I wrote, but never posted, a little piece about COPE doing an idiotic thing. It is now history that COPE’s “no confidence” vote on Zuma was defeated – as was expected. Why does the opposition bump their heads against a rock? Why can’t they pick the fights that are not so obvious they are going to lose?
In this current ANC cock-up, the people of South Africa hunger for political leadership especially from credible Black people. I think the climate is fertile for a voice of reason and an emergent leader or leadership.
The current ANC is trampling on the freedoms of most South Africans. The Zuma Mob acts like they are the law unto themselves. They violate the Constitution with impunity and they loot the State coffers with no shame and conscience.
Here’s a message for COPE, other opposition parties and concerned South Africans (if someone can pass it along to them):
• Forget parliament as a battle ground. The sycophantic ANC majority will defeat any motion, no matter the substance.
• Organize rallies (should not wait for election time) to extol the virtues of Members of Parliament being elected by the people. In other words, the vote should not be for the party but for individuals. That way, MPs and other elected officials would be accountable to their constituencies rather than to party leaders.
• With Zuma as an example of how not to be a President of a country like South Africa, and with the ANC Mob acting the way they do – doing idiotic things and then getting their spokespeople to deny thus insinuating the people of South Africa are fools – there can be no better time to rally the exploited masses around the need to elect individual representatives and not rely on party leadership to impose their choices on them.
• They should avoid a direct attack on the ANC or any of its leaders, but rather engage on efforts to inculcate in the people the values of democracy. They should tie such teaching with raising an awareness that the power of the people to elect their own representatives is not only the essence of freedom by also to means to attain and keep that very freedom. Of course, they should be made aware that freedom and responsibility that comes with it, is itself a power to transform their socio-economic milieu.
• Our schools and universities hunger for an alternative voice from that of Malema.
The time has come to fully liberate our people. Make them aware that they own the power to change their lives around. By the time election comes, they will have a populace that is ready to use their heads and not their hearts in matters of vote.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Ponder this synoptic view ...
White South Africans have the economic hegemony in South Africa and thus they control most of the wealth. Should we worry about white South Africans leaving the country en masse? Maybe, but I have a better question and answer.
Question: What is worse than white South Africans leaving the country en masse?
Answer: Those white South Africans - who left the country for fear of Black majority rule - coming back en masse.
The status quo:
· White people have economic power.
· Black people think they have political power. Even if they have, what good is political power if it does not contribute positively to the well-being of the majority of its populace?
· Majority of Black people is very poor and the prospects do not look good.
· The current ANC government
o Is not delivering satisfactorily to its Black constituency
o Is marginalizing the white people through AA and BEE deals.
o Condones race and careless rant by its members.
o Is corrupt and morally compromised.
o Is gradually alienating its supporters
o Undermines the Constitution
o Thinks and acts like the Mob.
o Is largely in denial (clueless, maybe).
· The Afrikaners are restive (this is huge)
The reaction (as I see it)
The poor will become restless and may revolt in one way or the other.
Abahlali base Mjondolo could garner lot more support
Violent protests may undermine whatever little bit the government tries to deliver
Crime rates will soar (and indication of desperation and poverty)
The Afrikaners will engage in their own ‘struggles’ and protests
If the article by Stanley Uys is anything to go by, they are mobilizing already.
They will get sympathy from those (of all races) who feel marginalized.
Economically speaking, their soft protests (such as withholding rates payments and other things) could have a crippling effect.
The consequence
Anarchy
Unless the ANC gets on top of things, Zuma (if he gets a another term) may just as well be the last of the ANC presidents.
Yes, the ANC could face demise, as we say in colloquial terms; Jesus Christ would have come back.
Imagine the impact of returning white exiles joining their comrades in the struggle against perceived marginalization. Remember, the ANC is gradually dismantling the unity Black people enjoyed under the vanguard of Black Consciousness once upon a time; so the Afrikaners will encounter no resistance from the poor Black majority - if anything they will have their support because the struggle will not be along racial lines but will be class-based.
Am I dreaming? Don’t hold your breath!
The big question is: “In whose interest is the current ANC working?”
Question: What is worse than white South Africans leaving the country en masse?
