Leader of the opposition Khaya Magaxa (ANC), Debate on Premier Zille’s admiration for colonialism, Western Cape Provincial Legislature, 28 March 2017
I dedicate my speech to one of our struggle icons and Robben Islander, uncle Ahmed Kathdrada who also suffered under colonial oppression for so long.
We are here because the Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille stated in a tweet [and I quote] “For those claiming the legacy of colonialism was only negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport, infrastructure, piped water etc.” (Close quote). As if that was not bad enough, she continued and said “Would we have a transition into specialized healthcare and medication without colonial influence? Just be honest, please.” Close quote
The honourable Colonialist Zille shared these loathsome tweets at a time our country observes Human Rights in memory of thousands of Africans who were brutally killed by the colonial Apartheid killing machine, the White police.
I am sure Colonialists like Zille will spin, defend and rationalize her twitter outburst. She will probably once more claim that her tweets were taken out of context. She has already issued a half-hearted apology mainly as a result of public outrage she manufactured. That so-called apology is worthless.
Not only are Zille’s remarks absolutely disgusting, they are also filled with gross historical factual inaccuracies. One would have hoped that for someone who has a journalistic background, she would have at least done a quick fact check of life prior to colonialism before spewing the bile she did. Civilization started on the African continent.
The notion that colonialism brought civilization to Africa is a racist fabrication created by those who seek to justify colonial conquests on the African continent. Before colonialism, African people were rich in land, food and minerals. Poverty and deprivation came with colonial oppressors. They killed African people, raped women, looted minerals and enslaved people. Colonialism was inhumane, subjected our forefathers to cheap labour. It is an insult to the many men and women whose forefathers suffered at the hands of mostly White Colonialists.
Colonialism virtually exterminated the Khoi and San in the Cape. It is a system that destroyed many Black lives following successive wars of resistance in the Eastern Cape culminating in the Battle of Isandlwana and Bambatha Rebelion in KZN. It destroyed the culture, language and heritage of the people. It turned Africans into ‘pariah in the land of their own birth.’
It is a brutal and barbaric system that destroyed the livelihood of Africans and Black people in general, stole their land and forced them to work in the mines and on farms for exploitation and subjugation in the hands of oppressors. In fact, the 1913 Natives Land Act and the preceding Glen Grey Act of 1894 were designed to expel Africans from their land as they were regarded assquatters in the land of their own birth.
Colonialists like Zille speak of an independent judiciary as a positive legacy of colonialism. How can a judiciary designed for the persecution of the African majority based on the colour of their skin be celebrated? A judicial system that literally killed millions of Africans!! The laws enforced by colonialism and apartheid were in their very nature unjust, against principles of natural justice and the separation of powers. It was a judiciary created to protect the minority. Iremember the likes of Neil Aggett, Steve Biko, Solomon Mahlangu and many others who were killed in the hands of the Apartheid Regime.
It was only post 1994 through an ANC led government that South Africa truly had an independent judiciary.
The Colonialist loving Zille must resign as the Premier of the Western Cape. She must Go!!!
Colonialist Zille’s reference to the transport infrastructure legacy exposes her purposeful ignorance about the history of our country. It was built on the backs of black slave labour. Black people were turned into slaves to building the celebrated infrastructure.
Today the Western Cape remains a racially divided province which has a huge slave settler community created by colonialism to build infrastructure for the white minority.
She also asks; would we have a transition into specialized healthcare and medication without colonial influence? This question in itself is not only silly but very problematic because who was this specialised healthcare and medication designed for? One only has to look at the Colonialist DA benches to find the answer to that question. It remained deeply unequal and fractured with the poor Black majority struggling to access adequate healthcare services because of colonialism and apartheid.
Furthermore, African people had indigenous medical systems long before colonialism. In fact, much of the medicines we take today are in fact repackaged medicine of indigenous African people. It is only through the ANC led government that quality healthcare is a basic human right accessed by all. We further note the Colonialist DA’s objection to the National Health Insurance championed by the ANC for universal healthcare coverage for all because they are vehemently opposed to any system which will advance the poor African majority.
Colonialism did not bring anything to the African continent, instead and it took – it took our resources, our dignity and our humanity. In the words of the late President of Mozambique, Samora Machel, “Colonialism is a crime against humanity; there is no humane colonialism; there is no democratic colonialism; there is no non-exploitative colonialism”.
Colonialism is an extension of political control of one state over another in order to exploit both human and natural resources. The major objective of colonialism is economic exploitation of natural resources including land and the people of that particular territory to develop the colonial power at the expense of the colonised. Comrade Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) describing the twin evil of colonialism which is “imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism.”
Colonialist apologetic Zille must go!!!
The ANC government is still striving to eradicate the legacy of the Colonialism of a Special Type. The systemic features of which are still visible in the structure and skewed ownership patterns of our economy. The forces of reaction in the DA seek to reverse the revolutionary advances our government is making in rolling back the tyranny of colonial apartheid capitalism.
Our Constitution was created as a break from our colonial and apartheid past. Democratic Constitutionalism cannot co-exist with an appreciation of colonialism of any kind. Colonialist Zille’s tweets prove that she is not a constitutional democrat. In fact she an anti-thesis of constitutional democracy.
Zille’s record in government is littered with piles of evidence that she in fact is opposed to democracy. She does not care about the conditions of Black people except to gain votes. We know during campaign periods Zille sings and dances (often out of rhythm) alongside the formerly oppressed. She even poses for pictures with an empty pot just for the flashing cameras. This does not fool us because we know Zille is a colonial and apartheid apologist.
Colonialist Helen Zille, has been under disguise to conceal her true character for a long time. She has finally come out of the closet by praising a morally bankrupt and loathsome system of colonialism.
Colonialist Zille must go!!!
Racism and white supremacy is in the DNA of the DA. It is the DA that habours racists like Penny Sparrow. It was not long ago that DA Member of Parliament, Diane Kohler Barnard, praised Apartheid mass murderer PW Botha. We have seen how her racist fellow DA members have come out to defend her conspicuous tweets on colonialism.
Colonialist Zille must go!!!
It is clear that the DA is a party that is not only complicit in racial oppression but it advocates for such inhumane and atrocious acts. Take the case for example of DA support for the inhumane suppression of the rights of Palestinians. The DA actively supports and campaigns for the Apartheid-Israeli regime in its oppression of the people of Palestine.
Instead of admitting that her remarks were deeply hurtful and unraveled wounds in the minds and hearts of many who continue to live the realities of the effects of colonialism to this day, Zille will come to the podium and defend, justify or rationalize her ill-fated colonialism tweets. She will spit in the face on the graves of people like Steve Biko whom she claims as her ticket to fame and justify a nonsensical context under which those views were expressed. The reality of the matter is that Zille is not different from a raving relentless racist.
The people of South Africa must wake up to the reality that the DA habours bigoted unrepentant racists. By the way the fish rots from the top. We now wait for the advocates of defence of the constitution and law to campaign for the removal of Zille on the streets and all the way to the courts. We appeal to these groups to be consistent unless they are as hypocritical as Zille.
If the DA wants us to believe that they are committed to our constitutional democracy, they will remove Zille as Premier of the Western Cape and harshly punish her for her continued racist crimes against African people. If they do not remove her, we shall be vindicated in our convictions that the DA is indeed a party which protects and rewards racists. Zille must go!!
Issued by the ANC Western Cape, 28 March 2017
