SA needs to eliminate poverty to create unity

While the jury is still out on the land expropriation issue, South Africa now has an opportunity to assess the status of the agriculture sector. It would be foolish to only evaluate agriculture in terms of policy structure. The state of readiness of the current and prospective role players in the industry must also be evaluated.

During its elective congress in December 2017, the ANC committed itself to amending the Constitution to accelerate land reform. President Cyril Ramaphosa, however, said that this would be done in a way that does not affect food security. While these words are comforting, they matter only if followed by concrete action.

the underdog

This brings me to a discussion I had with the late professor of sociology Herbert Vilakazi in 2013, when he said Africa desperately needed an agricultural revolution. He argued that the agricultural and industrial revolution during the colonial period bypassed the economic development of the vast majority of society. By the same token, he would argue that the same industries are now at government’s disposal to use for the beneficiation of the otherwise underdeveloped black economies and their participation in the mainstream agricultural industries.

Vilakazi said: “Throughout my adult life, I have written volumes about the plight of black people. I have alerted the powers that be about the dehumanising conditions the underdogs [black people] live in. Sadly, I have been ignored. But, mark my words, in 2018 the issue of inequitable land distribution will be the main course on the menu of political debates.” Three years after our discussion he passed on, and, as per his prediction, the land issue is a hot topic now in 2018.

According to Vilakazi, the bifurcation of South African society into black and white, and the inequality between the two, has its military-political origin in the conquest of white over black, and as an economic process, in the fact that the agricultural and industrial revolutions in the country bypassed the vast majority of society.

In economic terms, the underdeveloped status of the African population arose from this fact, giving rise to a ‘two nations’ divide. This is relevant to those seeking solutions to the crisis of high unemployment and growing inequality in the country. We must all accept that the underdog is now the heavyweight that is pulling down the white-controlled economy. In economic terms, we must eliminate the colonial status of the African people in order to solve the deterioration of the national economy. We must begin by initiating an African agricultural revolution.

The revolution

By bringing about a massive transformation in the lives of rural Africans, we will also be bringing about a massive transformation in our society. To drive this change, we need a specific project. This project needs a flagship; a scientific/technical team; a communication arm; the participation of the entire society.

The flagship of this project should be the presidency. There should be a presidential committee that oversees its implementation. The president should be the titular head of the committee. Corporate South Africa should participate in this project.

We also need a scientific/ technical team that will be responsible for guiding the implementation of the project, community by community, and province by province. These experts can be chosen from schools of agriculture. The experience of currently established commercial farmers is also very important for this team.

Another requirement for this project is the communication arm. Development involving millions of people is an educational process. These people must be imbued with knowledge. Training and workshops must be held to re-orientate and re-educate mass media workers on this task, so that they can pass the appropriate information on to the people.

It is only when we eliminate poverty and underdevelopment that we shall create an environment in which South Africans can heal their wounds and create true unity in our society. Sandile Madolo, via email

sa HAS to heal its wounds to become unified