Tag: south africa

Why does South Africa like to needlessly invite the anger of other Africans upon itself?

by Sang N., posted in Africa, Diplomacy, Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi, Opinion, south africa

Listen to this article here.

If you were to allegorize all of the largely self-inflicted scandals in which the South African state has been embroiled in since 1994, into one being, you’d be forgiven for arriving bang on bullseye at a spoiled child brat; one who despite plenty of warmth & affection bestowed upon them, doesn’t fully appreciate the sacrifices others made (and continue to make) on their behalf.

And here I’m not referring to the antics of Msholozi (Nkandla, Guptagate, to name just two), nor the other character failings like that time Jacob Zuma absurdly claimed that having a shower protected him from H.I.V; or that dizzyingly ridiculous episode when Thabo Mbeki, an intellectual among Presidents (not just African Presidents), falsely believed that HIV treatments could be poisonous, so withheld proven, life-saving anti-retrovirals (ARVs) from those in need; a lot of H.I.V stories I know, but stories nevertheless that caused real embarrassment to Africans the world over.

No, I’m not talking about all that. I’m also not referring to the embarrassing disasters, like that time during Mandela’s memorial, when the A.N.C clumsily solicited the services of a fake sign language interpreter who was, “signing rubbish” (according to many deaf people who watched the live broadcast) next to international dignitaries – the likes of Barack Obama.

What I’m referring to instead is the vexatious and totally unreasonable behaviour of some people within South Africa who do or say things that no one sensible can ever put a finger on, but which have far reaching consequences, not least tarnishing everything that’s good about brand Africa.

Like that time when the Zulu King Zwelithini sparked xenophobic violence (some say the correct term is “afrophobic”) against immigrants living and working in South Africa, leading to the death of at least seven people ; Or last year’s attacks that killed at least 12 people, and forced the South African government to issue an apology to Nigeria & Ghana. Cyril Ramaphosa even apologised for the violence at Mugabe’s funeral, a pacifying act that turned boos to cheers…as if the special envoys sent to the countries whose citizens were mostly affected by the xenophobic violence – Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, the DRC, to mend relations weren’t a sufficient enough diplomatic gesture. I’m talking about the brawls that keep breaking out in South Africa’s parliament (there was at least one in 2017, and another in 2018) . Then there was that almighty near-miss in 2015, when the whole world watched in horror as Oscar Pistorius nearly … nearly escaped justice.

That’s even before we get to the uncomfortable topics – like the drink-driving and associated high motor vehicle accident rates in the country, the gender violence, in particular the killing of women; violent crackdowns like the Marikana Massacre, the huge societal inequalities… the list is rather long.

And so, when just over a week ago it was revealed that some military officials at Waterkloof Air Force Base had crafted a situation that forced President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi to delay his departure from South Africa for 7 hours, over an outrageous suspicion (involving one ‘Prophet’ Shepherd Bushiri and his wife skipping bail), that shouldn’t have been levelled in the first place, Malawians across the world got really angry.

Here, I must declare an interest. Being a Malawian national, this fiasco was particularly insulting for quite a number of reasons. I must also state that for reasons that will become clearer below, I fully support the statement released by Malawi’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, a few days after the fiasco.

Firstly, whatever the transgressions of Shepherd Bushiri and his wife – and yes they must face justice in a fair trial if compelling evidence of wrongdoing exists, it was extremely stupid of whoever decided to delay the plane’s departure, to drag President Lazarus Chakwera into that hoo-hah. That action alone speaks volumes of South African authorities; the foolishness of those who became suspicious and thought that the Malawian President would stoop so low as to help a wanted person / fugitive escape justice knows no bounds. They’re a liability to South Africa, and the proper functioning of South Africa’s institutions.

Secondly, when it is the case that a leader like former Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir, who had an ICC arrest warrant hanging over his head for genocide in Darfur, visited South Africa in 2018, and pranced around the country unchallenged without so much as a cotton thread tweezered off his garment, how dare South Africa’s police go as far as search president Chakwera’s plane…!? How disparaging is such rabid behaviour!?? Incredible… simply astonishing. What happened to diplomacy?

Now, I understand that South Africa’s police is not a perfect institution. I mean, the country recently fired its Deputy Police Commissioner, because of corruption. Yup, the second chap in command of the police was involved in a corruption saga, and was showed the exit door. So I understand that there is a bit of a quality/ standards problem there. But just because you have nincompoops in your crime fighting forces doesn’t mean that you should transpose the apparent lack of integrity that afflicts some of your institutions onto other countries. Let’s be absolutely clear, we’re not all crooks, and assuming so is extremely ignorant.

Thirdly, I very much doubt that the Hawks would have done exactly the same thing had another leader, say Vladimir Putin, or Angela Merkel been the visiting dignitary instead of Chakwera. And that’s a big problem in South Africa’s national psyche. Imagine that the Bushiri-type saga involved a German or Russian fugitive. It’s almost unimaginable that South Africa’s police would have marched the German or Russian entourage out of the plane, back to the airport concourse, passport in hand, for these so called “security checks”. They definitely wouldn’t have searched their plane, gone through their luggage, and dehumanised the officials of another sovereign state. No chance. You know why, because of all the reasons that anyone with half a brain can think of, it is extremely unprofessional to do so. But doing it to Malawi’s president reveals the kind of attitudes those officials hold towards fellow Africans.

Which begs the question: why do some South African officials seem totally incapable of freeing themselves from from a propensity of generating dishonour? From a tendency of ‘crafting’ high drama?

As an outsider, this erratic and at times self-sabotaging behaviour coming out from the rainbow nation is not only perplexing but extremely annoying. More so because South Africa happens to have the word “Africa” in the country’s name, but at times they behave as though they aren’t even African. And if some foreigners look at all the unhinged behaviour, no wonder some of them disrespect the rest of us (“Shithole country” etc). That sort of behaviour gives Africa a bad name.

Mind you, this is the second largest economy in Africa, this is the land that produced greats not only of the stature of Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, but also the likes of Steve Biko, Desmond Tutu, Albert Lithuli, Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, Trevor Noah…and Elon Musk, internationally recognized personalities the world over who command a lot of respect, for some to the point of a cult following. You really really want to stand back and ask: Where has the excellence gone, what the hell is wrong with these people?

If this all sounds somewhat remote to you, let me try a different angle: If you are an African, do you get pangs of embarrassment or slight discomfort, when someone who is not African, anyone who is not African, during conversation veers into that troublesome topic of … the stereotypical but nevertheless real phenomenon of the Nigerian scammer? That cringey feeling! Like, oh here we go again.