Answer: Those white South Africans - who left the country for fear of Black majority rule - coming back en masse.
The status quo:
· White people have economic power.
· Black people think they have political power. Even if they have, what good is political power if it does not contribute positively to the well-being of the majority of its populace?
· Majority of Black people is very poor and the prospects do not look good.
· The current ANC government
o Is not delivering satisfactorily to its Black constituency
o Is marginalizing the white people through AA and BEE deals.
o Condones race and careless rant by its members.
o Is corrupt and morally compromised.
o Is gradually alienating its supporters
o Undermines the Constitution
o Thinks and acts like the Mob.
o Is largely in denial (clueless, maybe).
· The Afrikaners are restive (this is huge)
The reaction (as I see it)
The poor will become restless and may revolt in one way or the other.
Abahlali base Mjondolo could garner lot more support
Violent protests may undermine whatever little bit the government tries to deliver
Crime rates will soar (and indication of desperation and poverty)
The Afrikaners will engage in their own ‘struggles’ and protests
If the article by Stanley Uys is anything to go by, they are mobilizing already.
They will get sympathy from those (of all races) who feel marginalized.
Economically speaking, their soft protests (such as withholding rates payments and other things) could have a crippling effect.
The consequence
Anarchy
Unless the ANC gets on top of things, Zuma (if he gets a another term) may just as well be the last of the ANC presidents.
Yes, the ANC could face demise, as we say in colloquial terms; Jesus Christ would have come back.
Imagine the impact of returning white exiles joining their comrades in the struggle against perceived marginalization. Remember, the ANC is gradually dismantling the unity Black people enjoyed under the vanguard of Black Consciousness once upon a time; so the Afrikaners will encounter no resistance from the poor Black majority - if anything they will have their support because the struggle will not be along racial lines but will be class-based.
Am I dreaming? Don’t hold your breath!
The big question is: “In whose interest is the current ANC working?”
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela- So right yet so horribly wrong
I adore Winnie Madikizela-Mandela – not just for her African beauty – but because of her resilience in the face of such major hardships, trials and tribulations she suffered at the hands of the brutal, inhumane and cruel oppressive regime. The scars are clearly visible.
I adored the manner with which she personally connected with the voiceless and downtrodden and her visibility when those people had to face the brutality of the system. I adored her courage which came as the result of her overcoming her own fears. Her courage and fearlessness rubbed off to the young lions who took up the fight to the oppressor. It was her passion and willingness to speak for the voiceless that makes me be prepared to overlook the serious mistakes and blots in her life.
But Winnie is now clearly a bitter and defeated woman. What a pity. The toll of her toils is beginning to catch up with her. And age is not making things any easier for her.
She is wrong about Mandela and Bishop Tutu. She is right about people like Steve Biko. But it is not Mandela who ignores and buries Biko. It is her own party that continues to downplay the contributions of people like Biko and Sobukwe; thus robbing our young people and future generations of a significant part of our history and people who ought to be their role models.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), if anything, was Winnie’s friend. I watched her brilliant defense on TRC and realized another quality in this woman – the Clinton smarts. The TRC also exposed her weaker side – the people she surrounded herself with at the time of the Stompie fiasco. They were a bunch of imbeciles, especially Jerry Richardson. She could have gotten herself a better team of people. But we understand, she was under constant surveillance and duress. She could not apply her mind freely and had very few choices.
TRC helped Winnie get forgiveness from Stompie’s mother (one wonders if Stompie’s mom fires on all cylinders); even though the Bishop had to beg Winnie to beg for forgiveness. Winnie should have taken the forgiveness received and began her atonement. TRC exposed her not as a bad woman, but one who acted under a severely strained judgment.
Winnie is definitely a beaten woman now. How can she forget the immense contribution from the selfless Bishop Tutu who in those days was the voice of the voiceless? How can she forget the evil and hardship that befell the Bishop from oppressors and puppets alike; especially when he almost singlehandedly called for sanctions (even punitive sanctions) against the Apartheid government? How can he forget the boycotts called and led by the Bishop in the face of repression and states of emergency?
Is she bitter maybe because of allegations that the Bishop was behind her being separated from Mandela?
