I am South African. I refuse to be appointed as determined by the colour skin I was born with and which, like the past, I can do nothing about!
Black Economic Empowerment and its older sibling, Affirmative Action, are singularly and collectively bringing a new prejudice to South Africa.
Over the past 18 years the ANC leadership has carefully crafted these policies, which it draws from various failed applications that they found mainly in the United States.
Will a failed American principle be successful in South Africa and if so, why / how?
South Africa is the only country in the world where the majority, after having political power for almost 20 years, increasingly updates its affirmative action policies. This is all in order to give a greater handicap in favour of the already majority class. The objective is to correct the past iniquities which resulted in the majority class being denied access to many opportunities and facilities.
The applied method is geared to replace representatives of arguably 9% of the population with those representing 91% of the same citizenry. This is despite the majority group having full political control. Maybe I am missing something and that in South Africa an eye for an eye shall not leave all people half blind?
My contention is that Black Economic Empowerment and Affirmative Action is the new Apartheid and, that the ANC Leadership is like a National Party on steroids…, or is it Viagra; or maybe President and the Sports Minister are exempt from having to practice restraint?
What is the difference between the ANC and the previous ruling party?
The ANC is seemingly much better at applying many of the previous repressive and divisive policies when compared to the Nationalist Party. The commonly referred to Secrecy Bill, which seeks to curtail press freedom, particularly when reporting about the atrocious and corrupt behaviour of Politicians is an example of the ANC being repressive.
The mark of a good teacher is when the pupils surpass the teacher. Was the Nationalist Government a good teacher to the ANC?
Senior government positions are reserved almost exclusively for black people. This is no different, just much bigger than job reservation, a policy that also stems from the National Party era.
Previously it was legislated that only people with fair skins could be appointed against certain jobs. Today “Affirmative Appointments” is the current nom de plume for the appointment of persons with dark skins. Are all of us going to be half blind in time, I wonder?
The biggest employer in the country, the State, is the most fervent proponent of this blatant discrimination. Is this a new, better repression and if so, why are you so silent about it?
Silent, particularly given that you saw the disastrous consequences that emerged when Affirmative Action was still referred to by its original name, Apartheid.
How is a determination to appoint dark skinned people against most every senior government position going to fix the legislated tyranny that impacted the majority of South Africans over at least the past 50 years?
Would it not be in the public interest to concentrate on ability rather than skin colour and; by so doing have South Africans experience an all-round better public service?
Clearly it is not possible to wipe away what happened in the past by replacing people who wear one skin complexion with people who wear another; will this, replacing of one by another, bring about a better standard of service delivery and; will it correct the unfairness of the past?
Why are we not more determined to legislate, incentivize and remunerate for a form of skills transfer before we make these race based appointment?
Our education system results mainly in regurgitation of information. When are we going to construct learning techniques that teach people to think and not only regurgitate what others have thought of and written down for them to learn?
Surely we need technical ability and self-determination to realise our potential. Surely what we should not do is exclude groups which may consist of persons with talents to help attain on our South African achievement trajectory?
Germany and Japan were devastated after the 2nd world war. Today, 65 years later, these two countries are leading the world in many fields and have already done so for a number of decades since the war. Their reconstruction success was not achieved on the back of one group of countrymen being prejudicial against another. Their success came as a result of a collective effort, hard work, discipline and mutual respect. Why can we, in South Africa, not also work hard, as a collective, in a disciplined manner, with mutual respect one for another and free of this skin colour albatross that permeates every aspect of the South African life?
How are we in South Africa to practice greater discipline, self-respect and earn our dignity so that we too can contribute to the world like in the example set by Germany and Japan?
Are we to achieve this through the application of the discriminatory Affirmative Action policies, the new Apartheid?