Some apologists say South Africa is a young democracy still in its infancy. That despite the relative economic development, the country is still but a babe learning from it’s mistakes. That with time, things will be ok. As optimistic and soothing to the ear as that may sound, I’m not sure I buy the argument entirely. Unlike countries like South Sudan – which have also had a tumultous and violent history as South Africa has had, but whose national polity arose from a tiny city-state province, South Africans gained their freedom at a point when institutions within their country had already been established and were already arguably strong; with some of the leading Universities in Africa, sprawling cities, a sound legal system and a mature financial system. Thus, the mere addtion of democracy (i.e. majority rule) to that equation ought not to, ordinarily, lead to too much dysfunction. So something else is going on.

Other sympathisers say South Africa is still trying to catch up; that the country is still in transition. The proponents of this argument say that while other African countries have had decades-long headstarts to properly educate their peoples (without discrimination), and many more years to cement their various versions of Pan-Africanism, Black South Africans couldn’t get the kind of quality education necessary for the rebuilding of a stable, functional and fair society for a very long time. And so, the dysfunction and blunders associated with the post-Apartheid South African state are just a natural if not inevitable consequence of that deficiency; what in Chichewa we would call “Chimizi” for lack of a better term. Similarly, the Afrophobia is but a dredge of the hatred that was once thrown at black south Africans by Apartheid. But even this explanation is not entirely convincing.

I think some South Africans just don’t want to learn. I also think too many South Africans don’t know as much of their country’s history and the role other African countries played in securing South Africa’s freedom, as they should; that there is this lazy, ignorant, drunken almost schizophrenic tendency in some people in South Africa to always blame others for their own failures or misfortune.

“You see it the way some South Africans hate Zimbabweans” a friend told me recently. “Instead of getting up and actually working as hard as the Zimbabweans who they like to blame, they find it much easier to just hate and blame them”

Another friend said South Africa’s problem is its misplaced sense of superiority:

“Too many people in South Africa have this high-mindedness that they are better than other Africans. And that creates a problem especially when the people you’re looking down on happen to be the very same people who helped you gain your freedom“

Why the Malawi Postal Corporation should enter the business of International Money Transfer

by Sang N., posted in Africa, Initiatives, Inspiration, Opinion

money-card

A few weeks ago, I watched a Christmas party video in which the speaker talked about remittances by migrants living in the UK, and immediately I got an idea.

Why doesn’t the Malawi Postal Corporation (MPC) enter the business of International Money Transfers? Not only in Malawi, but across the region…

In that video, the London mayoral candidate George Galloway said that if he is elected mayor of London in 2016, he will move to make City Hall enter into the business of International Money Transfers, except it will be done on a non-profit basis. It made me think about how Malawians particularly in the UK and the US spend so much on charges and fees to send money to their loved ones.

The choice of the MPC may seem like a random or even odd one, but it is not. The Malawi Postal services has a wide network of 180 Post Offices across Malawi and 154 postal agencies in the country. Surely with such a wide network, they must have the capacity to add an additional service of money transfer ontop of the other services which MPC already offers? The only difference would be that this service will not depend on Money Transfer Operators (MTO’s) such as Western Union, Moneygram or other services, thereby more of the benefit of the transfers will remain on African soil.

In any case, remittances to East and Southern African countries have been steadily increasing. In 2013, US$28.7million was sent to Malawi from abroad (up from US$14.5million in 2006, see Index Mundi here) and US$72.8 million was sent to Zambia  (Source: Examining the Relationship Between Received Remittances and Education in Malawi, Kasvi Malik, Claremont McKenna College, 2015). Zimbabwe received US$1.8 billion in 2013 (Source: Zimbabwe: Diaspora remittances in decline, The Africa Report), Tanzania received US$75.34million in 2012 and Mozambique received US$117million in 2010(data-World Bank)

In total the Overseas Development Institute estimates the total cost of fees charged by the Dallas based MoneyGram (whose 2014 revenues were US$1.45billion with $456.4million Gross Profit) and the Colorado based Western Union (whose 2014 revenue were US$5.6billion with $2.31billion Gross profit) to be US$1.8 billion (see Watkins, Kevin & Quattri, Maria. “Lost in intermediation: how excessive charges undermine the benefits of remittances for Africa.” Overseas Development Institute, April, 2014.Web. 20 March, 2015).

Surely this is money which should be utilised within Africa?

But why is this issue important?

Our Countries in Africa need money. Poverty lingers, our education systems are in tatters, we have high youth unemployment, healthcare crises, and in the face of illicit financial outflows, receding or suspended aid budgets, relatively small FDI’s and the corruption problem (which is far from going away), every penny counts.

Every penny must count.

The African Diaspora is a burdened community. The majority usually accept low-paying jobs, spend more money relatively than indigenous populations to establish themselves, are milked dry by extortionate immigration fees, have less social capital in the countries they dwell (therefore less access to informal or supplementary sources of funds), and fewer fallback protections than indigenous populations. In some countries, migrants have to pay more for healthcare, and for services which are free to the locals. They find it harder to access capital (with which to start businesses – which could help them financially), and on top of taxes, Social security / council tax, etc.. they have many mouths and responsibilities from family members back in their home countries, dependants who are often expecting dollars, pounds or Euros for their livelihood each month; to pay for rent, food, school fees, medical care and other expenses.

So how would the MPC Money Transfer scheme work?

On a very basic level, a non-profit organisation would be incorporated in the UK, the US, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique, with bank accounts opened in all those branches.

The organisation would have one or two staff members based at the Malawian embassies in each of these countries. The Malawian government would deposit US$100,000 in each of the bank accounts, and when a remittance has been made, the organisation would level a 5-10% fee on the value of the remittance, as a cost for sending the money. A mobile app would be developed to make the job of transfering money easier, and contracts with banks and money gateways would be utilised to allow payments to other bank accounts or services in the participating countries on favourable terms. Any profits made at the end of the financial year after all the costs have been deducted would be donated to a fund to be used for job creation for youths, healthcare initiatives and other such purposes across Africa.

Obviously it’s not going to be as simple as that, and current market players are unlikely to want a new serious entrant with Social ambitions, but you get what I’m saying.

A few years ago, some people suggested that Diasporas Bonds (Read Economist article here) was the way for African migrants to help invests in their countries, but the scheme still depended on the likes of Western Union.

