Political developments in South Africa September 10, 2013 Opinion & Analysis<http://www.herald.co.zw/category/articles/opinion-a-analysis/> [image: Julius Malema]<http://www.herald.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Julius-Malema.jpg>
Julius Malema *Albert Nhamoyebonde* NOW that there is no longer the Zimbabwe political crisis after the successful and peaceful July 31 harmonised elections, the focus is on political events as they develop in South Africa. What many people do not understand is that South Africa still has to define how the majority blacks have to own and run their country. This has not happened since their freedom in 1994, they say their independence was in 1910! Unlike Zimbabwe, which has through and through defined itself as a country whose position is known the world over, South Africa has been too saintly to settlers and very irresponsible and insensitive to the plight of the indigenous people. I see Zimbabwe soon mediating in South Africa after a popular people’s uprising against continued disenfranchisement by pro-foreign policies. As some observers said, “the ANC in South Africa is in office but does not have power.” The whites may not occupy government offices but they are running the country economically and have what is termed economic power. It has been disclosed by economic experts that whites, who own much of the economy, pay more than 95 percent of the revenue collected to fund Government expenditure. Many people have criticized the South African government for having a propensity to fund prestigious projects at the expense of service delivery for the poor who wallow in poverty. Projects, such as the Fifa Soccer World Cup staged in 2010, gobbled up to R40 billion. Schools in some provinces do not have classrooms, laboratories and books. Citizens are resorting to carrying buckets of excrement to government offices and public areas to protest against lack of service delivery especially in Cape Town. Enter Julius Malema, who was expelled from the ANC and his Economic Freedom Fighters. The disgruntled voters, young and old, are bound to support Malema’s party. At the last election, the ANC got about 60 percent of the vote with the DA coming second on 32 percent. The other parties shared the 8 percent of the vote. The situation in South Africa is such that voters vote for a political party not an MP at constituency level nor is a president directly elected. With elections looming in 2014, the battlelines are already drawn between the ANC and EFF. If EFF captures just 15 to 20 percent of the vote, then the ANC may not be capable of electing a president in parliament or even forming a government. The opposition parties could come together to elect a president and form the next government. There could be an inclusive Government if the ANC wanted to hang on to power. Therefore, the political problems Zimbabwe went through for the past five years could be repeated in South Africa with Sadc weighing in to mediate. The other scenario is that Cosatu may be heading for a split with the unions fighting each other. The split in Cosatu would be to the advantage of Malema and his EFF. Malema’s party is taking a leaf from Zanu-PF for its political policy of land allocation to the majority blacks without paying any compensation to the whites. The indigenization and economic empowerment policies resonate throughout Africa and the under developed world. Anyone who read Thabo Mbeki’s article published in the Herald a few weeks ago will testify to the fact that, sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were primarily to deter other countries copying Zimbabwe’s policies on land possession from the whites and giving it to the blacks. But not only that, Zimbabwe’s land policies are not supported by the western countries as they want these policies to fail, hence the sanctions. Now that the government has a clear majority in parliament and an elected president with a clear majority of the electorate behind him, agriculture must be given the highest priority to perform well beyond expectations and prove to the world that the indigenous people of any country must own their resources. The success of agriculture in Zimbabwe will send a clear message to other countries that the black person means business in every sense of the word. Political emancipation without economic power is just meaningless. Therefore South Africa is at the threshold of redefining itself and this may be decided in the 2014 elections if Malema’s party manages to campaign for economic emancipation for black South Africans. It is not easy for a new party to set up political structures in such a short space of time but it can be done. But, the political situation made difficult by economic deprivation, poverty, lack of service delivery and endless strikes in every sector, such as, the mines, the farms, and public sector, will create a favourable climate for EFF to capture a substantial percentage of the vote. The only drawback would be if any violence raised its head during the heated election period. While the whole world may be occupied with the developments in the Middle East, where the Syrian crisis may explode any day, the situation next door to Zimbabwe may not be a child’s play. What role could Zimbabwe play to bring stability to the region? Sanctions and sanctions must go and Zimbabwe will become a shining example of economic development by blacks and for blacks in Africa in particular.
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