Something bothers me about this @nytimes story on the corruption scandal roiling South Africa. The Times presents it as a clash between new corrupt money and old white capital in SA. That’s not how I experienced it. nytimes.com/2018/12/22/wor…
It was average black citizens of SA that I saw outraged and mobilized in masses in the streets after the extent of the corruption was revealed by SA journalists (who seem to be uncredited in this @NYTIMES piece).
No doubt that the Oppenheimer’s of the country had a hand in opposing the new robber barons who were competing with them, but it was black whistle blowers and reformers like Mcebesi Jonas in govt and bold civil society activists who marched on Parliament who turned the tables
And the opposition parties were key as they elevated each new exposé from reporters at the @dailymaverick and other outlets. This eventually gave momentum to reformers within the ANC.
The most compelling part of the piece is the under-explored determination of the new ANC govt in 1994 to disrupt the chokehold that western interests had on an economy that exploited cheap black labor. In many respects, the story of modern South Africa is stalled right there.