I acknowledge that the rise of mobile money has had a positive impact on empowering rural communities across Africa, but I’m not convinced that the benefit of such has been significant or evenly distributed among the people who use it. Indeed, it seems to me that a handful of entrepreneurs, and a few corporations (for example Orange SA who own Telkom Kenya, the part-owner of Safaricom, which owns Mpesa. Safaricom is also partly owned by Vodafone Group) have reaped the majority benefits of the mobile money revolution, meaning what mobile money has done, is made companies and corporations who are owners of the various platforms richer.

What I’m calling for is a scheme whereby our governments in Africa, as opposed to MTOs or private companies control a greater chunk of the pie, with a hope that such would lead to greater investment in services for the greater good of our people.

South Africa’s ageing white mercenaries who helped turn tide on Boko Haram

by Sang N., posted in Military, Opinion

(c) from sites.la.utexas.edu
Image from sites.la.utexas.edu

South Africa’s ageing white mercenaries who helped turn tide on Boko Haram

“But the South African government doesn’t want them to exist. They wish them off the planet. When they come back from Nigeria, it will try to prosecute them and put them in jail. Because the colour of these men is white, it makes laws that stop them earning money off shore. How wrong can you be? There is now reverse racism and it’s difficult for white people to get a job.”

A recurring theme is a sense of grievance and resentment among ex-soldiers who perceive today’s South Africa as loaded against them, even though statistics consistently show that the white minority still enjoys disproportionate access to education, jobs and wealth

…

And the image of drunk, depressive adventurers was old hat, Heitman argued. “That may have been true of mercenaries in the sixties. The ones I know are pretty serious soldiers and family men. They’re not ones for boozy parties. There are some among them who were having booze and parties in the past but now they’re in their 50s and 60s and serious guys.”

Comment

I must say I don’t understand why current South African Laws are framed in such a way that these people can’t go and freely practice their ‘trade’ in private companies elsewhere. It can’t possibly be justifiable, if some of them were not directly responsible for anything of great concern during their time in the SANDF. It’s a different thing if they are known to have committed atrocities(or there is credible evidence to this effect) during the apartheid era (Is that the case for each one of them? Or are the lines blurred..?). In such a case, then there would be good reason to have them prosecuted. But even then, actions would have to be evidence based, and not wholesale and speculative.

Otherwise, I’m inclined to dismiss the South African laws as short-sighted, more so on the part of the ANC government since it is roundly accepted that each of these men possesses a substantial amount of experience – which could benefit efforts against terrorism elsewhere across the world. As remote as such a prospect may sound, imagine an army consisting of South African mercenaries hand in hand with other military groups being dispatched to Libya, Syria and Iraq to add to the pressure against Islamic State. Shouldn’t we be throwing everything against the extremists operating in these countries? Especially when Europeans and Americans are reluctant to commit troops to these missions. Hardly anyone believes Islamic State can be defeated without ground forces. I think additional troops(of the order 50,000), other than those currently fighting IS, will be required to make any serious progress. Thus, if experience can be gained from South African mercenaries, why can’t they be enlisted?

Never mind Boko Haram, what about further reinforcements in the fight against the likes of Al Shabbab and Islamic State? I think it is a waste of talent and self-limiting to neglect experienced men, and put impediments in their paths, blocking them from practicing their vocation – when the world stands to benefit in the event that they succeed.

Thundafund: The crowdfunding platform made for Africa

by Sang N., posted in Opinion

Thundafund: The crowdfunding platform made for Africa (CNN)

“Kickstarter doesn’t really work in South Africa… it’s a difficult market to break in to… It could be said [Kickstarter] is more about making money than empowering people; there’s no responsibility towards funding more entrepreneurs. Patrick is providing opportunities and helping communities.”

A new way of doing business

Good ideas are “a dime a dozen” Schofield says, but many South Africans lack the “the skills and resources” to bring their idea through to fruition. New businesses that do receive funding are often saddled with heavy debts or give away significant portions of their company to investors in return for guidance. Whilst the likes of Kickstarter “stand aside” once a campaign is launched according to Kruger, Thundafund has guided its entrepreneurs through the process, optimizing their chance of attracting investors.

Zakes Mda: I feel like a dancing monkey at European literary festivals

by Sang N., posted in Opinion

Mda, a creative writing professor at Ohio University in the US, backed Mgqolozana’s claim that black writers are treated as anthropological subjects. “You feel like you’re a dancing monkey … You are some figure that is being scrutinised and studied. Some amazing animal. ‘Oh look, they can write too.’ And even the questions they ask you are very patronising … A place like Franschhoek replicates that kind of situation and I can understand how he felt.”

..

The faultlines were exposed this week during a panel discussion at Wits University in Johannesburg. Corina van der Spoel, an Afrikaner who organises literary festivals, prompted anger and accusations of racism from the audience by questioning whether black parents provide books to their children.

..

One audience member responded sharply: “Here we all sit thinking, ‘That was so racist,’ right? I think part of the reason why [Van der Spoel] has to do what she’s doing is kind of propping up the establishment she defends, because it needs to be an establishment that protects white hegemonic culture, so that she can continue to purport that black people aren’t readers and therefore not good producers of literature.”

She added: “Everything that we hear from that lady is indicative of what is in the colonial subconscience of this country, which is blacks don’t read, black parents don’t do a good job of making readers out of their children, and if you kick out white people then literature is not literature.”

…

Fellow author Siphiwo Mahala told the audience: “My rejection of the white literary system does not mean I will embrace black mediocrity.

“Franschhoek is the embodiment of all that is white. It is a private initiative. They created that festival for themselves. And after they created it, they thought, ‘Ha, so we will also need maybe some black monkeys to come and entertain us.’ And then they extend invites to us. So it was on those grounds that I declined the invite in 2011. But the circus will not stop because of the absence of one monkey.”

More here Zakes Mda: I feel like a dancing monkey at European literary festivals (Guardian)

The Other: What people say about Migrants

by Sang N., posted in Opinion, Public Opinion, Thoughts

P1060325Once every now and again something happens that prompts me to troll through the comments people leave in response to articles on news websites. This exercise is purely a curiosity driven exploration of the range of views out there. And except for the clearly idiotic  (which there are many), I think most comments reveal a lot about the people who write them.

So maybe comments could be a way of gauging what a part of the readership of a publications thinks about certain issues. Maybe it can be used to gauge popular sentiment, but I doubt it is necessarily representative of a population or locality in the way that a referendum does. It couldn’t possibly be, for many reason including because not all readers in a locality read the same publication (or even read a newspaper). And for those who read a particular publication, not all of them leave comments. Even those who leave comments do not always show their true colours.

