Thursday 15 July 2021

Looting and burning are echoes of apartheid era and proof SA's failure to make quantum leap W Mukori

 

“Before independence corruption was considered a bold and patriotic act especially as the corruption was considered an act of defiance against white colonial government. It is just that after independence the corruption continued; Nigerians consoled themselves by arguing Nigeria is very rich and there is plenty more where the looted wealth came from!” A Nigerian acquaintance once told.

“Cold comfort! Look what Sani Abacha has done; completely destroyed the country!”

If the truth be told, many African countries have been in economic decline ever since they attained their independence for various reasons including corruption. The corrupt and incompetent ruling elite have conned the ordinary people into believing there was nothing wrong with corruption, lawlessness, rigged elections, etc., etc. and those advocating for these values are brain washed puppets of the dethroned colonial whites who are seeking regime change and then recolonize the country.

I had hoped that South Africans would have learned to avoid the mistakes Nigerians and the rest of independent Africa before them made; they would not be so easily conned into throwing out the baby with the bath water. The basic rule that no one should be above the law is pivotal to fighting corruption, I thought every South African will see that!

Many South Africans are still living in abject poverty, the country’s wealth is still in the hands of the whites. Independence brought an end to political apartheid in the sense that blacks now have a vote and the racist laws have been abolished. However the laws and practices that had given the whites the economic advantage before independence have remained; economic apartheid is alive and thriving; as far as the impoverished majority are concerned.

The Court that sentence former SA president Jacob Zuma to 15 months for contempt of court has enforced property rights and other laws that have helped maintain the economic apartheid and so it comes as little surprise that the ordinary South African should revolt against the Court and reject rule of law.

The overwhelming majority of the owners of the shops, factories and businesses that were looted and burnt belong to the privileged white owners; burning shops, factories, etc. before independence was considered a legitimate target and since the economic emancipation did not happen in1994, the struggle continues.

A luta continua!

Deng Xiaoping. China’s economic miracle that has transform that nation from a marginal nation to the world’s second largest economy happened when Chairman Xiaoping embraced capitalism as an ideology to drive economic growth. Chairman Mao Zedong, his predecessor had rejected capitalism born out of the deep-rooted mistrust of the British, Americans and the West.

"It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice." Argued Chairman Xiaoping.

In the first two decade of China embracing capitalism the country’s economy grew in leaps and bounds puling hundreds of millions of Chinese out of poverty and the country has never looked back ever since!

Africa can too, enjoy its economic miracle, we have the rich soil and wonderful weather to produce the food, the vast minerals wealth and the flora and fauna “lovely beyond any singing of it” as Alan Paton put it so poetical. Sadly, Africa’s economic renascence is more uncertain now that South Africans have too the capitulation and rejected the rule of law for no better reason than it is a carryover from the apartheid era!

To paraphrase Chairman Xiaoping, "It doesn't matter whether the judge is black or white, as long as he/she enforces the rule of law and stamp out corruption!" I do not see Cyril Ramaphosa and certainly not the likes of Zimbabwe’s Emerson Mnangagwa ever making that quantum leap; the former lacks the intellectual ability whilst the latter lacks the intellect and is rotten to the core with corruption to ever change!  

9 comments:

  1. Reports from South Africa are that 15 black people murdered by Indians in Phoenix in the KwaZulu Natala province.
    Wednesday was the bloodiest in the days of violence and unrest that broke out in the Durban North suburb. Police have yet to provide an official statement with a confirmed death toll but it's believed rioters who swarmed into Phoenix from the direction of Mandela Park were gunned down by armed residents.

    Video footage of the carnage has spread across social media, fuelling rage that could potentially motivate racially charged clashes in other parts of the country.

    According to Phoenix community police forum (CPF) chairperson Umesh Singh, residents looked to this resort as a means to protect their private property after days of confrontation with shutdown rioters.

    Some commentators are blaming president Cyril Ramaphosa who they say encouraged vigilantism as a response to the 'ethnical mobilization'.

    I hope this story is not true because this will only be pouring fuel to the already burning inferno!

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  2. Speaking at Zanu-PF’s 353rd Ordinary session of the Politburo in Harare Wednesday, Mnangagwa said there was a need to ensure peace and stability in South Africa.
    “In the case of South Africa, we wish the current challenges facing our brothers and sisters in that country be soon resolved,” he said.
    Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic whose economy is in total ruins and Zanu PF has only managed to stay in power by resorting to more and more repressive measures and rigging the elections. The country has latched from one economic and political crisis to the next and it is clear that the Zanu PF buffoons have no clue how to end the crisis; all they care about is to hang on to power at all cost!
    Mnangagwa and company have envied the economic prosperity and political stability of their neighbour across the Limpopo River and they have deeply resented SA attempts to end the revolving door economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe by nudging the country to implement democratic reforms – the very thing Zanu PF will not hear of since that will spell the end of Zanu PF rule.
    The looting and burning in SA is a rare chance for Mnangagwa and company to criticise their counter parts in SA and they are not ones to miss such an opportunity. When President Ramaphosa deployed the army Zanu PF thugs cheered approvingly because that is exactly what Mnangagwa would have done. Nothing would please Mnangagwa more than if the soldiers were to shoot and kill a few South Africans, it will vindicate Zimbabwe’s deployment of the army, Police, CIO, war veterans and the Zanu PF Youth militia, the green bombers, to harass, beat, rape and even kill in the upcoming 2023 elections! Mnangagwa will be doing it in the name of “ensuring peace and stability” in Zimbabwe and the region!