The sad part is that Winnie puts the blame for the status quo on the wrong person. Mandela did what he had to do – before, in, and after prison. The power to transform our society socio-economically lies with the members in her NEC (unless they are clueless – as it seems to be the case).
No Winnie, it is not Mandela but the tenderpreneurs – such as Malema – who not only abuse the entrepreneurial privilege, but sell out the proud legacy of our struggle for freedom in South Africa. It is not the white people who hang on to their privileged positions, but those greedy black people who are prepared to from for them for three pieces of silver. It is those lucky individuals who would not want their loot to trickle down to the masses and thus spread the wealth. It is those unions who encourage teachers to stay away from classes and thereby contributing to the poor standard of education received by our kids.
It is those members of your organization who recalled a sitting president just because their wanted to install a corrupt and morally comprised person as the leader of an important country in Africa.
As a member of the NEC, Winnie I still believe in your power to instill some sense and direction in your movement. But, I believe you have to put the blame where it belongs – right at the door step of your organization. Get us better leaders and not selfish individuals who are in it for the loot. They are the real sellouts.
I adored the manner with which she personally connected with the voiceless and downtrodden and her visibility when those people had to face the brutality of the system. I adored her courage which came as the result of her overcoming her own fears. Her courage and fearlessness rubbed off to the young lions who took up the fight to the oppressor. It was her passion and willingness to speak for the voiceless that makes me be prepared to overlook the serious mistakes and blots in her life.
But Winnie is now clearly a bitter and defeated woman. What a pity. The toll of her toils is beginning to catch up with her. And age is not making things any easier for her.
She is wrong about Mandela and Bishop Tutu. She is right about people like Steve Biko. But it is not Mandela who ignores and buries Biko. It is her own party that continues to downplay the contributions of people like Biko and Sobukwe; thus robbing our young people and future generations of a significant part of our history and people who ought to be their role models.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), if anything, was Winnie’s friend. I watched her brilliant defense on TRC and realized another quality in this woman – the Clinton smarts. The TRC also exposed her weaker side – the people she surrounded herself with at the time of the Stompie fiasco. They were a bunch of imbeciles, especially Jerry Richardson. She could have gotten herself a better team of people. But we understand, she was under constant surveillance and duress. She could not apply her mind freely and had very few choices.
TRC helped Winnie get forgiveness from Stompie’s mother (one wonders if Stompie’s mom fires on all cylinders); even though the Bishop had to beg Winnie to beg for forgiveness. Winnie should have taken the forgiveness received and began her atonement. TRC exposed her not as a bad woman, but one who acted under a severely strained judgment.
Winnie is definitely a beaten woman now. How can she forget the immense contribution from the selfless Bishop Tutu who in those days was the voice of the voiceless? How can she forget the evil and hardship that befell the Bishop from oppressors and puppets alike; especially when he almost singlehandedly called for sanctions (even punitive sanctions) against the Apartheid government? How can he forget the boycotts called and led by the Bishop in the face of repression and states of emergency?
Is she bitter maybe because of allegations that the Bishop was behind her being separated from Mandela?
The sad part is that Winnie puts the blame for the status quo on the wrong person. Mandela did what he had to do – before, in, and after prison. The power to transform our society socio-economically lies with the members in her NEC (unless they are clueless – as it seems to be the case).
No Winnie, it is not Mandela but the tenderpreneurs – such as Malema – who not only abuse the entrepreneurial privilege, but sell out the proud legacy of our struggle for freedom in South Africa. It is not the white people who hang on to their privileged positions, but those greedy black people who are prepared to from for them for three pieces of silver. It is those lucky individuals who would not want their loot to trickle down to the masses and thus spread the wealth. It is those unions who encourage teachers to stay away from classes and thereby contributing to the poor standard of education received by our kids.
It is those members of your organization who recalled a sitting president just because their wanted to install a corrupt and morally comprised person as the leader of an important country in Africa.
As a member of the NEC, Winnie I still believe in your power to instill some sense and direction in your movement. But, I believe you have to put the blame where it belongs – right at the door step of your organization. Get us better leaders and not selfish individuals who are in it for the loot. They are the real sellouts.
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