Still, comments being opinions are subjective and often filled with emotion even though as subjectivity goes some opinions are rather scary.

Also it’s interesting to see that the notion of freedom of expression in some countries is quite difficult to pinpoint, if not altogether warped, while in other countries, it’s the quickest ticket to persecution, jail or worse. To some people, expressing hate and what could come across as vile, equates to freedom of expression. To others its heresy. No surprises then that in this nirvana of duplicitous opinions found on newswebsites, certain subjects (in particular those praising certain dictators) are out-of-bounds and you can very quickly get in trouble, whereas praising other dictators (for example Stalin for some bizarre reason) is unlikely to get you in any trouble, leaving one wondering whether the measure used in deciding what is acceptable isn’t questionable in itself.

Criticising certain religious figures is likely to go unchallenged, while criticising others could elicit violence. Which is why lots of people leave comments from behind an alias unconnected with their physical person.

It appears that the criteria for determining what is acceptable freedom of speech and what isn’t, isn’t straightforward. Especially if you consider that in some countries what passes as freedom of speech would be deemed to be unlawful, slanderous, even criminal elsewhere.

So in the end, what you are not allowed to say in public is not uniform universally (and indeed cannot be).  It’s down to issues like where you live, the civil liberties you are afforded, the cultural bias of your community, what the dominant religion is, the threshold of what the presiding authorities deems to be acceptable, how well resourced the authorities are, how stringently the law is enforced, how brave / foolish you are, and so on.

Political correctness has a nationality, and a religion.

Anyhow, in this realm, it’s not uncommon to find the bizarre, hilarious, fascinating, truthful, misleading, ignorant, mockery, satirical and the poetic lying cosily next to each other.

Since 50 million people worldwide currently are refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced within their own countries, then in light of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and frequent drownings of migrants in the mediterranean sea, I thought it appropriate to list some randomly picked comments that were written in response to articles that had something to do with migrants / refugees, from across the world.

Enjoy 🙂

From Swinging guns and fleeing foreigners: What is the state doing?  (Mail & Guardian)

pubicprotector •  Zuma giggles while SA burns. If you have no house , no job, no money, no propects of getting a job you may as well join a movement – any one will do. Unemployment is getting worse- a clothing factory in Durban has retrenched 300 workers and moved its operation to Swaziland -cost of labour is much cheaper and without all the unions red tape. Meanwhile our President is buying new jets to the value of 2 or 3 billion….hhe he hheee…..let them eat cake

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Stewart •   Is apartheid to blame for this? Egalitarians probably believe so, but the reasons behind all of this are too politically incorrect to air. This more or less standard operating procedure for countries nearing collapse and about to achieve failed state status. Its almost inevitable.

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Bobinatorz •  Zuma’s announcement during SONA that no foreigners could own land in SA was met by probably the loudest applause of the night. It’s exactly that kind of anti-foreigner sentiment that gives some citizens confirmation that foreigners are the enemy that should be acted against.

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Guest Iago Xsanga •  Innocent black people? You mean those same people who moved from central west Africa and occupied Sub Saharan Africa? You mean those very same people who engaged in the Mfecane, cleansing the nearby peoples. Or perhaps the same people who displaced the Khoi whose paints are a start reminder in those isolated caves in the Drakensberg?

Stop telling lies about a history that only happened in the fertile tracts of your mind. Human history is a bloody one and there are no gentle peaceful tribes.

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Kaka Dubu •  While nothing good came of apartheid… The picture postcard of post-apartheid South African prosperity is nothing more than just a fairy tale.

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From  Incendiary SMS targets foreign nationals in Jo’burg  (Mail & Guardian)

Sibusiso •  The biggest walking fire is Zuma and his deafening silence….#ZUMAmustGO

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 Heraklit • South Africa open for business?
Gateway to Africa?
Looks more like Dante’s first stop over on his way into purgatory right now…

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Chris •  Riet Retief also encountered marauding gangs in 1836. Nothing has changed since.

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pubicprotector • Lets build my statues of Jan van Riebeeck, Rhodes, Ghandi etc….. -that should divert their attention for a while!

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From Rights violation charge laid against Zulu king  (Mail & Guardian)

BritinSA •  “The King is not to blame”. “The Kings words have been lost in translation”.

If you threw a match onto flammable material, then you DID start the fire.

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Brian • It is about time our governnment realize the cost of corruption they have created. Most foreign people in this country are not documented correctly if not at all. It is easy for them to do as they please. Some of the areas like Hilbrow and Kempton Park have been turned into little Lagos and drugs dealings is 2nd nature to them. Police are doing nothing about it. It is wrong for South Africans to take out their frustrations to our foreign brothers and sisters that are in the country legally and are contributing positively to the growth of this country. Not all foreigners in this country are criminals and sell drugs. Let those who are not documented correctly and committing all sorts of crime be broad to book and if possible deported back to their countries and that should be done within the law. As for the king and his utterances, it was wrong of him as a leader to say what he said.

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King Butter •  The Zulu’s should unite and fight this Monarchical Insubordination. Our damn King, in Our damn Province speaking to HIS people; and he gets insulted (BY FOREIGNERS??) for speaking the obvious truth, that ILLEGAL migrants should be repatriated.

Rod Baker to King Butter •  Exactly.He is YOUR king, the Zulus king, He is not my king, not the Xhosas’ king, not the Vendas’ king, Sesothos’ king etc. He is king of no one else but the Zulus.

So you go ahead and defend him – and while you are about it, also pay in full for his upkeep and leave us out of it. Our taxes should go to other things.

As for what he said, people in his position have to be extremely circumspect in what they say – and should know better than to say foreigners need to pack their bags and go. There are too many people out there who are willing to help the foreigners on their way, and help themselves to the latter’s good while they are about it.
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JoeCynic • He should also be investigated by the nature conservation people for wearing furs and feathers of possible endangered fauna.

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From Katie Hopkins calling migrants vermin recalls the darkest events of history (Guardian)

SamStone:  I was just about to write “the thing about Katie Hopkins is, absolutely no one likes her, so whatever she says, everyone automatically disagrees with her because she’s so ludicrous”

BUT….Then I just read the most up-voted comments about the same migrants article on the Daily Mail website, which said, starting with the most liked…

“She’s absolutely right!”

“Kate gets it right again.”

“I agree with her. She speaks a lot of sense and has the guts to say what others are thinking.”

And now I despair for humanity.

