Out of all stories of heroism and gallantry, the story of Robin Hood is one of a few that challenges our orthodox view of what a hero should be and how they should behave. This was a thief, scoundrel and vagabond (at least by definition of the powerful) but loved by many he provided for. We all have some sort of respect for Robin despite the fact that he feeds the poor by stealing from the rich. We excuse his actions because his true intentions are pure and the fact that he steals from those that acquired their wealth by trampling over the poor helps solidify this deep sense of passion we have for his cause.
It seems throughout the years this hero’s story and strategies inspired more than the people of his epoch. We have seen great men of power rise from the ashes to be the heroes that work for their people and become so revered in their communities that the mere mention of their name sends their followers into hysteria. Some of these men though are not quite like the real Robin. It is not only their actions which can be questioned but their true intentions as well.
South Africa has an over abundance of Robin Hoods, all of whom live in the dense forest of the African National Congress. They come from the people and “represent” the people; their foes are the rich capitalists who attained their wealth through trampling over the poor; their communities look to them to answer the call for a hero and they have taken it upon themselves to be those heroes; since they have very “little” resources to help the poor they have resorted to questionable means of stealing from the rich to feed the poor.
The problem here is that a lot of us cannot seem to inspire a deep sense of passion for their cause. Perhaps it’s because of the major differences they have to the real Robin. For one, despite Robin’s success, he never left the “hood”; Robin stole and never cut deals behind closed doors; he stole for the people and the little that was stolen was shared equally amongst all; Robin did not do these things for a title of King but for absolute fairness.
None of these Robins from the ANC is as prolific in heroism as Cyril Ramaphosa. The man holds positions in boards of more companies than I can count. MTN is currently going through a law suit from a Turkish company alleging that MTN was given a license in Iran on the basis that the SA government backs their nuclear ambitions. It’s hard not to believe the Turkish company when a member of the NEC in a governing party also holds an office/interest in a company that allegedly used the government to get a license. Sounds like a classic Robin Hood story (SA version) to me.
Cyril Ramaphosa owns BEE companies that own shares in companies like Sanlam, Bidvest and SEACOM amongst others through his Shanduka group and every other Robin Hood aspires to be like him. His success is not too conspicuous to be irrelevant to the people but he is prominent enough to cut a slice off the capitalistic pie for himself. He is a perfect example of a well established modern day Robin Hood in South Africa and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is behind the rise of Julius.
You see, the modern day Robin Hood in South Africa uses BEE as the arrow that cuts the pie from who they have labeled as thieves. The irony here is that the same thieves are the geese that lay the golden egg. While the majority look to them to redistribute this pie evenly amongst all, they keep it to themselves under the false illusion that there’s not enough for all. They give false hopes to the masses that they cannot help the poor if they are part of them, that they need to move up the corporate ladder into unimaginable riches to open the door for all while they are busy stuffing their own pockets and slowly closing the door on the faces of the poor.
The truth is…… The modern day Robin Hood sold out.
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