THE RED BRIGADE Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven! William Wordsworth was referring to the French Revolution and to what those who experienced it without losing their heads to the guillotine, felt. Shortly after, Charles Dickens would make a closer observation that convinced him that two worlds were contained in one country. He describe it as: the best of times, and the worst of times; a spring of hope , and a winter of despair; ... highlighting those who had everything before them, and those who had nothing before them... Subsequent to our own countrys dramatic change of 1994, the advent of democracy brought the two nations theory under scrutiny. The then deputy president Thabo Mbeki stated: We therefore make bold to say that South Africa is a country of two nations. One of these nations is white, relatively prosperous, regardless of gender or geographic dispersal. It has ready access to a developed economic, physical, educational, communication and other infrastructure. This enables it to argue that, except for the persistence of gender discrimination against women, all members of this nation have the possibility to exercise their right to equal opportunity, the development opportunities to which the constitution of 1993 committed our country. The second and larger nation of South Africa is black and poor, with the worst affected being women in the rural areas, black rural population in general and the disabled. This nation lives under conditions of a grossly underdeveloped economic, physical, educational, communication and other infrastructure. It has virtually no possibility to exercise what in reality amounts to a theoretical right to equal opportunity, with that right being equal within this black nation only to the extent that it is equally incapable of realization. For such words, Mbeki was chastised. He was pilloried as a racist at best, and a reincarnation of lucifer, at worst. Now however, glaring inequalities have resulted in a frequent number of labor strikes accompanied by violence and death; there are hordes of unemployed and unemployable black faces roaming our streets; one sees various beggars and street urchins accosting us at traffic lights; shacks and their many dwellers are mushrooming everywhere; welfare amounts and those on it, have dramatically increased; the business executives remuneration seems disproportionate to the average wage of the lowest paid worker; conspicuous affluence resides side by side with obvious poverty. Perhaps, far from being a devil incarnate, Nqawe( sobriquet for Thabo Mbeki) was giving us a prophecy. And like all prophets, at home he was ridiculed. Because we ignored his counsel and refused to act, a red brigade is upon us with its promise of economic liberation. Dubbing themselves economic freedom fighters, they tell us that nationalization is the elixir that shall cure all our ills. Like many desperate patients, our ears were initially pricked until some among us began to ask: what are the details of this nationalization policy? What comparative study has been done? Which countries have they looked at, etc? What of the contrast between their red berets and overalls, with their expensive Cuban cigars, Moët champagne, German sedans, and the bevy of nymphs on tow? Does the freedom fighter brand correspond with being pursued by SARS for tax evasion on funds acquired without ever having been gainfully employed? Does tederpreneurship equate to economic liberation? Why were these illustrious plans not implemented in the years the brigade was part of the ANC? Among them, is there proper leadership with a realistic and credible vision beyond anger and disgruntlement? Surely, men not small boys are called for. Women, not little girls are expected. Brains, not brawn, are needed.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:54:36 +0000
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