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Coolhandluke77 :    It is not unheard of for radical environmentalists to compare the whole of teaming humanity to locusts, cockroaches or other vermin. And many have less than progressive views on immigration.

Where is the outrage..? Where are the petitions..?

And speaking of hypocrisy, these immigrants are dying trying to get into Fortress Europe. That is the EU. But all the posturing by pro EU politicians has been against Farage, who is not even in power.

So apart from the fact that some should be choking on their own hypocrisy, I do agree with the article.

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 After we in the west have created the conditions under which tens of thousands of people feel so desperate that they will risk their lives to escape, we then turn round and say we can´t help them because we don´t have the capacity? We had the capacity to bomb their countries for weeks on end and create havoc where there had been stability. We really are a disgusting lot, dragged along on the coat tails of the Yanks year after year, doing the dirty work of international corporations that exist because they thrive on war and disorder. Speak for the ordinary people like yourselves, because that´s what these people are, just ordinary men, women and children taking the flak for the greed of the few.

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mizdarlin :  This is hate speech pure and simple..and should be dealt with as such..if she is as insane as she sounds, and having her taken away for psychological analysis for a few months might be the only way to find out-then do so at once and make her spew disappear…

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From Europe Considers Response as Hundreds of Migrants Die in Mediterranean Sinkings (New York Times)

Nancy , Great Neck:  That the countries of Europe are not monitoring the Mediterranean for attempted passages and such terrifying tragedies is beyond shameful. There is evidently a sense that monitoring passage attempts encourages them, but taking this as a justification for neglect of a humanitarian obligation is profoundly immoral.

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Rita,  California: Of course European countries need to work towards a common resolution of the refugee crisis. Borders are porous and the initial influx into one country will eventually disperse into others. The ultimate resolution requires stabilizing the region so that refugees can return home.

Massacre is the right word to describe the actions of those who take refugees’ money and then load the boats past capacity limits.

PS Erecting a wall or starting a naval blockade are not feasible solutions.

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John, Los Angeles:  A tragedy. But not Europe’s fault. At some point, political boundaries have to have meaning. If people want to risk their lives to illegally enter a country they are ultimately responsible for their own fate. Perhaps European countries should simply blockade north Africa and turn back all ships.

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Underclaw, The Floridas: Remember when President Obama launched an air attack in Libya that led to “regime change” in Tripoli (and the public execution of Qadaffy)? And remember how the United States then up and left Libya in chaos and anarchy? And remember how we were lectured about how Obama’s policy of “leading from behind” in places Libya was a “brilliant” foreign policy doctrine? Well, now look.

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From German Asylum: Attacks on Refugee Hostels a Growing Problem (Spiegel Online)

antfreire 04/11/2015  Since when is legal, or ethic that people that don’t have a satisfactory way of live where they live have to be accepted in countries where they decide to move? Does Germany have any commitment or moral duty to accept people from Sudan, or Siria, or Irak, etc. just because they are not doing well there? Will the people that promote this type of “serve yourself” inmigration bring a couple of this inmigrans to their house to live with them?

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Inglenda2 04/11/2015 When governments choose to ignore the wishes of their own people, it is almost impossible, for normal citizens, to take action against those responsible. The result is, that there will always be parts of the population, who express their justified, but falsely directed, frustration by violence against the weakest of the weak. In this case it is the refugees who are made to suffer. In psychological circles, such conduct is known as projection and is more common, for example in mobbing, than most of the general public are aware of.

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ernestokunn 04/14/2015  As Slavoj Zizek states, TOLERANCE IS NOT ENOGH. There are limits, certainly. It becomes an explosive problem if two ethnic or religious groups live together in close vicinity who have irreconcilable ways of life and, as such, perceive criticism of their religion or way of life as being an attack on their very identity. We all should stop with hypocrisy. Mainly our politicians.

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alfuryu 04/12/2015 It saddens me that again the Spiegel again only scratches the surface of what those outside Germany understand. After the war you did not pursue those animals that perpetrated crimes in fact you harboured them and protected them you even have specific laws that still protect them and the officials that support and still carryout what those outside of German would call racism. Your public bodies do not have open complaint procedures when such crimes are committed so inside the population we see the hatred or is arrogance of the Germanic race to think they are better than all. Come on Germany the world gave you a chance supported you after the war turned a blind eye to you not paying up what you were due in the 1950s or pursuing the guilty only the auschlanders are handed over funny old thing. The reality is there is a still a group of nutcases within Germany that need to be purged and it needs to be a bigger crime to be racist than it is to accuse someone of having the behaviour of a NAZI i.e. a bully, thug, a person who considers all others unequal. I see it

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From  Xenophobic attacks: Nigeria counts losses   (Vanguard – Nigeria)

Oldbendel • 5 High profile international football games cannot change the mentality of these big heads South Africans,send them to school where they can be tought some lesson on issues relating to globalization,cultural diversity etc,or else they remain barbarians forever.

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Micho • Nigeria is the most accommodating country in Africa. I can say that we are America in Africa. Go to all these African country, blacks are seen and addressed as foreigners, I could remember when I was in Gambia, they used to Address Nigerians as fucking foreigners while white and people from Mauritania and worshiped like gods. Nigeria just need good leaders we shall be very great. The wrath of God is on any country that maltreat foreigners, that is one of those warnings that God gave the people of Israel when they left Egypt.South Africa will be punished for what they are doing, but I pray to God to forgive them because of the faithful ones among them.

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Okoko • When the igbos shops were looted in Nigeria due to envy by other tribes, no one shouted. When igbos were deported in their own country, it was normal for yorobber folks. Xenophobia is everywhere, even in Nigeria.

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Antidote • Somalis, Sudanese and Ethiopians are some no-nonsense taking people, i wonder why they played calm thus far. Hopefully they won’t follow trend and start blowing up South African investments and killing South Africans in their country. The situation is getting really out of control.

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Emma Kuyty •  Absence of love,hatred,wickedness,jealousy etc are synonymous among African Negro and Negra,it is only almighty JAH JEHOVAH that will help Africans.

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Ekwe111 •  Mandatory S.O.S. deductions were levied on Nigeria Govt. employee salaries and elsewhere in the 80’s, principally for the liberation of SA and Zimbabwe; countries that bitterly resent and spite our citizens today.

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From Paytriotism – Becoming British is a Costly Business  ( Economist)

Cutters. Apr 20th, 12:18

Becoming a UK national and gaining access to all the rights and privileges that go with it are far to cheap.

