Fairness and Democracy are Unknown Concepts in South Africa

The so-called “Democracy” that is claimed to be the centrepiece of the New South Africa is very hard to discern.

The most glaring example of that is the National Covid Command Council, a grouping of the top (ANC) politicians which has taken on itself the control of the South African economy, issuing commands without providing any indication of the justification for them, if indeed there is a rational justification, and requiring strict adherence to even the most destructive and nonsensical parts of them, in the manner of any of the typical African dictatorships. This process of undemocratic governance is so clouded in secrecy and Party-controlled policies that even the nominal President has, at times, been blindsided in an embarrassing way. The actions of this Command Council are very clearly decided behind the scenes by the subversives in the Ramaphosa Cabinet and the suspect members of the ANC NEC. Nowhere is there any sign of a democratic process in making or evaluating these commands in a reasoned way by the elected representatives of the people, even those subject, as they are, to the discipline of the Party, another element of non-Democracy, and there is not even any apparent attempt to lead the electorate to believe that there is, in fact, any democratic process at work here.

Another example of the abject failure of democracy in South Africa is the rapid agreement by the government, in this time of financial and fiscal crisis, to hand over to the taxi industry R1,2 billion, to make up for their losses as a result of having to operate at less than their normal 120% of capacity. When the taxi bosses declared that they were not satisfied, wanting R5 billion, the government hastened to mollify them by agreeing that they could load 100% of capacity, provided they drive around in sub-zero temperatures with their windows open! Apart from the evidence that the government is operating on another planet, this move demonstrates two points very clearly. The first is that it has now been established beyond any shadow of doubt that it is possible to gain what you want by making threats, provided you simultaneously contribute generously towards the bank accounts of the favoured few, probably as well as the ANC. The few thousand lives that this will cost is, after all, no more than the usual death toll the taxi industry inflicts on the public as a result of the abject failure by the Police to do their duty in combatting dangerous driving and unroadworthy vehicles, and the failure of the government at all levels to provide safe and affordable public transport to its citizens.

Yet another example of the lack of fairness, usually a requirement of democracy. Is the fact that thousands of businesses were forced to bear the closure brought by Covid-19, coupled with the loss of wages and profits by millions of citizens, all of whom have the same debts, rent, and all other expenses and cashflow elements associated with being alive, while the government and SOE employees, most of them avid ANC supporters, continued to receive 100% of their grossly-inflated wages and salaries, without any need to perform any services to earn them. Of course, as they are ANC voters, one could not expect otherwise.

Of course, the ANC government is accustomed to unfairness. The BEE regulations are an enduring indictment of their commitment to unfairness in their striving to win votes. Under these regulations, Whites are unfairly prejudiced by not being able to build, own and manage their own businesses beyond a minuscule size, and, as a result, they unfairly prejudice tens of thousands of Black workers, who would have enjoyed an income from them, as well as an opportunity to gain the skills and experiences that, in any sane country, would have enabled them to work their way to the top, to start and operate their own businesses, and to contribute to the economy in a way that would have resulted in South Africa winning the race against unemployment and poverty. The regulations, by demanding that businesses have a prescribed minimum proportion of Black ownership, have also had the effect of driving away billions of dollars (not exaggerated, as is directly known by the writer) in direct foreign investment, money and expertise which would have gone a long way to allowing South Africa to win its place at the forefront of world economies, rather than slipping down the indices of leading countries in almost everything that counts for its citizens. What seems to have been ignored by the ANC louts is the fact that anyone who is willing to take financial risks, to apply effort and ingenuity, and huge effort, to build a small business into a large one, is not willing to hand over a significant proportion of that business to a parasitic shareholder, who will share in the profits and growth of that business without contributing anything in the way of skills, investment or risk.