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  3. President Chamisa called for an urgent and peaceful solution so that concerned parties can find common ground.
    “SAD and TRAGIC developments in South Africa remind us that PEACE is FRAGILE.
    We urge an urgent and peaceful resolution of the grievances of all the parties concerned,” President Chamisa wrote on his official Facebook page
    Everything is wishy-washy with our political leaders! He knows the facts behind the looting and burning in SA but will not say anything of substance content to sit on the fence.
    The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding the party will bring about the democratic changes the nation was dying for and the party name implied will deliver. In all the over 21 years since MDC’s launch in 1999, the party leaders have never ever said what the democratic changes are much less how the party was going to bring them about. It is therefore no surprise that after 21 years, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, MDC has failed to deliver even one meaningful democratic change.
    Indeed, instead of bring about democratic change in Zimbabwe MDC leaders are the ones frustrating all hope of dismantling the Zanu PF dictatorship by, first, failing to implement any reforms and, second, by participating in flawed elections and thus giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF.
    It is no surprise that Chamisa is vague about what the problems are in SA much less offer any solutions; if he lacks the intellectual rigour to define Zimbabwe’s problems it is naïve to expect him to acquire the same in dealing with SA’s problems.

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  4. According to reports from South Africa, 15 people have been shot dead as racial tension rises in Phoenix.

    It i most heartening to see South Africans out protesting against those who have been looting and demanding that the looters and arsonists must be arrested. South African have walked to the edge of the abyss and turned to go back. A very rational and sensible decision and one that should be applauded and supported.

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  5. At the time of termination of the agreement, Parliament says in its court application, that none of the affected MPs had made efforts to repay their loans.

    The matter is yet to be heard.

    Earlier this year the Parliament also dragged 19 former MDC-T legislators to court demanding they return vehicles also worth US$50 000 each.

    Of course, Tendai Biti knew that Zanu PF was rigging the 2018 elections and yet he and his fellow MDC friends participated in the elections regardless because they also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seat to entice the opposition to participate. To those who have ever doubted the power of the gravy train bait, they should not be surprised that Biti and company not only take up the US$ 50 000 car loan but had made no effort to pay back the loan - it would not be much of a gravy train if they paid back!

    Zanu PF has already announced that the party will once again deny Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote - just one of the many proofs that the party is going to rigged the 2023 elections. Short of threatening the very lives of Biti and his colleagues themselves there pretty much nothing else Zanu PF can do to get Biti and company to boycott the elections; Mnangagwa knows that and hence the sheer arrogance with which Zanu PF has dismissed all calls to implement reforms to ensure free and fair elections. Why indeed would Zanu PF implement even one token reform when the party knows that Biti and company will participate in the elections regardless!

    Zanu PF stopped paying Biti and company their generous parliamentary salaries and allowances and now the party is taking away the US$ 50 000 vehicles; this is serve to stimulate Biti and company's hunger for the gravy train seat and harden their resolve to participate in the 2023 elections no matter what!

    If Zimbabweans are serious about ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance then we must accept the reality that MDC leaders like Tendai Biti are not going to get even one reform implemented; we have to get that done ourselves. We will have to fight Biti and company to have reforms implemented because they are content with the status quo!

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  6. FORMER Information Minister Jonathan Moyo says Zanu PF has become a military outfit working against the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens.

    Commenting on the readmission of former Zanu PF youth leader Kudzanayi Chipanga and other senior Zanu PF officials minister into the ruling party, Moyo said Zanu PF was now a “blunt military tool”, and those rejoining it should not be deceived.

    Zanu PF's military tendencies, at least in terms of using brute force, to get its way have been the hallmark of the party ever since the Gukurahundi massacre. Indeed one can argue that it was the case even before that; when the party let is be known that the bush war would continue if the party lost the 1980 elections, the party was holding the gun to the voters' heads.

    All these wittering by Jonathan Moyo that Zanu PF has been militarized ever since the November 2017 coup is just nonsense. Zanu PF was militarized a long time before then and he just refused to see that reality because it suited him not to see it!