It is bad enough that the dregs of the continent are able to arrive unrestricted, putting massive pressure on local services and adding insignificant amounts to GDP (0.04% per head reported), without British citizenship being cheaply sold.

The cost could rise by 5x as much and demand would scarcely falter.

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guest-olwnaon Apr 19th, 15:56

When our govt receives fees for whatver – residency, health, visa renewal, citizenship, tuition fees, all amounting to billions, it keeps its mouth shut and go to the media to stoke animosity and hate against immigrants. What happened to all the money collected from applicants at the visa processing centres? Yet border staff were made redundant! what happened to the billions that our universities receive from genuine students? if one non EU student pays al least 12,000 pounds as tuition fees per year for a 12 month course, if universities admit 1000 non -EU students that gives a total of 12,000,000 per university. But we know that only the 1999 universities (new breed universities) charge the least amount. Other red bricks, Russell, 1964 universities charge a lot higher ranging from 17-26k. Unfortunately, when immigration figures are collated, 92,000 non EU students are added. What arrant nonsense! I see why vice chancellors and Principal live larger-than-life lives while PhD holds struggle to get regular teaching hours. Yet we are asked to blame immigrants. NO!

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 CA-Oxonian, Apr 16th, 18:39

The excessive fees imposed by the UK government throughout the residency and citizenship application process are just one more sad indication of how insular the UK really is. While the USA is stifling its tech industry with absurd visa restrictions the UK is stifling its entire economy. Apparently Little Britain is quite happy remaining a moribund, inward-looking, and rather stagnant sort of country. Too bad. Aside from the atrocious weather and inept approach to providing services, it’s not entirely a bad place to reside.

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From Rising tide of UK anti-immigrant sentiment (Al Jazeera)

Sayyed Musawi
one thinks that the arrogant Brits ought to remember they plundered the world for centuries stealing, including the Kohinoor diamond they stole from the Indians, the cheap labor they have benefitted from Immigrants, and the contributions made. Just imagine if all Immigrants were to leave britain today with their wealth and Britain were to be honest and give up the money they stole from Nations, the wealth stored up stolen, and the contributions made to it then I am sure britain will just be another empty, depressing European country.
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Arthur Coxon  TODAY THERE IS NO COHESION IN BRITISH SOCIETY WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT IMMIGRANTS, AND RELIGIONS IN THE COUNTRY. ONE FEELS AS IF YOU ARE LIVING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. IT’S A TOTAL NIGHTMARE !!!
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SeaNote  If immigrants don’t assimilate, get rid of them.
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Bohdan Chochoł
Oh yeah, the infamous ‘We’ (this & we that) approach to life. While there is a major generation gap now  between under and over 30-year-olds (the young being less prone to nationalist-ic ‘introversion’), the fact Poles became so numerous and at such break-neck speed cannot bode well for British civil society (for genuine civil society in Poland has yet to get into the air, even while the British institution is probably plummeting). The grounds for pessimism  are clearly enough expresed by the “editor-in-chief” (ah yes: hierarchy-mania) of “Our  Pages=Vantage Points=Side-s” (each meaning suggested by the /plural/ term “Strony”; cf.: [–link removed–]). Should it be for purely materialistic reasons that Poles have a right to live in Britain – en masse?
I abhore the so-called road the country went down from Thatcherism onwards; if it’s a road, it’s one that leads to living hell. I understand how difficult it is to get anywhere now in Poland if you’re young and without the kind of status symbols so conveniently listed by Pan Redaktor Naczelny Andrzejko. I equally appreciate how hundreds of thousands, if not millions Poles do not exactly live in Britain but exist as poorly-paid labourers, while others have truly found a place in the world where they wish to remain, because in Britain they’ve found something they could not find in a country like Poland. And yet, between those two more or less extremes is a lot of people who could almost certainly do more for their own country by living in it. Pressurizing the centralised bureaucratic autocracy there into responsible administration, for a start – rather than terrorising local surgeries for their -odding “prrreeskrrreeptsyon”, or ranting how well they know English at OAPs who can’t even begin to understand their Slavspeak, etc. And what about all those crumby shops on the High Street, money laundering or what?
No bad feelings intended, it’s just a subject that defies any softly-softly treatment .
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Mohammed Rahman Islam is a religion of peace.

I invite you and all the readers to study the life of prophet muhammad pbuh and decide on your own. 
He was totally against terrorism. The first three wars of badr , uhud , ahzab were defensive wars to protect the home city of medina. 
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Bader Rammal
No Muslim country invited you to invade and colonize their countries. You colonized….You pay the price….Don’t complain and whine about the results and outcome of your past reckless irresponsible behaviors.

From Britain’s criminally stupid attitudes to race and immigration are beyond parody – Frankie Boyle (Guardian)

GiulioSica  Brilliant writing and analysis, as ever. Thanks Frankie. It really is shameful the way the racists are unashamedly crawling out of the woodwork trying to rewrite history and ignore the present world problems.
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foralltime...”We have streets named after slave owners.”… Spot-on with that one, Frankie…

Penny Lane is a street famous worldwide thanks to The Beatles 1967 hit, but the Liverpool street owes its name to an outspoken Liverpool slave ship owner and staunch anti-abolitionist. James Penny was a Liverpool merchant who made his money from the transportation of slaves.

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atillazenun  Yet another article trying to guilt people and countries for their achievements. Where would the colonies be without the infrastructure that was created for them? Ever thought of that?
If you are so pro-immigration, please list your home address so that a family of four can be sent to live in your spare bedroom.
No?
But you are OK with tax payer money being used to support mass immigration “somewhere not too close to you?”. Get real.

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Fence2  Is the next generation responsible for past generations actions?
No, because if it were then there would be guilty atoms and molecules out there, which is ludicrous.

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moneymonkey  What a lazy article, roll out the tired old nonsense.

Everything we have, we stole from the immigrants in the first place…. UKIP are racist…

wacism, wacism, wacism….

etc etc.

orlandaowl responding to moneymonkey

…… monkey your effing self. Ironically, your beloved Fuhrer is married to a German!

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herbmonkey  Absolute rubbish. Why am I made to feel bad about events that ocurred before I was born. £11.4bn in foreign aid last year came from all our pockets. Yes we had our colonial past and faults but can we be really be held responsible for local corruption where african govenments drive around in Mercedes while their people starve. This piece once again paints the entire nation with a shitty sheen that is only representative of what pisses off the writer. I and my friends speak different languages, do show remorse for the terrible past crimes of our nation and do not display this “casual racism” that apparently the entire natioon should hang our heads in shame about.

