Now is the time to create a developmental state

I HAVE previously argued that the ANC has to be reconstructed into the liberation movement it purports to be, as it cannot be renewed in its current form.

Now, I would like to reflect on the revolutionary tasks a reconstructed and rejuvenated ANC should carry out.

The World Bank has classified South Africa as the most unequal society in the world. How did this come about, given that South Africa is one of the two richest countries on the continent?

The answer lies in the type of colonialism that prevailed in our country until 1994, whereby the coloniser and the colonised were citizens of the same country and sharing the same borders, at least since 1910, when Britain created the white-led union of South Africa.

Not that we need reminding, but this conferred economic and political rights to white people while denying the same to black South Africans.

It was that same dispensation that passed the infamous Land Act of 1913, effectively condemning the black majority to a twilight existence on the remaining 13% of the land, leaving 87% to be enjoyed by the white minority.

This historic injustice prompted Sol Plaatje, the first secretary-general of the ANC, to proclaim that: “… one day, the native woke up and found himself a pariah in the land of his forefathers.”

The South African economy under colonialism at that time was white and male-dominated. The status quo remains the same, as the economic power of South Africa remains vested in a minority. The removal of sanctions post-1994 did little to change it, hence South Africa’s moniker as the “most unequal society”.

Although post-1994 there has been the emergence of a nascent black economy, it continues to be smothered by the dominant white economy. Things must change for South Africa to be sustainable – on any level.

The 2021 riots and lootings in some parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were a clear and poignant pointer to the pending revolution, with or without the ANC.

The people have had enough. Now is the time for the developmental state to take out its scalpel and perform the necessary Caesarean section to birth a new economy. The state cannot remain passive and allow white-dominated market forces to force a stillborn black economy.

Critical to the formation of a new and truly egalitarian economy is the constructive dismantling of the current paradigm. Central to this shift is the reconsidering of the 1913 Land Act, retained under the new Constitution in Section 25. The principle of a willing seller and willing buyer has not worked. Fortunately, most of the political parties in principle agree on the need for the required legislative amendments to be made.

Once the legislative amendment is carried out, that must be accompanied by a relook at the role of the Land Bank and related institutions to make it easier for black farmers to access funding.

Of course, money alone will not solve the problem. Education in agriculture aimed at producing extension officers and equivalent, relevant skills on a mass scale should be embarked upon urgently.

As one of the most industrialised countries on the continent, we must feel the thunder of economic reformation in mining, manufacturing, service industries and everywhere.

This includes the transformation of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) into a state-owned entity, something the last ANC national conference passed a resolution on.

Simultaneous with the implementation of the resolution on the SARB, I suggest the state develops an alternative banking system, investing its funds in alternative banks, such as the Land Bank.

Sometimes I wonder why the black middle class refuses to vote. The answer is found in their alienation by an ANC-led government still harking to its former masters.