effective system needed to be effected in order to balance corporate demographics. - Recreational development needed to be implemented in the sporting world.- Those that committed atrocities against people of colour had to be held accountable.
Now lets look at today.
The homeless are worse off than they were in 1994. Most still have no running water and no electricity.
There are a few black people holding positions of power. Some of them took 1994 as a new beginning and built themselves up to it. Others used friends in high places, money from the wrong places, and placed themselves in a position where they earn lots of money, yet know nothing of the knowledge, experience and leadership that position requires. Some of these companies are struggling now. This leads to a poor GDP, and in turn, weakens our economy.
Sports quotas implemented failed miserably, because the player was not there on merit, but because of the colour of his skin. He knew it, the team knew it - the supporters knew it. Sport started losing its shine of camaraderie, team spirit and fellowship.
The persons responsible for apartheid got what they deserved, yet the rest of the white population, a lot whom had been against the system of apartheid from the start, were unfairly labeled and still are today.
The other odd thing that has happened - The ANC has brainwashed its supporters into thinking that all land in South Africa is theirs. I have news for them. Like the European settlers, they too traveled from distant lads in East Africa. Both groups of people came here at roughly the same time. However, the Bushman, now largely gone from our land, were here for 10's of thousands of years. Yet they were killed off because their idea that the land and its produce belonged to everyone didn't sit so well with the people that they took the cattle and food from. They had no notion of ownership. The land provided for all.
Its funny as well that there seems to be more favouritism toward only the black people, who enjoy the most benefits from affirmative action and preferred entry into universities, yet ANC forgets that all people of colour were persecuted in the old days. Surely these people should benefit the same as black people?
Proof of the ANC brainwashing the people was in a very clever, yet cunningly true advert that Nandos made recently. Too true it seems for those in government and the ANC. It showed the glaring truth.
As mentioned by me before in previous articles, there is no one to blame for our current state of affairs excepting the ANC. The blame cannot be laid on the shoulders of the apartheid system if things are worse now then what they were before. That just doesn't make logical sense. But its so easy to blame the white people. They were the ones in charge. They're the ones who have money.
Well, lets lay the story straight.
The ANC has had 18 years to implement a logical system to ensure that we had a more equal demographic society by now...it should have been something like this:
- Start from the ground up. Initiate training workshops in the poor communities such as learning a trade.- Earmark those people of colour entering companies way back in 1994 to be preferred first for promotion and help them develop and grow into a career so that the necessary education and experience is gained and earned. The same strategy should have been implemented in sports.- Sporting workshops should have been developed, encouraged and funded in order to ensure that people could enter a national or first team on ability and merit, not because of the colour of their skin. - Instead of living lavish lifestlyes and spending billions on unnecessary items such as expensive, flashy cars and massive, luxurious homes, the ANC could have instead directed as much money as possible into the RDP, ensured that fair and legit tenders were awarded to ensure that the much needed homes were built.- The farms should have been left alone. Maybe a batter way to go about the 'redistribution of land' would have been the offering of a percentage of profits for each year to legit original owners. To kick families and knowledge off of the literal breadbasket of our country is only asking for more poverty and high prices. There is nothing we can do to change the locations of our farms and game reserves. These are important contributors to our nation in the form of food and GDP. The best other way to work with land distribution is to work together and involve the communities in the. running of the farms. This would in turn help teach communities about sustainable development and and help them move away from subsistence.- The Government should have insured from a start that the people who help teach, care and clean our country should be paid better. They should have left our education system alone as well.
Above are but a few suggestions and points...there are plenty more, some I am sure will come to light in the comments below.
To address the author I mentioned at the beginning - Mandela did not sell out the Black People. The ANC has and is doing so still.
Each election big promises are made and communities helped, the people are reminded how the ANC won the freedom of the people.
Yet each day more and more go hungry, homeless and uneducated - and this is not only black people. People of all colours.