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SimonBol Frankie: this is great stuff. You are saying in this single piece what sociologists and historians cannot say in a whole book.

Zwelithini: A cumbersome expense to modern South Africa – Opinion

by Mkotama Katenga-Kaunda, posted in Opinion

It is understandable for the citizens of South Africa to complain about the influx of foreigners in their country. In Europe a similar phenomenon is unfolding with immigration being the most discussed topic in the news as hundreds of migrants drown in the Mediterranean Sea virtually every month. Looking at the numbers arriving, one must feel sympathy with those legitimate concerns, not least that such uncontrolled influx is unsustainable in the long run. However, even without having to be selective with history, what is disconcerting is the route some South Africans have chosen to take, to address the problems they associate with immigration.

Goodwill Zwelithini. There have been wide debates that the xenophobic attacks were inflamed by the Zulu King’s speech. Here is part of the now infamous speech,

We talk of people [South Africans] who do not want to listen, who do not want to work, who are thieves, child rapists and house breakers…. When foreigners look at them, they will say let us exploit the nation of idiots. As I speak you find their unsightly goods hanging all over our shops, they dirty our streets. We cannot even recognise which shop is which, there are foreigners everywhere. I know it is hard for other politicians to challenge this because they are after their votes. Please forgive me but this is my responsibility, I must talk, I cannot wait for five years to say this. As King of the Zulu Nation… I will not keep quiet when our country is led by people who have no opinion. It is time to say something. I ask our government to help us to fix our own problems, help us find our own solutions. We ask foreign nationals to pack their belongings and go back to their countries (loud cheers).”

What Zwelithini either does not understand, or secretly understands and wanted to take advantage of, is that his words carry weight. Thus it was inevitable that his utterances would give people the courage to attack foreigners. These negative sentiments about foreigners in South Africa have been suppressed since the last xenophobic attacks in 2008, and it is now evident that some South Africans are convinced that foreigners have to go back to their countries. Zwelithini’s words of labelling ‘South Africans as a nation of idiots’ must have struck chord with the disgruntled poor citizen who has seen countless numbers of foreigners making a living in South Africa. And when  Zwelithini stated  that foreign nationals need to pack their belongings and go back to their countries, it must have added some credence to the immigration debate that has been a problem in South Africa. He also alluded to the fact that their politicians who are lax are incapable of solving  the immigration debacle in South Africa, hence the people took it upon themselves to deal with immigrants.

Besides the callous and inexcusable violence his words have clearly spurred, the brazen thuggery of some of the King’s supporters was perfectly observed yesterday at a stadium in Durban, where Zwelithini had been scheduled to speak to his people, to condemn the attacks and urge peace. A few pictures and tweets tell a story in which the irony certainly wasn’t lost:-

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Nontobeko Sibisi @Nontobek0Sibisi ·
People have started arriving ‪#‎Imbizo here they singing “abahambe abahambayo siyosala siyincenga”

eNCA eNCAnews
RT @Nontobek0Sibisi: #Imbizo – Shouting “abahambe, badayisa ama’drugs,” translated they must go, they sell drugs

Khatija Nxedlana @its_KhaTija
‪#‎Imbizo Crowds are singing “Abahambe abahambayo, sosala sisebenza” basically meaning those who want to go must go

#Imbizo Izinduna & Amabutho are walking around the stadium chanting & dancing

Jeff Wicks @wicks_jeff
Small sections of the crowd erupt in song with traditional weapons held aloft #Imbizo ‪#‎isilo @News24

Sebenzile Nkambule @SebeNkambule
People at the Imbizo in KZN are singing ‘let them go, we will work’. Wonder what the King will say to make it better… ‪#‎XenophobiaMustFall

Words are indeed a powerful tool which politicians use to garner support from the electorate. It only takes a charismatic orator to sway the opinions of many as we have seen too many times throughout history. Didn’t some psycho named Adolf manage to instill the fear of Jewish people in tens of millions of Germans in the 1930’s and 40’s? And in less than 5 years, the brown shirts were on the streets of Germany harassing the Jews for being ‘leeches’; blaming every problem Germany faced as a consequence of the Great Depression of 1929. By 1943, Germany was systematically murdering Jews in their tens of thousands in concentration camps and gas chambers in all the conquered lands of Eastern Europe. Yet all this madness only began with the words and sick philosophy of a failed painter in the beer halls of Munich.

If a failed painter in Germany managed to shift opinions of millions of people regarding the Jews at a time when we didn’t have many of the communication conveniences we now have, then how easy would it be for a King in South Africa to sway people’s perceptions of foreigners? In the age of the internet…? And considering the gross inequality in South African society?

In the world of twitter and Facebook,  the dissemination of information is instant and it has become relatively an easy task to mobilise groups of people for a cause. Riots can be started from a computer keyboard at the press of a few buttons. It is therefore very dangerous and irresponsible for Zwelithini as a king of the Zulu’s to speak in a manner that is likely to inflame emotions. In an already extremely volatile situation, loosely held together by faint and quickly fading memories of disapproval of the 2008 violence, it was only going to take a few words from a madman with a hint of authority, anyone with a hint of authority!! to yet again incite violence against immigrants, and for the pangas to come out.

For the King to blame South Africa’s problems on foreigners, most of whom work in the informal sectors of the economy is not only shallow but despicable on all levels. As Julius Malema correctly pointed out yesterday, there are no jobs to steal. Most of the migrants working in South Africa create work for themselves. Instead of stigmatizing them, shouldn’t South Africa celebrate their contribution, and figure out a way of bringing them into the formal sector? Further, South Africans forget too quickly. Barely 20 years ago, African governments across the continent were still doing everything in their powers to fight Apartheid in South Africa and ensure Nelson Mandela was freed. They supported anti-apartheid militant guerilla factions, organised funding for the ANC (with some cutting their own budgets to meet their obligations), and put pressure on the international community to isolate the Verwoerd Institution. Zwelithini wouldn’t be able to enjoy the lush lifestyle he is known to enjoy today, complete with mansions, 6 wives and 28 children, if it wasn’t for the sacrifices paid by hundreds of thousands across Africa.

Here is a king who gets paid nearly R148000 a day, and yet he is still asking for more money from the government to fund his lavish lifestyle. According to documents seen by the Sunday Times , a breakdown of the King’s expenditure last year looked like this:-

— R10.3-million allocated for the King’s palaces;

— R2.2-million in stipends for his six wives. Each wife receives a tax- free R31000 stipend each month, R6500 for groceries, a R4550 medical aid allowance and a R2400 cellphone allowance;

— R2.5-million for travelling expenses, which translates to each wife receiving about R36000 a month; and
R915248 for education. The amount is for the tuition and boarding for five of the king’s children, who attend top private schools, and a grandson at Kearsney College in Botha’s Hill, KwaZulu-Natal. Zwelithini has 27 children.