The final example that we will list here, although the list could go on for pages, is the idea that Blacks have a need to own their own piece of farmland (conclusively disproved by several surveys and by the fact that most of those with access to such farmland do not make use of it to farm at a scale greater than subsistence level). This idea had produced the notion of Expropriation without Compensation, a principle that goes directly counter to the principles enshrined in the supposedly-democratic Constitution, and seems to be aimed directly at the Whites, who have been the driving force that took South Africa to the point of being a noted agricultural economy. Any Ramaphosa protestation to the contrary is shown to be no more than ANC disinformation by the fact that the President hastened to drop to his knee at the foot of the Zulu King, who did not like the idea of losing his control over the three million plus hectares of land held by him. The fact that the land became subject to his control by the despotic actions of his bloodthirsty ancestor, King Shaka, another markedly undemocratic person, seems to play no part in Ramaphosa’s unstinting promise to the Zulu King (another example of the failure of democracy under our Constitution) that the ANC would not apply to ‘his land’ the “fair” principle of return of the land taken from the early inhabitants of the country to their original owners. The thought that the Zulu King holds the land on behalf of his ‘subjects’ is belied by the corrupt actions of many other Black tribal Kings, who enrich themselves at the cost of their tribes, by the difficulties experienced by those subjects in gaining any long-term rights to the land in order to build an agricultural business, and by the facts that the Zulu King unilaterally imposed a ‘rent’ on his subjects, in respect of land which they apparently own.

It would certainly not be unfair to say that the illusion of democracy to which the citizens, all of them, signed off in 1994, when they handed the control of the country to a Party which has earned its name as the ‘Association for Nepotism and Corruption’, was a massive confidence trick.

Statistics and Lies

The Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, has once again complained that companies are not adhering to the wishes of Government in the employment of Blacks and women in senior positions. She quoted a series of statistics, to prove that she really has no understanding of the situation, and that the expectations of businesspeople are being realized.

“According to Statistics SA’s 2016 third quarter figures, whites account for 9.5% of the economically active population (EAP) and black Africans 78%. The commission’s 2016-17 report says whites fill 68.5% of top management jobs, six times their EAP. Africans account for 14.4%. Males fill 78% of top management jobs. Whites account for 58.1% of senior managers compared to 22.1% of Africans. At the lower levels, Africans fare better, but still don’t match their EAP figures, accounting for 60.2% of skilled technical workers and 76.1% of semi-skilled workers.

“The continued high rate at which the white group appears to be afforded preferential treatment for recruitment, promotion and training opportunities at [top management] level is of concern. This trend renders it highly unlikely to achieve equitable representation at this level in the near future,” concluded the report [by the Commission for Employment Equity]. The situation is similar at senior management level.”

Frightening figures, when viewed from the point of view of the Government, figures which demonstrate the same lack of effectiveness as the Government under the ANC has shown in virtually every other sphere of the economy in which it has been active. However, when viewed rationally, the figures are both understandable and encouraging.

Let us look at some of the details, and really understand them.

Whites fill 68.5% of top management jobs, six times their EAP. Africans account for 14.4%, while Whites account for 9.5% of the economically active population (EAP) and Black Africans 78%.

Apart from the factually incorrect description of Blacks as ‘black Africans (which ignores the fact that numerous Whites are descended from families that have been in South Africa as long as most of the Black families), one must understand that a large proportion of the economically active Black population is engaged in work which has no potential to develop their education, knowledge and skills to the level where they can become effective top management. The statistics of that proportion are not presently available to the writer, but it is a safe bet to assume that, of the 78%, at least 50% are not qualified in any way and have little prospect of becoming qualified for a top management job, and another 20% of the remaining 38% are not yet old enough to have gained the experience required. Yes, top management requires many years of experience. If the Blacks who are educationally-qualified for the top management jobs had started their climb up the ladder in 1994 (assuming an adequate education), they would have gained 23 years of experience. How many of the top managers of large companies are aged less than 44 years? Again the statistics are not available, but the answer is certainly less than a handful. Why 44 years? Assume that an aspirant for top management completes Matric at 18, then a three-year degree, that person started work at age 21. Add the 23 years since 1994. He or she is now aged 44. Most of the Blacks who will become top managers of large companies are still working their way up the ladder, after gaining a good education and years of experience in many of the activities that are essential knowledge for the top job. In an interview on SABC this morning, the Minister of Social Security inadvertently confirmed this fact, when she stated that SASSA required at least five years to establish an in-house ability to pay social grants, after having worked on the problem since 2014 – a total of 8 years to do a project that a competent European or American company would certainly complete within 2 years (after all, CPS was able to develop the ability within less than a year!). She explained that the organization of SASSA, which was set up to do only the payment of social grants, consisted of low-level management. That statement is one of the few believable statements by the Minister, who has become known for obfuscation, circumlocution and even the use of Russian, in answering embarrassing questions. The simple fact, known to all of the companies burdened by the law requiring them to employ a certain ratio of ‘previously disadvantaged persons’. Is that there are simply far too few competent Black persons with the education, qualifications, skills and experience required to perform competently in a normal economy, never mind the minefield that the South African economy has become under ANC rule.

