I need to clarify SA’s land issue, which has been misrepresented by populist political parties recently. The land question pertains to all the country's wealth. There's a misleading notion that land is limited to agriculture or human settlement, which is untrue. According to our traditional kings and queens, the land encompasses the wealth beneath, on, and above the ground.
While in the Pan Africanist Congress I was disturbed by the EFF’s call for people to grab the land as a way of addressing the “land dispossession”, this was, to me, a way of diluting the struggle of the people.
The wealth was taken away from our ancestors, not a piece of stinking land to build the slums near the rich suburbs built in our sweat, blood, and toils. We need to be talking about political and legal ways to allow historically marginalised people to become active participants in the mainstream economy. It cannot be business as usual and we ignore the fundamental questions.
From 1994 to 2024, we had a black majority government that did not fully implement its transformative agenda, leading to the rise of leftist political organisations. The ANC pursued a substantive democracy, prioritising the rule of law and social and economic reforms. However, due to greed and incompetence, these social and economic reforms did not materialise as intended. Political institutions such as parliament, the executive, municipalities and state-owned entities were significantly compromised, especially during Jacob Zuma's tenure.
The post-ANC Polokwane conference in 2007 brought the state to its knees, making it difficult to restore things to their previous state. Those who supported and won the conference regressed the hard-won democratic gains by targeting political institutions as cash cows.
The ANC’s failure to fundamentally improve the livelihoods of the people while looting their resources has created a significant trust deficit between the state and its citizens. It is now the responsibility of the government of national unity to restore confidence among the people and help bring dignity to the lives of many black individuals who are excluded from the economy. We cannot sustain a situation where more than 50% of the population depends on social welfare – this is a ticking time bomb and it must be addressed urgently.
- Mokgatlhe is an independent political analyst.
KENNETH MOKGATLHE | Redressing inequalities of the past remains relevant
Image: Antonio Muchave
While I admire Gayton McKenzie's enthusiasm and passion for his work, I strongly disagree with his advice for black people to forget about apartheid and move on.
The constitution, which he swore to uphold, states in the second sentence of the preamble: “Recognise the injustices of the past.” What are these injustices? Is McKenzie aware of the events of April 6 1652? That date marks the beginning of the injustices referenced by the constitution.
I was disturbed to hear him in one of the video clips addressing and telling his audience that black people should stop blaming white people. He recently told the parliament that the controversial part of the country's national anthem known as “Die Stem” is not going anywhere, which also disturbed me.
We have a bloody history in this country where black people are the victims and survivors and we cannot lie about the past. However, we also hold a responsibility not to become oppressors against anyone, that should not mean that we should forget. We have forgiven our perpetrators but we cannot be told to forget. There is also justice that should follow, reparations or restorative justice.
McKenzie seems to be undermining the psychological, economic, political, and social consequences of the wealth dispossession by the white settlers in SA. It is that history that has shaped our poorest presence hence we cannot be told to forget and move on and it will never happen.
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I need to clarify SA’s land issue, which has been misrepresented by populist political parties recently. The land question pertains to all the country's wealth. There's a misleading notion that land is limited to agriculture or human settlement, which is untrue. According to our traditional kings and queens, the land encompasses the wealth beneath, on, and above the ground.
While in the Pan Africanist Congress I was disturbed by the EFF’s call for people to grab the land as a way of addressing the “land dispossession”, this was, to me, a way of diluting the struggle of the people.
The wealth was taken away from our ancestors, not a piece of stinking land to build the slums near the rich suburbs built in our sweat, blood, and toils. We need to be talking about political and legal ways to allow historically marginalised people to become active participants in the mainstream economy. It cannot be business as usual and we ignore the fundamental questions.
From 1994 to 2024, we had a black majority government that did not fully implement its transformative agenda, leading to the rise of leftist political organisations. The ANC pursued a substantive democracy, prioritising the rule of law and social and economic reforms. However, due to greed and incompetence, these social and economic reforms did not materialise as intended. Political institutions such as parliament, the executive, municipalities and state-owned entities were significantly compromised, especially during Jacob Zuma's tenure.
The post-ANC Polokwane conference in 2007 brought the state to its knees, making it difficult to restore things to their previous state. Those who supported and won the conference regressed the hard-won democratic gains by targeting political institutions as cash cows.
The ANC’s failure to fundamentally improve the livelihoods of the people while looting their resources has created a significant trust deficit between the state and its citizens. It is now the responsibility of the government of national unity to restore confidence among the people and help bring dignity to the lives of many black individuals who are excluded from the economy. We cannot sustain a situation where more than 50% of the population depends on social welfare – this is a ticking time bomb and it must be addressed urgently.
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