Monday, February 15, 2010

South Africa Courting with Destruction

South Africa is courting with destruction, the youth league of the ruling party and the trade unions are discussing whole scale nationalization in the economy, particularly the mines. This is sad, very sad indeed.(http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-15/s-africa-s-cosatu-anc-youth-league-to-meet-on-nationalization.html)

Nationalization does not work, it never has, it works only for a few at the top, for the rest, it will be a disaster. The ANC youth league and the Congress of South African Trade Unions though coming from a sympathetic stand, black empowerment to them only benefited a few, but that is because of policy that some blacks where better than other blacks, the elitist mentality of the Mbeki administration.

Who will run these nationalized industries, who will the be accountable to, certainly not the people but to a ruling party. Why stifle the most vibrant part of the economy.

In reality the only way is to allow people to be, reduce the government, meaning nationalization is a no no. Allow people to be means encourage people to own mines, to start up business, the government in any society can not deliver goods efficiently, there will be way too much bureaucracy, people with connections run government business, not people with the best skills, is this what the ANC youth league wants. Do not ask for evil or you will get it.

South Africa like Zimbabwe, Kenya are countries that should be way out there at levels of living certainly higher than Portugal or Greece, but they keep toying with things that do not work now in South Africa they are debating whether or not to kill themselves. Choose life,, envy always leads one to make disastrous choices, even when at times that very envy is a result of government interference. True the Mbeki administration put good policies, transfer assets to blacks, but then he started qualifying what kind of black, one had to have connections with his administration, and only a few ended up as entrepreneurs. Apartheid treated all blacks alike, all of a sudden Mbeki said a black who was a gardener does not deserve to own a share in a mine compared to the black who got a degree. What is the difference, since when was a degree a measure of business acumen, suddenly blacks with a degree felt they where more entitled to assets created by whites than those who did not. That is where the whole mess started. Business is about chance not an academic qualification.

Get rid of the elitist mentality, get rid of the government and let people put their money and risk. Don’t be envious of those who got, no matter how corrupt, demand an opportunity for everybody, that means less government, but Africa seems to never learn, they can see the wonders taking place in China because of less government, but Africans demand more government, why? First Kenya was destroyed because of this mentality, then Zimbabwe, now South Africa is about to take the same disastrous road.

A revolution can not be continuous, South Africa should have taken the land it needs, the policies it needs in 1994, then some sense of stability takes place, but when a revolution is continuous, then one is courting with disaster because nobody knows what to expect tomorrow. Finish the revolution now and get on with building the society, continuous revolutions finally wear out people, look at Zimbabwe, when the role finishes for the revolutionaries, let the builders build the society, let the people build, let them use their knowledge, get out of their way. Nationalization is a no no, especially the mines, don’t kill the society, you think you are punishing whites, but it is the people who will end up suffering. No doubt all over the world whites do not like blacks, they are fighting some racial war, it is how they are, especially those with a Western Mentality but, South Africa needs to become powerful and be a player, Mbeki refused to free the economy, The Youth League refuses, there is 24% unemployment in South Africa just after a commodity boom, maybe the minerals will not ensure employment, maybe freeing the economy will ensure a 5% unemployment, keep the government out.

Bhekuzulu Khumalo

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Bhekuzulu Khumalo

I write about knowledge economics, information, liberty, and freedom