The year of Unity in Diversity

It is difficult to agree with the theme of the ANC’s (African National Congress) centenary celebration- Unity in Diversity.  The conceptual basis of the theme is far removed from the objective reality of the poor and the working class.  Implied by “unity” is that we are a nation, the ANC has always maintained that the drive for national emancipation is integrally bound up with the struggle of economic emancipation.  Effectively, we cannot resolve the national question unless we correct the economic injustices that we carried from the years of colonisation and apartheid.  It is reasonable to argue that genuine transformation of South African society is yet to be achieved; however, we can acknowledge that there has been an exchange of racial leadership of the society.  The character of the South African society remains that of racial class oppression and patriarchy.

The racial class oppression character of South Africa manifests in the character of the class or group in society that controls the economic base of that particular society.  National unity in South African will remain superficial for as long as we have two economies.  Former president Thabo Mbeki in his 2003 speech, reinserted economic dualism as the primary way of understanding South African society.   He proclaimed the existence of two distinct South African economies. On the one hand, there is a reasonably well-educated, dynamic, adaptive society that is well situated for further advance in the global division of labour, the first economy. This society remains largely, if no longer entirely, white, a point he thinks of the greatest importance. Then there is the large world of poverty, exclusion and humiliation which remains the lot of most, if far from all, blacks: the ‘second economy’. Is that the unity and diversity we want?

It was espoused that with policies such as BBBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment), the South African economy will be de-racialised.  Notwithstanding the small number of its resultant black middle class, the economy has maintained the structure and character of apartheid South Africa.  It is worth mentioning that, in the plundering of the countries natural resources by the imperialist bourgeoisie, this black middle class act as a collaborationist petty bourgeoisie, because the black middle class has practically no economic power.  In practice BBBEE has not produced a patriotic bourgeoisie, yet the strategy and tactics document that was adopted at the 52th national conference of the ANC described the black middle class as the critical resource of the NDR (National Democratic Revolution).  The blame for these unintended results can squarely be put on the shoulders of the political elite, for they did not set the national economy on a new footing after 1994.

Our economy is still dependent on tranfering raw natural resources to Europe and recently China, we go on being Europe’s farmers, who specialise in unfinished products.  It is no wonder the masses of the unemployed move away from the rural areas to the townships near cities to face even more poverty, with our democracy and freedom we have failed to build industries in the rural areas.   The so called black middle class conspires with the political elite to appropriate to themselves wealth at the expense of the poor masses, effectively forming a company of South African profiteers that derive their character, power and inspiration from their guardianship of imperialist interests.  This tendency is similar to what we observed in all former colonies. To quote Fanon: ‘scandals are numerous, ministers grow rich, their wives doll themselves up, the members of Parliament feather their nests and there is not a soul down to the simple policeman or the customs officer who does not join in the great procession of corruption.’

In line with the centenary celebrations of the ANC, we must transform our minds, which will translate itself in practice into building a nation from a South African society that is without oppression and domination of any kind. There are still many among us who take foreign norms as their point of reference in judging the quality of their social, economic and cultural lives. They live in South Africa yet refuse to accept the concrete reality of our country. The dream of getting rich through a dog-eat-dog struggle, based on what happened in the capitalist jungle of colonial-Apartheid South Africa must disappear, then we could speak of unity.

From: Sandile Fuku

Section K, Botshabelo