Thread by @twieterazzi

South African civil protests: An alternative view

[A thread]

According to the United Nations, SA is still regarded as the most unequal in the world, the wealthiest 10% of the population holding more than half the nation’s income

1 in 5 ppl survives off less than R27.66 a day

It has been reported that over 30 million South Africans are living in poverty with numbers worsening every year. In sub-Saharan African cities (including SA), about 55% of urban dwellers live in slums, a figure that is significantly higher than the global average of 30%.

The unemployment rate is currently at 43% with over 10 million people eligible to work being currently without a job. Unemployment has been growing steadily despite successive promises of jobs in the country.

In May 2021, a Stellenbosch University economist reported that as many as 10 million adults and nearly 3 million children experienced hunger in the preciding week in SA, & 2.5 million adults and 600,000 children were experiencing perpetual hunger almost every day.

In 1994 the ANC ran their election campaign under the slogan "A better life for all"

Truth is since 1994 the ANC govt has curated the colonial and apartheid economic relations that are seeing Africans continuing to be beggars and pariahs in their own country. Poverty worsened!!

What would later happen is that ANC activists, trade unionists and former members of the UDF would become rich under a parasitic BEE scheme.

Whilst affirmative action laws created a black middle class, this would serve as a buffer between the rich and the poor.

Meanwhile it has become clear that the Codesa deals did not secure any economic reparations for the natives.

Unlike with the Holocaust, the oppressive colonial and apartheid systems have not been atoned, hence Africans remain endemically poor in their land

The post-94 Constitution whilst securing a lot of rights "for all" it does not guarantee freedom from poverty or economic exploitation.

Whilst revered as progressive or best in the world, the rights in the constitution are very expensive to enforce and pro-poor on paper.

Whilst newspapers, commentators, analysts and broadly the chattering class have coined concepts like "race card" this are meant to numb you into not complaining about black poverty and normalising white supremacy.

Post-94 you can't complain readily about racial subjugation

During 2020 more than half of SA's population (61%) received some form of social grant.

In 2021, out of a total government budget of R 2 trillion, about R335 billion will go to social services.

In a normal society there would not be a need for Sassa.

They pacify you to accept that the state must spend this R335.3 billion of "taxpayers money" on social services, just so SASSA recipients do not rise to share in the economic fortunes of the country.

Ask yourself how much are they making if they are willing to let go of R335bn

So if u think about it, the poor are on their own.

With a minimum wage of R4200 against a general food basket price of R4100 this situation is untenable & would inevitably spiral out of control.

Millions of people are hungry even though they are counted amongst the employed.

With over 10 million people being unemployed, majority off which are the youth, you can be guaranteed that they are likely to be susceptible to be swayed by any undercurrents.

So as you complain about the looting, remember that u didn't care about these 10 million of your people