Now is the time to create a developmental state
Economic power of South Africa remains vested in a minority
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 now, as it was then, 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.
The difference is on just how it should be done. Some argue that land should be owned by the state, whilst others insist that it should be given to individuals to own.
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.
The entire agriculture value chain from production to marketing must be opened to allow black farmers to compete on an equal footing with their white counterparts. In this regard, we could learn from the old National Party as to how they turned poor Afrikaners into some of the most successful farmers on the continent.
Here we must see the equalising acts of an activist state, intervening in favour of the nascent black economy, as there cannot be fair competition between unequals. This intervention must cut across the entire economic front and not be limited to land reform.
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, for instance.
This would open competition in the market and, most importantly, protect the state against the possible collusion of the established banks.
Recent behaviour by these “established” banks does not inspire confidence, as it seems they can simply invoke the principle of “reputational risk”, and cut the state off from its accounts, should it do something counter to what they deem as suiting their purpose.
In addition to reforming the Land Act, and realigning the banking sector, the affirmation of black professionals requires intervention.
A survey suggests that black professionals continue to suffer discrimination by representative professional bodies, be they lawyers, medical practitioners, accountants, engineers, etc.
An aggressive reconstruction of these bodies needs to be legislated to enable better representation.
The above are but a few examples of what is required to reach the economic objectives around which the political revolution pre-1994 was fought.
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.