While trying to placate investors by saying that this was not official ANC policy, the ANC none-the-less defended his right to openly debate such proposals...
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Now, like Po the cuddly Kung Fu panda, Malema is back and drawing an even bigger following. And in much the same way as we overlook Po's personal foibles, the hungry South African youth (without much prospect of a good job or stable future) overlook the fact that Malema is living in cuddly panda-belly inducing luxury, while making revolutionary promises to fuel frustrations and his rise to power.
He's upped the stakes with his second term Youth League election promises adding banks to the nationalisation list, along with the mines, as well as Mugabe-style land grabs to speed up land redistribution and transformation... and is back with twice the awfulness for any level-headed South African - but twice the awesomeness in the eyes of his followers.
The dilemma we face with Malema is: should we take him seriously (his suggestions would spell economic ruin for the country, which makes them laughable - yet his revolutionary call has mass appeal with the apparently disadvantaged youth) or do his impassioned and racially divisive speeches fall into the realm of political Kung Fu posturing and make believe?
I'd like to believe the latter, but would feel more inclined to switch of my alarm if the (weak seeming) ANC leadership stepped up and DID something. JuJu has flexed his political muscle again... and it feels like we're all watching in the movie seats like passive spectators, not daring to believe this is real.
I think we have no choice but to take him seriously. As you say, he appeals to the masses and there is a reason for that. Each year we graduate hundreds of thousands of (often functionally illiterate) matrics who have no hope and even fewer opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI think it is up to each one of us to do something to make a difference, not to be the 'passive spectators' you mention. Surely it is worth investing a bit of our timne into our own futures?
We can all be involved in training and upskilling in our daily lives. How about selecting someone to mentor? And if we don't want to share skills as individuals, then there are any number of organisations already set up that are in desperate need of skilled volunteers. It sounds idealistic and naive, but it is far better than sitting back and bemoaning our fates while waiting for our version of zimbabwefication.
Our country has a thin veneer of middle and upper classes (of all colours, although whites are still overwhelmingly privileged). Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own futures and do something.
So yes... listen to Malema and listen well... if he wasn't there, there'd be plenty of others all to willing to take his place, and they may be even more radical and black nationalist than he is.