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  7. @ Arthu Mntungwa
    “You are also totally uninformed. Care to tell us why Billy Reutanhauch, the Motis Indian Brothers, the MacMillan family, the Chinese etc still control the Zim economy to this day, after 41 years of so-called Independence? Who controls the Mining industry in Zim - is Impala Zimbabwean? Where is that Platinum Smelter Mugabe once made noises about? Who is uprooted Hwange villagers and many other villagers from their ancestral lands, to make way for Mining and other entreprises? Are those Zimbabweans? Can you report abuse by a Chinese Investor to the [police in Zimbabwe and get redress? Lizinuke amakhwapha, please. Check the log in your won eye before pointing at the stick in the others eye.”
    The key theme here is that South Africans should wake up to the menace of corruption and how it can destroy the nation just as it has done in Zimbabwe and many, many other African countries. Maintaining the rule of law and making sure no one is above the law is central to their fight to stamp out corruption; clearly it has already taken root given all the stories of Gupta and state capture.
    The single most important point here is for South Africans to accept an apartheid court, judge, etc. as long as that will stamp out corruption; accept the cat that will kill the rats regardless of its colour!
    What does Billy Reutanhauch, etc. have to do with the issues of stamping out corruption? Indeed, if Billy Reutanhauch and company will help out stamp out corruption then bring them on!

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    Replies
    1. @ Arthur Mntungwa
      “The Courts or the Judiciary is almost 100% Black in SA, and is fiercely independent. The Justice Minister is Black too. Parliament is basically controlled by the two predominantly Black parties the ANC on one hand and the EFF on the other, together amassing more than a two thirds majority to change the Constitution as they please.
      Therefore to blame apartheid for the current conditions of black people, after close to 30 years of a Black government is being thoroughly disingenuous. The Courts are there to interpret the Law, not to write it. It is the Legislature, controlled by the ANC and the EFF that writes laws, through its Lawmakers. Why blame an almost 100% Black Judiciary for what you call apartheid property rights and laws? That’s not their business.”
      I totally agree with you there except the bit about “the courts or judiciary is almost 100% black in SA and is fiercely independent”. Zimbabwe’s judiciary is probably more black than that of SA but alas it is not independent. When Didymus Mutasa threatened to challenge his booting out of Zanu PF in 2014, Mugabe told him in no uncertain terms “In whose courts will you file the court challenge!”
      I do have to remind you that it was a High Court judge, Justice George Chiweshe, who ruled that the November 2017 military coup was “legal, justified and constitutional!”
      I say it again; the colour, gender, tribe, etc. of the judge does not matter, not at all; as long as he/her will help maintain the rule of law, making sure no one is above the law and to stamp out the curse of corruption!

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    2. @ Arthur Mntungwa
      “Wilbert Mukori there is no such a thing as an Apartheid court in SA. So the question of South Africans accepting it does not even arise. There are South African Courts and they are doing a great job. That is why Zuma is locked up today, because no one is above the law in Mzansi. The Billy Reutanbach issue arises from the fact that most Zimbabweans have a tendency of claiming SA is under whites; it's not yet Uhuru. As if Zimbabwe is any different given that whites still run the main levers of the economy. It's like some people are desperate to see SA go the Zimbabwe way of land grabs. They are just not happy that SA is handling their land issues differently through the legal route. They are not happy no country has copied Zim's land grabs. You can see the excitement in most ZANU sympathisers with this recent insurrection. To the extent that Mugwadi claims Zimbabwe will not intervene. An indirect way of saying you also stay out of Zimbabwe Affairs. Truth is that Zimbabwe's problems are political. SA is facing Socio-economic challenges. So its justified for SA to intervene in Zim, and besides they are suffering from Zim illegal immigration. The same cannot be said regarding Zim intervention in SA, because there are no political problems to resolve in SA. There are no human rights issues in SA.”
      I totally agree with you that there is rule of law in SA as demonstrated repeatedly by the country holding free, fair and credible elections. Whilst many South African believed the rule of law and valued it; there are, nonetheless, some who did not and genuinely believed Jacob Zuma must be above the law. They are the ones who instigated the looting and burning of the last week in the hope the whole country will follow. Well what they had hoped for did not happen; the majority of South African believe in and value the rule of law.
      After a week of looting and burning the lawless lunatics what looked down the precipitous abyss and many have since changed their minds, they too now condemn the looting and burning as foolish.
      I agree with you that Mnangagwa and his fellow Zanu PF thugs were thrilled to see the looting and burning in SA because it gave them a chance to claim that SA was as much a Banana Republic as Zimbabwe. Mnangagwa and company were disappointed that President Ramaphosa did not deploy the Army and Police with clear orders to shoot to kill from the word go and disappointment turned into uncontrollable rage now it is clear that of the over 200 people in the rioting none have been attributed to the Army or Police!
      I do agree that SA has had good reasons to interfere in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs for the simple reason that the economic and political chaos in Zimbabwe was spilling over into SA and the rest of the SADC region. The only fallout of last week’s events in SA, as far as Zimbabwe is concerned, is that there will be an exodus of Zimbabweans returning back home – to nothing.
      My beef with President Ramaphosa is that he has not been consistent and even down right foolish in his handling of Zimbabwe. He is on record saying Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections “went well!” when we all know the elections were rigged! If he did not want to say the truth then he should kept his trap shut!

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