Let me cut into this American political debate and share some insight into South Africa. Recently, multi-billionaire businessman and vice president Cyril Ramaphosa took over the office run by Jacob Zuma. He was not elected, apparently he was “voted in”. Personally, Cyril Ramaphosa has a better chance of improving the economy due to his intelligence. Jacob Zuma along with his supporters, who can’t even pronounce 8 figure digits, has caused much scandal and corruption in South Africa since he was elected. He cannot speak English properly, he is a slow reader, he does not take the economy seriously and only cares about fulfilling the pockets of his family. Examples are the R246 million of public funds JZ spent on “upgrades” in his personal home Nkandla.
Elections are in 2019 and there may or not be a change Cyril is elected. This is because since Cyril Ramaphosa’s take over, fuel prices have been increasing every week, causing a heavy burden on poor South Africans.
Here’s the juice.
Land Expropriation without compensation (land restitution sugar coated) is one of the major political discussions amongst South Africans. The current ruling government ANC wants to amend the constitution to allow land to be expropriated without compensation. Currently, if government wants to expropriate land, they would have to compensate the farmer. Major political parties ANC and EFF disagree with this saying white farmers/land owners should not be compensated because the land was stolen by their forefathers. Many white South Africans believe that if their land is expropriated, the economy of South Africa may become like the economy of Zimbabwe when land expropriation was practiced there, leading the Zimbabwean dollar to become obsolete and worthless, prompting them to use foreign currencies as their medium for buying and selling goods.
I am a White, English South African. Most blacks in South Africa consider all whites to be “Afrikaaners”, the same nation of white people who caused Apartheid in South Africa. Very few black South Africans paint white people with a different brush. This is understandable though, as Apartheid had caused a major outcry and had many bad effects on the black people in South Africa. However, it is my opinion that the current black government has had plenty of time to redress the economy. However, due to the hunger for more power most politicians are more interested in filling their own pockets than looking after the economy.
It is my opinion that if land expropriation does occur, and the government doesn’t regulate who they give this land to, it will cause a major setback regarding food production amongst other industries that make use of farms.
Finally, I see a very bleak future for the new generation of white South Africans(especially Afrikaaners) in South Africa. BBBEE, affirmative action is so rife in South Africa that white people have to fight with one another to get a job where only 1 or 2 positions are available for white South Africans. The older generation of white South Africans are nearing their expiry date, are already educated and already have jobs that some have kept since the 80’s/90’s. It is the newer generation, us, who are taking the hardest knock.
Any questions are welcome. I am 21 years of age living in RSA.