The situation on the ground is that a company’s prime requirement is to earn a profit for the shareholders. Once that is being done, the company has the freedom to comply with all the other nice-to-have objectives, such as Black Economic Empowerment. To do that, every top manager must perform at the peak level of performance expected from him or her. Where the profit flow is good, there is enough surplus cash to do the things that are required to meet the Government’s unrealistic expectation (that every Black is born with all the skills and experience to perform excellently – they are not, nor are Whites, Indians, Coloureds or Chinese), with a person being appointed to do a job that he or she is not qualified or experienced to do, supplementing his or her efforts with a skilled (probably White or Indian) who will filter out the gross mistakes deficiencies and add some on-the-job training in the process. That, of course, introduces managerial friction and inefficiency, and adds a considerable burden of cost, all of which weaken the market position of the company and detract from the attractiveness of the country as an investment destination. If you doubt this, ask why so many ‘proudly South African’ companies have largely withdrawn from the country (e.g. Anglo American, S A Breweries, Gencor) and others are doing whatever they can to minimize their exposure to South Africa. Ask why the economy is in a decline, where, previously, it was regarded as the ‘engine of Africa. Ask why the creditworthiness of the country has declined to the point where two of three Ratings Agencies have rated the country as ‘junk’. Ask why every Government-controlled business entity is in a state of collapse. Why cannot SAA make a profit, when the non-Government airlines do, why Eskom requires an ever-increasing tariff for the supply of the energy which, in the past, has been a major driver of economic growth, why the SABC requires additional funding every year, why SANRAL is rapidly approaching a fiscal cliff, even after a questionable accounting revaluations of its assets in order to maintain balance sheet solvency, could why PetroSA manage to deprive the country of its strategic fuel reserve? The root cause in every case is unqualified management. The compounding cause, corruption, is a direct result of the lack of moral honesty that is a prime element of a competent top manager, a quality that is built only by years of exposure to quality managers, absorbing their beliefs and morality.

“At the lower levels, Africans fare better, but still don’t match their EAP figures, accounting for 60.2% of skilled technical workers and 76.1% of semi-skilled workers,” the report continues. That again is no surprise. Although ‘Africans’ (correctly defined) occupy all but a tiny fraction of such positions, Blacks are severely disadvantaged in their capacity to occupy skilled or semi-skilled positions simply because the standard of education they receive is at an abysmally low level. The Department of Education systematically attempts to hide the real facts of this, by lowering the pass mark so that more ‘learners’ gain their piece of paper, but the truth is that an education at a level required to meet the minimum standards of most sophisticated employers is not available from the State schools. If there is any blame to be apportioned for this situation, it lies squarely at the feet of the ANC, which disrupted a proven skills-building system and introduced a system that had been proven elsewhere in the world to be defective. Once again, the ANC refuses to accept the advice of people who really know the truth, preferring to accept their ‘gut feel’ and the universally-disproven communist doctrine that they use as a master plan.

The figures issued, if correctly understood, are encouraging, in that they show that the Black citizens are working their way up the system, as any intelligent observer would expect. If we disabuse ourselves of the racist rhetoric spewed by the Government, it is clear that employers at all levels of the economy, would be delighted to find a qualified employee, whether at top management, skilled or semi-skilled, and would appoint such a person to an appropriate position. They would be pleased to provide the training, education and exposure that would maximize the value of such a person to the company. Every employer needs good people to sustain their growth into the future. Equally, every employer would be unconcerned that the best candidate for the job is Black or White, or any other race. Only the Government (and the few other Parties espousing similarly lunatic racial criteria, rather than promoting the economic growth that will create the situation where every person will have the job they want) would wish to push an unrealistic policy to the extent that the country’s already fragile economy will collapse.

The best thing that the ANC could do would be to expunge any reference to race from their lexicon, and that would be followed by getting out of the way of the hardworking people of all races who are working to make the country of Nelson Mandela succeed, for all its citizens.

White Monopoly Capital

There is an ongoing call from the Zuma camp of the ANC that White Monopoly Capital must go. The fact that this call is based entirely on the same demand by the EFF is a clear statement of the lack of ideas in the ANC. But the questions still remain: Why must it go? And do those mouthing the slogan really understand what they are asking?

