Minorities can help fix SA
DEAR President Ramaphosa,
Some politicians lead society. Other politicians plunge society into conflict and chaos. Mandela led with vision and we followed, seeking reconciliation and nation-building. Malema arouses enmity and causes a ruckus in society to the detriment of the nation. He will plunge society into the abyss.
There is, however, a way forward, Mr President. You announced a “new dawn”– where the sun shines warmly and a gentle breeze blows over the land. A dawn that is inviting and enlivening.
You will have noticed, Mr President, that racial tensions are rising. Mr Lekota asked you in Parliament who you were referring to when you spoke of “our people”. It was not a facetious question. It was asked in all earnestness.
Placing black interest at the apex of policymaking is the correct thing to do at present, considering all that happened to black people during the colonial and apartheid periods. They need to be uplifted and economically emancipated. Malaysia unashamedly gave a 20-year period of upliftment of its indigenous people to level the playing fields. It is now reaping the rewards.
That being said, the rest of us want inclusion also in the land of our birth. You are perfectly placed, Mr President, to call on all minority groups to help you bring about equality and wide-ranging transformation in society.
Each group in our society can play a pivotal role in doing what is needed to earn social capital. Some groups are very good in agriculture, others in finance, trade, education, and so on.
If you were to say to each group, according to its expertise, help me in this or that regard with a community-wide effort from your respective groups, the response may very well be overwhelming.
Co-operation will engender warmer feelings and erase notions of stereotypes and negativity.
As I have said before, we need to act counter-intuitively to find a way forward. You, Mr President, must tap into the resources our diversity of peoples can provide so that we all have our place in the sun and all of us are happy with one another as a result of the outcome we achieve.