In 1994, South Africa did what the rest of the world thought was impossible… we averted a civil strife and conflict, the likes of which was never seen on the African continent. The warring parties (the apartheid government and the forces of freedom and liberation) reached a negotiated settlement, and the first ever democratic elections in South Africa were held. Little is known by many that, a negotiated settlement is by its very nature a form of compromise between the parties at war. Apart from the ‘no-victor-no loser’ status rhetoric that accompany such negotiations, the public at large may never know the extent of term and conditions of the comprised reached, in our case, in the CODESA talks, safe to say that the so-called “sunset clauses” in those talks appear to be bedeviling our society today.

Top among the plethora of such “sunset clauses” appear to be the constitutional guarantee of property rights (including land, mines, enterprises, etc). One of the major reasons this specific property “sunset clause”, which has since become a tenet of our constitution, sought to protect ownership of property as it existed under apartheid, under the new dispensation. The net result of this compromise is that Blacks continue to be excluded from the ownership and control of the economy of the country (economic control and ownership expresses itself in real life through ownership of property). Although various mechanisms were set in place (land restitution and redistribution, BEE, etc.) to ‘make-up’ for this mother of all compromises, the net effect is still being felt today.

The effects of economic exclusion of Blacks is manifesting itself through such bottom-of-the-rung conditions of the majority of Black people such as abject poverty, chronic unemployment, pandemic diseases, misery and squalor. Once more, ancient wisdom appear not to have been heeded here… what you do or omit to do today are the seeds of what you will reap tomorrow! What can be done to right this wrong? Again, our strength in this regards still lies in our numbers. We must use the Black Rand to challenge and change the status quo of Blacks that existed in the colonial and apartheid days.

We must commit to use our Rand to:

1. For the well-being of our families and our people through our support of Black owned and controlled enterprises

2. Consciously in support of initiatives and endeavours that seek to create wealth, enterprises and job opportunities for Black people

3. Consciously to support initiatives and endeavours that seek to restore dignity, pride and the culture of our people.

Join our action programme that support WEALTH, ENTERPRISE AND JOB CREATION
for Black people.

 

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