Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela warned that without economic justice there would be no peace in South Africa.
“Personally‚ I truly believe that as long as there is an injustice somewhere‚ there can’t be sustainable peace.
“We can have peace when everyone is afforded the opportunity to live a decent life‚ When everyone is afforded an opportunity to advance economically‚” she said in an address to the 2016 The Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) Financial Service Conference in Sandton on Tuesday.
She reminded her audience about the historical exclusion of black people‚ both in the economy and politically.
“The job reservation Act excluded blacks and it was a crime for businesses to employ black professionals. Until recently‚ black people could not own property and our parents in the townships could not own those properties.
“But today anyone who can afford can own a property‚ theoretically‚ that is what you can achieve.”
But she said the past had shaped the reality of today and blacks who were dispossessed had nothing like their white counterparts who had accumulated wealth over the years.
“Practically‚ the past is still with us. We have what is referred to as accumulated advantages for those were advantaged during apartheid‚” she said.
“The weight of the past is still weighing on those who were excluded. That is why the issue of economic justice comes in.”
She cited the Fees must Fall movement as a cry from those who inherited the injustices of the past‚ saying it was a‚ “cry for social justice in education‚ and... also a cry for economic justice“. — TMG Digital
No peace in SA without economic justice‚ warns Thuli Madonsela
Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela warned that without economic justice there would be no peace in South Africa.
“Personally‚ I truly believe that as long as there is an injustice somewhere‚ there can’t be sustainable peace.
“We can have peace when everyone is afforded the opportunity to live a decent life‚ When everyone is afforded an opportunity to advance economically‚” she said in an address to the 2016 The Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) Financial Service Conference in Sandton on Tuesday.
She reminded her audience about the historical exclusion of black people‚ both in the economy and politically.
“The job reservation Act excluded blacks and it was a crime for businesses to employ black professionals. Until recently‚ black people could not own property and our parents in the townships could not own those properties.
“But today anyone who can afford can own a property‚ theoretically‚ that is what you can achieve.”
But she said the past had shaped the reality of today and blacks who were dispossessed had nothing like their white counterparts who had accumulated wealth over the years.
“Practically‚ the past is still with us. We have what is referred to as accumulated advantages for those were advantaged during apartheid‚” she said.
“The weight of the past is still weighing on those who were excluded. That is why the issue of economic justice comes in.”
She cited the Fees must Fall movement as a cry from those who inherited the injustices of the past‚ saying it was a‚ “cry for social justice in education‚ and... also a cry for economic justice“. — TMG Digital
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