South Africa with worryingly significant and unsustainable inequalities is on the verge of a compelling economic, social and political malfunction. Someone somewhere forgot or failed to fully address the obvious inequalities which define and are deeply entrenched in this ‘Rainbow Nation’ today. Julius Malema, an aspiring driver for change to address the historically and racially skewed inequalities and seeking to economically empower the black people of South Africa, is evidence to the unavoidable disastrous socio-political and economic unfolding in that country. Malema is a man who is not waiting for history to define him but rather he is in fact self-defining and in the process defining history.
Deep-seated inequalities continue to ferment and the resentment and impatience among the black majority with the slow pace of change defines the severity of the situation. In South Africa the top deciles of the population accounts for 58% of the country’s income whilst the bottom deciles account for 0.5% and, largely, this is an enduring legacy of the apartheid system in that country which denies black people the chance to accumulate capital in any form be it land, finance and skills (World Bank Report, 2012). In South Africa the top 10% of the population earn 110 times more than the bottom 10% and 74.8% of all wealth is owned by the richest 10% of the population (Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook, 2012:146).The frenzy that is sweeping across the Rainbow Nation has no end in sight and those with a vested interest in ensuring that economically and socially unsustainable prevail have tried suppressing and smothering the ideologically-potent Malema mania for it to resurface again and again. The black majority in South Africa is fed up with the economic inequalities that continue to shape up the country and Malema offers hope with a simple Mugabe-inspired message of total economic emancipation. Malema’s revolutionary approach is revered and championed by those on the margins of subsistence in this nation of plenty yet so condemned by some blacks and most if not all whites. The Malema message of economic emancipation is resonating well with the downtrodden and destitute majority in the shanty towns and invoking anxiety among the privileged elite.
The inequalities in South Africa are not going to vanish into thin air and they are not going to be addressed by politics of reconciliation alone but by politics of equity and equitable distribution of the country’s abundant natural resources and wealth. There is no way of correcting this crude economic bias without addressing the historical inequalities that remain imbedded in this unique society. Malema symbolises that lone voice of a visionary who is attempting to put emphasis in cascading real power down to the people, advocating for and promoting policies that focus on self-sustenance and self-reliance and deconstructing that neo-colonial structure that has throughout history and to this day continue to render black people on the continent as a whole perennially indebted to those who colonised and economically exploited the continent for centuries. South Africa is allowing itself to be on the verge of this cataclysmic failing simply by failing to acknowledge instead of sugar-coating the obvious inequalities that pervade the beautiful rainbow nation. No amount of flamboyant oration or superficial togetherness is going to halt the yearning for a redress of the disparities and it is only a matter of time before the implosion. There is no way of camouflaging these glaring differences and doing so is surely socio-economic and political suicide. There is an urgent need to start unlocking that eternal bondage that has always downgraded the black people of South Africa to perpetual poverty and to start trusting in the Mugabe-inspired Malema vision which is rightfully seeking to dismantle and restructure the colonial and neo-colonial deoxyribonucleic acid which continues to inseparably fasten Africa and its people to enduring bondage.
Malema at the launch of his political party Economic Freedom Fighters
(EFF) used the example of Zimbabwe as part of his foundations speech and he had
this to say "You are
aiming at undermining the African revolution by
attacking Zimbabwe. In the next 20 years or so Zimbabwe will be the only
country where Africans own their land if we carry on like this'. The negative
and pessimistic picture that is being portrayed of Malema is an attack on the
defining phase of the rainbow nation and its march towards total economic
emancipation. These carefully crafted reports and statements about Malema are
meant to deliberately compromise this noble and righteous journey towards truly
liberating the black people of South Africa. This journey towards total
economic emancipation is slow and painful and South Africans have not yet sustained
the initial wounds. It is a journey with a destination and reaching that
destination has a huge price-tag, please ask your neighbours in Zimbabwe. It
definitely is a price-tag worth paying though from a long-term point of vision!
The emotions of despair and being downtrodden
must never be allowed to settle or become entrenched and distract the people of
South Africa from their rightful quest for economic independence and dignity.
The gloom-ridden despondent depiction that is being purposefully portrayed
about Malema’s push must never be allowed to extinguish this ethical and
morally justified determination to empower the economically disadvantaged
masses who have endured centuries of forced servitude and marginalisation. Now
is not the time to allow despair and despondency to define or derail this bona
fide reconstruction and legitimate trajectory towards economic emancipation. South
Africa has to permanently disconnect itself from the historical construct of ‘just
surviving’ in the shanty towns and start focusing on the enduring and radical
reality of living through ownership of the means of production. Malema is a man
with a cause, a just cause for that matter and a justified right to living as
opposed to the year-in-year-out problematic quest for survival in this nation
of plenty.
Malema must continue to rise above this
questionable and morally-suspect denigration and cynical condemnation aimed at
derailing the South African enduring economic expedition. The bleak predictions
and warnings of a gloomy future should South Africa take the Malema vision to pursue
an indigenisation and empowerment trajectory are just a red herring fallacy to
the impending challenge to the unequal economic establishment. Malema’s vision
is an unswerving and faithful paradigm towards unfastening his beautiful South
Africa from an unforgiving, unrepentant and exploitative system which has
nothing to offer black Africans and South Africans other than poverty and more
poverty in the guise of protecting and promoting ideas of good governance,
civil liberties and democracy. South Africa must look to Zimbabwe in this
defining journey towards economic emancipation because no selfless,
self-denying and totally altruistic knight in shining armour is going to
descend from some alien outer space zone to unlock this economic bondage that
eternally continue to plague the Rainbow Nation and its beautiful children.
As South Africa’s economic disparities are
thrust in the forefront the country needs to cover itself with thick,
random-noise-repellent and patriotic apparel to see this necessary journey through
to its ultimate conclusion of addressing those thorny inequalities. Julius
Malema has set the tone of the tune and it is up to all citizens of that
country to continue to collectively sing this beautiful tune of economic
emancipation with joint traction. There is no radical in Malema but the real
deal for South Africa.
Bernard Bwoni on twitter@bernardbwoni/ www.bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment