U r starting with these things that will make people say "you are a rambo"??? Lol
Will read through now Nyawuza... Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! -----Original Message----- From: Lazola Ndamase <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:11:09 To: <[email protected]>; yclsa-eom-forum<[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Re: Frank Chikane's book: From the bookshelves to our dusbins - thats where its headed DUS*T*BINS: SORRY On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 10:10 AM, Lazola Ndamase <[email protected]> wrote: > *FRANK CHIKANE’S BOOK: FROM THE BOOKSHELVES TO OUR DUSBINS* > > > With its dramatic subject matter, comrade Frank Chikane’s book which > centers around the emotions of a former head of state and his ilk when he > was shown the door was destined to dominate headlines and our gossip > columns. But will its momentary popularity carry it into the future? I > doubt. > > > As a society emerging out of the ruins of apartheid, South Africa is not > just fluid but volatile and requires sharp minds to point it to the > promised-land. The transformation process in our country remains one of the > most complex transitions in contemporary society, vexing even the most > dynamic intellectual minds. The reason for this is that there is little > historical reference to learn from about how to successfully steer a > negotiated transition which contained major compromises on the economic > front versus the aspirations of the great majority of the oppressed, on the > back of whose votes the movement was elected. On occasion our young state > literally has to learn from itself. > > > Such a complex situation necessitates us to develop a milieu of a robust > and lively public discourse: one that draws the necessary lessons from our > immediate past and on the back of which builds for the future. > Contributions to the public discourse by homegrown intellectuals of various > hues have to be weighed from the standpoint of drawing necessary lessons > while mapping the way forward. Those that are bound to make their mark and > register their contribution to the march of history are only those that > will use their intellectual acumen to fulfill this necessary requirement. > Heaps of scrap metal from our past that Chikane piles on our public > discourse, however mouthwatering, provide very little for us going forward, > and that remains the major lacuna of in his book. > > > Of course, any society worth its salt will always use historical lessons > as a compass on how to measure the steepness of the hills to climb ahead. > And this I do not discourage. However, the temptation, encouraged in his > book, to assess historical questions emotionally demobilizes any probing > intellectual mind and calls on us only to emote, sit in the corner and > sulk, rather than appreciate the difficulties as we march forward. History > must be approached critically, from all angles, with an intention of moving > forward. > > > Another major weakness in it is that it tells us the wrong story. > > > With all its faults, our country is not a dictatorship. The principal > problem we face as a country, thus, is not one of a degenerating capitalist > democracy sliding towards tyranny, but one of a failing economic system > that has left millions, economically, in dire straits. Thus, we are faced > with a failing bourgeois society, primarily its economic edifice. > > > In the past decade our country enjoyed between 4-7% GDP growth but > achieved such high levels of unemployment estimated to be well above 30%. > This is coupled with the fact that since 1996 – that magical year – Higher > Education’s share of the total budget has decreased by a whopping 20% in > real terms. It is not surprising then that the majority of young people > loiter the streets; some sit at home, watching the sun-rise and set, > without any prospects of attracting employment, however exploitative. > > > We are one of the most unequal societies in the world: a country where the > rich rake billions while millions live below the bread-price. We are well > aware that the perennial problem of capitalist economies is their perpetual > reproduction of combined and uneven development: poverty and opulence, side > by side, but what we do not have, is an insider account of why the > government – since 1996 – ineptly discarded the notion of growth through > redistribution for growth before redistribution through fiscal austerity > such that we find ourselves with jobless growth. Having been located where > he was, Chikane could have been well-placed to provide answers on this > front. But he did not. > > > Thus, as we probe what caused a country with the most progressive labor > laws managed to allow one of the most exploitative capitalists such as > labor brokers to operate right underneath its noses with impunity, without > so much as doing something about it, “Eight days in September” will clearly > not be our reference book. We will have to look elsewhere. > > > Taken from the standpoint of what matters, it will remain but a footnote > in the wider book about the problems and solutions of what besets us as a > nation struggling to define its development path. Despite flying off the > shelves of bookstores, this book offers nothing in the study of the causes > of the myriad of problems faced by South Africans on the economic front and > thus donates itself only to the harsh gnawing criticism of mice in dusty > shelves of our cupboards in the long term. > > > Sumptuous tales, such as those it provides, are most likely to capture the > feelings of South Africans for a while, but are not going to last the mile > when hard questions need to be answered that should take our society > forward. All it does is act as a diversion. Rather than a peripheral issue > that focuses on the feelings of a former head of state, our public > discourse must be firmly focused on helping us reach our economic crown. > > * > * > > *Lazola Ndamase is a member of the ANC* > -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. 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