Yet those lucky to know ministers and MP's have jobs and tenders handed to them on a platter. Lucrative deals are signed with other countries with scant regard for South Africans themselves, such as this: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Mining/KZN-approves-controversial-dune-mine-20120720-2, or massive contracts and jobs signed off to the Chinese instead of being offered to our own jobless people. All this so those in power can be driven around in luxury and sleep in total comfort.
The nationalisation debate - Who do you think will benefit the most? The people???? You are so sadly mistaken. Only those who are put 'In Charge' and their buddies will benefit. The workers will still be paid poor wages and the average citizen in the street will not see even 1 cent.
And this is the crux of the matter. White people are no longer in charge. The party so remarkably idolised by its people, the ANC is in charge, and have been for 18 years...nearly 2 whole decades - essentially overseeing the birth and development of one whole generation of citizens in the new South Africa, and inheriting the beginnings of one other...mine.
My generation and those that were here before me are now taxpayers and contributors to the ANC coffers, coffers that over the last 18 years should have been used wisely. 18 years over this amount of time with tax payments from at least 20 million taxpayers should have been more than enough to provide the homes and services that were promised to the deserving people who voted so earnestly in hope of change in 1994. And lets be honest here...these were mostly people of colour who voted them in.
So instead of laying the blame on the man who fought so hard for justice, for freedom, for unity and acceptance among ALL people is short sighted, ignorant and shameful. He saw 5 years in government. The ANC has been in power for more than a decade since. The answer is therefore obvious. To slide downhill and have the situation worse rather than better after such a length of time points to those who should have been the ones who improved and made our country 100 times what it was in 1994.
Nelson Mandela's dream lies in tatters not because of shady dealings with white politicians and wealthy white businessmen but because of the greed of those who used his legacy and hard work for their own good.
The author quoted the following from the Freedom Charter:"The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people; the mineral wealth beneath the soil; the banks and monopoly industries shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole; all other industries and trade shall be controlled to assist the well-being of the people," the charter states.
Let's interpret this logically:
"The national wealth of our county, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people."
This would be the correct use of our taxes, used wisely and appropriately, to provide the people with the basic services that we all have a right too - electricity from the coal in our ground, water from the mountains and rain in our country, and homes built from the resources in our soil. To further add to that, the roads we drive on to get to our schools and workplaces, where we contribute and add to the country's future.I think its safe to say that this is still largely not the case.
"the mineral wealth beneath the soil; the banks and monopoly industries shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole"
I merely need to point to this article mentioned earlier in the article: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Mining/KZN-approves-controversial-dune-mine-20120720-2The natural beauty of this country is OUR heritage, and as stated in the previous point, provides for us. In the case of this article, this project will destroy the landscape and possibly pollute it forever. It will affect a nature reserve that was designated for the preservation of our wildlife, so that those in our future may still hopefully have the privilege of seeing true nature, instead of reading about in history books.This deal stinks of underhanded deals and government greed so that a few powers that be can live in luxury at the expense of many and the environment that makes this country so unique and special.And all of this is going to a foreign company intent on destroying our country for their own financial gains. And monopoly industries? Well, the ANC has dealings with Telkom and Eskom, the two biggest monopolies in the country. And we as the consumer only get screwed with ridiculous increases.
"all other industries and trade shall be controlled to assist the well-being of the people"
This basically means that there will be no unfair treatment of employees, that fair business practices will be followed, and that the consumer is not ripped off and has the right to choose and have access to legit, quality products. But I just need to point to the point above about Eskom and Telkom, and I've made my point.
So yes, the author is right in a small sense. The ANC has failed their own Freedom Charter. But his views on how are sadly skewed.
So to the author - in the end, who can blame your narrow minded, arrogant and uninformed point of view - you were educated in the bungled and destroyed education system, under a government who can only blame the past for our situation and languishes in the affection and glory of a largely uneducated voting population - beneficial because they know that if the people fully understood just how little the ANC actually cares for its people and how much they cared for their own back pockets, they'd have never have the support that they enjoy now. Ignorance is bliss - and in the minds of the ANC - Power.
Power corrupts; Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Appropriate don't you think?
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