LAST week Patrice Motsepe, South Africa's Bill Gates, announced that he was giving away half of the money generated by his family's assets.

The billionaire announced plans to donate the money to the Motsepe Foundation, demonstrating to FNB just how to help South Africa without pissing off the ANC.

I have little doubt that Motsepe's donation came from a good place. Anyone that gives away income from assets that they feel they have earned fairly is nice. But before everyone starts singing the chorus of "why don't white billionaires do the same" from the pulpits of the comments section, it's probably a good time to remind everyone how dysfunctional and self-indulgent this is.

The last thing we need is anyone thinking they can donate their way out of the current mess.

Whether you give R1 or R1-billion, charity is not justice, nor acknowledgement of injustices.

Charity is what the West uses to make itself feel better about its colonialism, not to fix its results. Charity does not liberate and is accepted at the expense of justice and retribution.

Motsepe is estimated to be worth R23.6-billion in a country in which four million people are unemployed, yet he's a beneficiary of freedom.

A post-apartheid system of privilege has allowed him to collect a disproportionate amount of earnings, while thousands at his mines struggle to meet their financial obligations and millions depend on state social grants. We cannot talk about the failure of Black Economic Empowerment while treating one of its biggest benefactors as though his fortunes were made in a meritocracy.

Even with the donation, Motsepe retains all his assets and his unfair advantage will allow him to recreate that value with relative ease, but there is no permanent structural change.

The problem with us black people, especially the middle class, is that we think privilege is okay, as long as those benefitting from it are black.

We are fine with Motsepe paying R200000 to sit next to President Jacob Zuma, never having the balls to call him out on the terrible state of the health and education system he presides over, as long as he "gives back". It allows us to believe that change can happen while our advantage remains intact. Money is not the problem here, this political privilege is.

A good R189-billion was allocated to education in 2011-2012, yet Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga spent more time in court than putting this money to good use.

Motsepe is reported to have said: "South Africa should avoid being a country of charities", at the press conference he organised to demonstrate his niceness. But unless he and his league of billionaires start fighting against the broken structures and their resulting inequalities, I will hold my applause. I'm not here for this kind of black excellence.

• Ndlovu is the managing director of Youth Lab