Has West-South Africa Relationship Reached A Dead End?
June 19, 2014 Opinion & Analysis
Gugulethu Manyoni-Mhlanga Correspondent
Ever since that historic emergence of Nelson Mandela from nearly three decades of incarceration, the peaceful transformation into majority rule and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, the world has had a love affair with South Africa and its people.Mandelamania has continued to this day, being seen as representing forgiveness, reconciliation, lasting peace and national unity not seen since the formation of the United Nations after 1945.
The adoption of an ultra-liberal constitution, which provided a promise of a just and humane society, gave further hope that the post-independent dictatorships and demagogues in post-colonial Africa were a thing of the past and that South Africa was the new hope for a continent fraught with conflicts, political instability, poverty and perennial under-development; hence the love affair with the Rainbow Nation since 1994.
But 20 years down the line, “Mandelamania” is without a doubt on shaky ground for South Africa’s working class. There is an amazing resilience and determination though to keep the golden beacon as bright as possible, to the point of assuming paternalistic guardianship of the sanctity of our democracy.
South Africa’s ability to uphold democratic principles has become infectious all over the continent. Citizens of other African countries are making demands on their leaders as they realise that the benefits of political independence must include economic self-determination as its core benefit. Prosperity, civil liberties and the equitable distribution of wealth are a given.
It is an opportunity for a new type of love affair with the rest of the world, an opportunity to recognise South Africa’s role as the “minder” of social and political stability on the continent south of the Sahara. The 19th century strategy of divide and rule is historically obsolete as a means of control and quiet coercion of African nations by Western economic interests.
Similarly, the idea that Western economic interests can only be maintained at the expense of the indigenous African citizenry is a fallacy. The Arab Spring of 2010-2012 is testament to the failure of this policy.
In recent months, South African miners have gone on a relentless five-month strike that has seen the value of the rand fall to its all time low, and the downgrading of South Africa’s economic outlook from critical to negative. In essence, miners and the country’s mineral wealth on which the country was built and fought over, have brought capitalist greed to its knees.
If this is not a clear indication that the game plan needs to change, to ensure a more equitable distribution of the benefits of our mineral wealth, South Africa is heading for a disaster.
The results of the national elections of May 7 2014 have seen the ANC holding on to power by the skin of their teeth. The results are perhaps an indication that the Rainbow is losing its promise of harmony and prosperity.
What of South Africa’s inclusion in the BRICS consortium? Is this an indication of a new courtship and therefore love affair in the making, signifying a shift from traditional relationships based on participation and membership on “our own terms”?
Undoubtedly, Mandela’s courtship with the West has brought little change or transformation in South Africa’s traditionally oppressive industrial base. The Marikana massacre unleashed a sleeping giant festering in poverty and degradation, whilst submitting to the illusion that Western investment into the exploitation of natural resources will be withdrawn should the terms of engagement be modified or be inclusive.
South Africa has fallen for this form of blackmail hook, line and sinker. South Africa’s miners should be rewarded at the same rate as Australian miners who are reported to earn $400 a shift, as opposed to South Africa’s US$40 a shift.
There is no reasonable explanation for this disparity apart from capitalist exploitation, pure and simple. Even the much publicised Oscar Pistorius murder trial has revealed the weaknesses and cracks in South African society; our love affair with guns, the “besieged” mentality of the privileged White Afrikaner male mentality and the inequality in the criminal justice system, where access to swift and fair justice are a prerogative of money and privilege.
South Africa is still in the “love” game, but with different partners and on her own terms. South Africa’s agenda to attract investment at any cost can only be justified if it is an expression of the self-determination of her people. There is still a virtue in standing up for the noble ideals, which Nelson Mandela bravely declared at his Treason Trial and we, the Children of the Rainbow Nation, are determined to stand for these ideals too, come hell or high water.
- African Executive
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| Image of former South African President Nelson Mandela on bank notes. |
Gugulethu Manyoni-Mhlanga Correspondent
Ever since that historic emergence of Nelson Mandela from nearly three decades of incarceration, the peaceful transformation into majority rule and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, the world has had a love affair with South Africa and its people.Mandelamania has continued to this day, being seen as representing forgiveness, reconciliation, lasting peace and national unity not seen since the formation of the United Nations after 1945.
The adoption of an ultra-liberal constitution, which provided a promise of a just and humane society, gave further hope that the post-independent dictatorships and demagogues in post-colonial Africa were a thing of the past and that South Africa was the new hope for a continent fraught with conflicts, political instability, poverty and perennial under-development; hence the love affair with the Rainbow Nation since 1994.
But 20 years down the line, “Mandelamania” is without a doubt on shaky ground for South Africa’s working class. There is an amazing resilience and determination though to keep the golden beacon as bright as possible, to the point of assuming paternalistic guardianship of the sanctity of our democracy.
South Africa’s ability to uphold democratic principles has become infectious all over the continent. Citizens of other African countries are making demands on their leaders as they realise that the benefits of political independence must include economic self-determination as its core benefit. Prosperity, civil liberties and the equitable distribution of wealth are a given.
It is an opportunity for a new type of love affair with the rest of the world, an opportunity to recognise South Africa’s role as the “minder” of social and political stability on the continent south of the Sahara. The 19th century strategy of divide and rule is historically obsolete as a means of control and quiet coercion of African nations by Western economic interests.
Similarly, the idea that Western economic interests can only be maintained at the expense of the indigenous African citizenry is a fallacy. The Arab Spring of 2010-2012 is testament to the failure of this policy.
In recent months, South African miners have gone on a relentless five-month strike that has seen the value of the rand fall to its all time low, and the downgrading of South Africa’s economic outlook from critical to negative. In essence, miners and the country’s mineral wealth on which the country was built and fought over, have brought capitalist greed to its knees.
If this is not a clear indication that the game plan needs to change, to ensure a more equitable distribution of the benefits of our mineral wealth, South Africa is heading for a disaster.
The results of the national elections of May 7 2014 have seen the ANC holding on to power by the skin of their teeth. The results are perhaps an indication that the Rainbow is losing its promise of harmony and prosperity.
What of South Africa’s inclusion in the BRICS consortium? Is this an indication of a new courtship and therefore love affair in the making, signifying a shift from traditional relationships based on participation and membership on “our own terms”?
Undoubtedly, Mandela’s courtship with the West has brought little change or transformation in South Africa’s traditionally oppressive industrial base. The Marikana massacre unleashed a sleeping giant festering in poverty and degradation, whilst submitting to the illusion that Western investment into the exploitation of natural resources will be withdrawn should the terms of engagement be modified or be inclusive.
South Africa has fallen for this form of blackmail hook, line and sinker. South Africa’s miners should be rewarded at the same rate as Australian miners who are reported to earn $400 a shift, as opposed to South Africa’s US$40 a shift.
There is no reasonable explanation for this disparity apart from capitalist exploitation, pure and simple. Even the much publicised Oscar Pistorius murder trial has revealed the weaknesses and cracks in South African society; our love affair with guns, the “besieged” mentality of the privileged White Afrikaner male mentality and the inequality in the criminal justice system, where access to swift and fair justice are a prerogative of money and privilege.
South Africa is still in the “love” game, but with different partners and on her own terms. South Africa’s agenda to attract investment at any cost can only be justified if it is an expression of the self-determination of her people. There is still a virtue in standing up for the noble ideals, which Nelson Mandela bravely declared at his Treason Trial and we, the Children of the Rainbow Nation, are determined to stand for these ideals too, come hell or high water.
- African Executive
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