I was amazed by Mangosuthu Buthelezi's assertion that white South Africans must be discouraged from emigrating because the country needs their skills dearly.

I was amazed by Mangosuthu Buthelezi's assertion that white South Africans must be discouraged from emigrating because the country needs their skills dearly.

He said reasons for the emigration must be investigated, and a plan must be put in place to encourage those who left to return.

The problem with most of our white compatriots is that they do not identify with majority rule because that majority happens to be black. They do not identify with today's South Africa.

They refer to us as "these people" and "their government". Many white people emigrated after 1994 and they are still leaving. We are told that crime is the main reason for them leaving. I disagree.

Crime affects South Africans of all races, but whites are quick to seek refuge in Canada, Australia and other countries. As long as affirmative action is deliberately misconstrued as reverse racism and not as a measure to redress past imbalances young white graduates will emigrate.

Almost 13 years of democracy and the economy is still largely in white hands. Investing in our African youth and improving the living conditions of people living in squalor - that will reduce crime. We cannot be held to ransom by people whose solution to the country's problem is flight.

Motshabi Kabelo, Midrand