The story that all the ills of the South African economy stem from the domination of the economy by White Monopoly Capital is a myth created for reasons of political expediency, and is demonstrably devoid of any truth. Almost every medium-large company, and every large one, is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and the shares in them are available for purchase by any person, including persons who are not part of the supposed White clique whose sole aim in life is to dominate the economy at the cost of the Blacks. The simple fact is that a large proportion of those shares is already owned, indirectly at least, by Blacks, through their pension funds and insurance policies, and more could be purchased for a relatively modest sum.

Even if we were to ignore those facts, the question is why should Whites, monopolists or otherwise, not run those companies?

The companies in question represent the vast bulk of employment opportunities in the economy, apart from the Government jobs which are a form of grossly-overpaid unemployment insurance for mainly unqualified persons, a system of subsidy that has come at great cost to the South African public, but which forms an effective way of buying the votes of those so employed. If the supposedly White-dominated companies were to disappear, the present rate of unemployment would almost certainly soar, probably to more than double the 35%+ that it now is. If you doubt that figure, consider the fate of the numerous successful commercial farms that collapsed within, at most, two years after the Government handed them over to Blacks. It is rumoured that the failure rate of those farms lies at about 97%, notwithstanding the huge amount of public money that has been sunk into them. The fault for that did not lie in any inferiority of the new Black owners, but rather in the fact that to be a successful commercial farmer, the managers of the farm must have extensive training after receiving a good education. In most cases, that is added after the farmer has acquired a cultural background of the processes and mindset of such farming. A man does not become a good farmer, a successful commercial farmer, simply by acquiring the land. The same applies to a manager in a business. It is something that is learned over many years, and the number of Blacks who have acquired that learning is small at present. That number will increase, as the best of the current crop of young Black employees work their way through the system, in exactly the same way as their Indian, Chinese, Coloured and White counterparts, and they should be encouraged to compete for the relatively few jobs available at the senior levels, to ensure that the new generation of senior managers are the best that the country can produce.

The fact that those shouting the slogan do not have even a low level of understanding of what realization of their demands would imply is evident from the catastrophic shape of the economy. They are making the call on the basis of a background of political training and political, communist, brainwashing by others who were equally unaware of the hard facts of business life. Jacob Zuma was a herd boy, and then a terrorist, neither of which could give any understanding of the thinking and economic background of the way the world operates, which are required to be effective at even a low level in a modern business activity. He has made numerous statements that are proof of this assertion, and his performance as a manager of the economy and of the activities of the members of his Cabinet is abysmal, to say the least. Zuma’s chief protégé at one time is Julius Malema, another man with absolutely no understanding of the business world. These two men know how to buy favours, but neither of them has contributed to the promotion of economic activity. Do they seriously believe that the disappearance of White Monopoly Capitalists would create a stronger economy or more jobs? Who do they think would create the profits to pay the taxes that their polices would distribute so profligately?

Quite apart from these considerations, the insistence by the political leaders on the use of the term ‘White Monoply Capital’ places a heavy emphasis on the ‘White’ element, placing on the broad group of Whites by implication an accusation of wrongdoing, that the Whites are to blame for everything that is wrong in the society, even after 23 years of rule by the ANC. Surely that would be long enough to rid the country of those ‘evil’ whites if, in fact, they are evil. That term is creating a racial disharmony that threatens to undo much of what Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada worked to achieve, a non-racial South Africa in which every person is free to contribute what he or she can to the country, and to benefit from the common welfare. By the very nature of the situation that existed at the start of that time, the Whites had more knowhow and capital to contribute, which they did with delight, in the knowledge that their efforts would assist their Black (and other) compatriots to step up to their own level of capability. However, as the racism propagated by the ANC and the EFF has grown, so the willingness of the Whites to play that role of helper and equal partner has declined. The stronger and more unfair the rules of Black Economic Empowerment have become, the closer the country has come to a White Economic Empowerment backlash. That may take the form of a faking or downgrading of the BEE activities so essential to the development of a Black managerial class, or the emigration of White capital, or, worst, the emigration of the skilled Whites to countries which value their capabilities more than do their own countrymen.

Political sloganeering is dangerous at the best of times, but the type of sloganeering typified by “White Monopoly Capital’ in the South African context constitutes economic suicide.