I have little respect for racially based organisations like the Black Management Forum and the Afrikaner Boerderbond, especially during this era of a democratic dispensation. Be that as it may be, few months ago I joined the AfriForum, which is wrongly perceived as being a white, and specifically an Afrikaans, organisation.
If AfriForum was truly an exclusively white organisation I wouldn't have joined; never! I joined AfriForum because the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and its government, have abandoned their non-racialism principles.
They have betrayed the ideology that propelled Nelson Mandela to fight for liberation: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination". It is sad to note that today, South Africa is not "a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities" as Mandela had cherished.
We have become a country where some of those, who have recently become members of the elite, are also the new oppressors. The oppressed in this instance are our minority groups - coloured, white and Indian.
Due to our history, the ANC has correctly realised that there was a need for redress to balance out socio-economic anomalies amongst the racial groups. Unfortunately, the ANC has used affirmative action and black economic empowerment (BEE) policies, in some instances, to deny the minority groups educational, employment, and commercial opportunities.
Other than creating new forms of discrimination, these policies brought unintended consequences.
Firstly, BEE has made a small elite very rich while the majority of black Africans remain very poor. These ‘elites' didn't acquire wealth by engaging in entrepreneurship; but through gaining a shareholding in existing companies without adding any value.
Secondly, BEE has actually benefited those white experts who were involved in deal structuring as well as the banks that financed those deals.
Thirdly, affirmative action has led to unnecessary unemployment, early retirement and emigration of technically skilled white professionals.
Fourthly, these policies don't create new jobs, but rather see a person from a designated group replacing a white person in an existing position.
This is not the right way of creating employment. If you appoint a highly experienced artisan, regardless of race, her contribution to innovation and economic development may create at least ten new jobs and previously disadvantaged people will benefit from these newly created positions.
The perpetuation of these policies has led to economic stagnation and disempowered the very people they intend to empower. Lastly, affirmative action has, mostly in government and state owned enterprises, put black African professionals in positions that require technical skills.
As a result, billions of taxpayers' Rands are spent on consultants because these black administrators lack technical know-how. It is my strong view that genuine black empowerment can only be achieved through proper education and skills development.
It is heartbreaking to note that the standard of education in South Africa has plunged drastically under the ANC government and that there are many young people who leave the schooling system before they reach Grade 12. The provision of inferior education and the offering of subjects like Mathematics Literacy and English Second Language constitute the continuation of ‘bantu education' under the ANC's administration.
It appears that, both in the party (ANC) that Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo worked so hard for and in its government, only black Africans can occupy the positions of president and deputy president.
The possibility of Trevor Manuel, one of the ANC's bright minds, becoming either a deputy president or president of the ANC or of the Republic is very slim indeed because he is not black enough. I am not putting up a fight for Manuel; he is a big man and can take care of himself. My problem is the treatment of the ordinary coloured people, the rank and file.
Look at how they were treated by the Department of Correctional Services which argued that coloured officers cannot be promoted because they were overpopulated in the Western Cape Province. You see? Jimmy Manyi, who once said coloureds were over concentrated in the Western Cape, has supporters in critical places.
In other words, if coloured officers wanted to satisfy the Department of Correctional Services' Affirmative Action Plan, they would have to move to other provinces, in line with Manyi's tirade. When Manuel lambasted Manyi for his racist utterances, he received no support from the ANC.
Actually, it was as if it was Manuel who was out of order. The disillusioned Manuel thus declined nomination to the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) during the last congress in Mangaung. It is this discriminatory treatment of the minority groups that drove me to join the AfriForum.
The AfriForum provides a platform and voice for those who want to fight against new forms of racism by the ANC government. I want to encourage our black Africans to fight against new discrimination in our country. During the struggle against apartheid, there were many compatriots from minority groups who joined forces against the apartheid regime.
Amongst others, these include Helen Suzman, Neville Alexander, Ahmed Kathrada, Beyers Naude and Bram Fischer. We should all be appalled with the way the ANC's policies have led to an increment in poverty amongst our people. Are we going to do nothing when the government lacks political will to prevent farm murders? The plundering and looting of our resources by a few of the ANC's aligned elite requires us to engage in a new struggle. Aluta continua!
Dagada is a development economist based at the Wits Business School. You can follow him on Twitter: @Rabelani_Dagada.
An edited version of this article first appeared in the Sunday Times.
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