ARTICLE: STATE CAPTURE, ANC CAPTURE AND THE CAPTURE OF THE ECONOMY
There are several aspects to the current “state capture” debate.
To start with, there is nothing new about state capture. It has always been the ANC’s openly proclaimed, and profoundly unconstitutional, policy to capture the state to promote its own political and ideological interests. According to its Strategy & Tactics documents, a key task of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) after 1994 was
“to strengthen the hold of the democratic movement (i.e. the ANC) over state power, and to transform the state machinery to serve the cause of social transformation (i.e. the NDR): The levers of state power include the legislatures, the executives, the public service, the security forces, the judiciary, parastatals, the public broadcaster, and so on.”
Vladimir Lenin said that “when the time comes for us to hang the capitalists they will compete with one another to sell us the rope”. In the same manner, Afrikaners are playing a leading role in assisting the ANC to eclipse Afrikaans as a language of tuition at university level.
South Africans are shocked by scenes playing out of late, particularly on historically Afrikaans campuses. These incidents are part of a process that began at the end of 2015 with #Rhodesmustfall. Shortly afterwards it was #Feesmustfall, with similar origins. Then Open Stellenbosch followed, where racial and anti-Afrikaans sentiments were more visible, and then ReformPuk. At the start of 2016, all of this deteriorated into undisguised racism and xenophobia, with slogans of “F … whites” and even “Kill all the whites” appearing on walls and T-shirts. When art was burned at UCT, students shouted: “It is whiteness burning!”. And last week it culminated at UP with #Afrikaansmustfall and violence and physical attacks and counter-attacks.
International Mother Language Day is held worldwide on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Observed since 2008, the date of 21 February corresponds to the day in 1952 when students in what is today Bangladesh who were demonstrating for the recognition of Bangla as one of the two national languages of East Pakistan, were shot dead by police.
Letter first published by The Times of London
The remarkable developments of the past week have raised a number of fundamental questions about our President; about the ANC, about power – and about our constitutional democracy.
On the eve of the 22nd Reconciliation Day after the founding of a democratic South Africa, the question must be raised: What happened to the reconciling rainbow nation of Mandela, De Klerk and Tutu? Because it is, sadly, very clear that reconciliation and tolerance are in short supply in South Africa today.
In his remarks to the ANC’s National General Council on 9 October 2015 President Zuma provided some crucial insights into how he views his Alliance partners and how he foresees their future relationship after the goals of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) have been achieved. (President Zuma’s comments in isiZulu are indicated by italics.)