— For the king’s wedding to Mafu, the trust stumped up R950000 for catering, R20000 for several rooms at the Ulundi Holiday Inn, R200000 for a 5000-seat marquee, R160000 for a sound system and R250000 for decor and flowers.”

Bloody hell…what are his priorities? If this guy had genuine love for his predominantly poor followers, would it not be wise of him to cut his expenses so that the government of South Africa is able to save money? From his statements, I doubt Zwelithini would want that and so it seems a cheaper (and lazy) alternative is to scapegoat the foreign house worker who receives meagre wages.

SouthAfricansIt’s Zwelithini’s disregard for the ordinary South Africans that is costing the taxpayers a fortune, and not Zimbabwean, Malawians or Nigerian migrants.

Zwelithini is part of the problems that South Africa has and it serves him better to denigrate foreigners, so that poor South Africans are deflected from the real issues (corruption, inequality, mismanagement) that are facing the country. If the president of South Africa can use 246 million South African Rands of taxpayers funds to refurbish his private home, what about his fellow cronies who are in government? These are the real culprits South Africa should be dealing with right now, and not the immigrants who earn too little to be of much significance to the broader sense of the South African economy.

South Africans must realise that the country would not be where it is without foreigners. The antics of Zwelithini, which are befitting more of a rambunctious and drunken anarchist – than a King, will not accrue South Africa or indeed the Zulus much goodwill in the short or long-term. In any case, we are now living in a globalised world where national economies co-exist and depend on each other to grow. South Africa is a member of SADC which has legally binding protocols that include the free movement of people. Without this openness, in the face of all the trade discrimination African countries already face, even the biggest of our economies in Africa wouldn’t survive, let alone be where it is today. Even though South Africa is the second largest economy in Africa, it is a recipe for disaster if it’s leaders alienate it in a continent of 54 countries.

It’s completely unacceptable that in the 21st century a supposed king of the Zulus can stoop this low and it will take a while for other Africans to look upon South Africans favourably, because this latest round of violent xenophobia will leave a stubborn stain on the rainbow nation. It only took a few days of violence, and the reputation of South Africa has been ruined; all because of the short-sighted runaway tongue of a Zulu King, and the silence of his Zulu President. Zwelithini, in the 21st century it’s a criminal act to incite violence!

Stop #Xenophobia WE ARE #AFRICA

by Sang N., posted in Inspiration, News, Opinion

image

Found this image by someone known as olubanker911 on instagram

Update from a friend via WhatsApp (I’ve not verified them yet) :

🇿🇦SOUTH AFRICA IS ISOLATED 🇿🇦

In Mozambique, all trucks and cars with South African registration are being stoned. Four Sasol South African tracks have been set on fire.

In Zimbabwe , there is more than 5000 people marching at the South African Embassy in both Harare and Bulawayo.
In Malawi all South African shops and South African Embassy were forced to closed my marchers.

In China , the government has given South African President one week to reply before it calls all Chinese companies come stop operations.

In USA , they have promised strong sanctions against South Africa if they dont stop xenophobia.

Boko Haram has given five days to SA before it bombs SA Embassy in Nigeria.

In Namibia they have writing a human rights violations to World Human Rights Commission to stop SA flights worldwide.
In DRC four SA companies mining in that country have been requested to stop operations until xenophobia is stopped.

SA economy is now at risk. Pls send to all your contacts to stop XENOPHOBIA ATTACKS.
Mandela once said ” it is in your hands”

Inequality in graphs and images

by Sang N., posted in Causes, Corruption, Development, Economy, Education, Inspiration, Opinion, Thoughts

Lately, talk of inequality has dominated the media. Everybody is talking about it. Probably because of this year’s Davos Summit, but everyone seems to be keen on reminding us just how economically unbalanced the world is. Just how a few people own huge amounts of wealth, while the rest live on breadcrumbs.

Global Wealth 14Yesterday, it seems Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England entered the fray, when he said:

“Without this risk sharing, the euro area finds itself in an odd position,”

While the context of Mr Carney’s statement may have been different to the subject of this post, and directed more to institutions on a country level, on a personal level, I don’t believe in the RobinHoodesque notion of ‘stealing’ from the rich to give to the poor. I don’t believe that such an approach works because it’s a dangerous idea that is not only open to abuse, but that can backfire. And before you jump on me and criticise my socialist credentials, let me qualify it.

I know inequality is real, and I know its crippling effects on people and communities across the world, especially in poor countries.

My contention is that if people work hard to earn their money, if they pay their taxes and do not accrue wealth using dodgy (or outright illegal means); if they do not use tax havens or other immoral ways of depriving governments of the much-needed lifeblood of corporation tax; if these business magnets are no more than scions bequeathed of inherited blood money (money tarnished with the proceeds of slavery and colonisation), if they have earned their way to the top, why should anybody sensible think it is a good idea to take it away from them?

Why!?

wealth-gap-2I believe in fairness, I believe that corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. That the government must act in the interests of the people, not just working for the interests of corporations. I believe that those who are rich, or who have the means, must do more to help the disadvantaged – whose spending ironically often drives the profits. Doing all these things will likely lead to less inequality, less strife, and better social harmony.

And here’s why:

If you look at recent events, not only comments made at Davos, what you find is that it’s not so much that the money isn’t there. Instead the problem is that the money which is made on the back of extremely liberal national and international tax regimes – is stashed away in enclaves where cash-strapped governments be they in Africa or elsewhere cannot get to it.

As a result the government cannot sufficiently invest in services, cannot create jobs or help those at the bottom of the pyramid improve their lives. This increases inequality, including spurning side effects such as crime and social unrest.

So then, where’s a good place to start, when addressing this problem of inequality?:-

1. Change the laws to ensure that companies pay a fair share in taxes from the revenues they generate.

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Essentially, it also means being firm with tax havens to reveal the sources of blood money or any untaxed funds.

offshore_tax_jurisdictions

2. Crack down on corruption, and stop illicit financial outflows.

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3. Streamline services (a streamlined small government that is cheaper and efficient to run is preferrable to an inefficient large and bloated government that is expensive to run).

4. Stop unnecessary privatisation. But encourage responsible Investment

US_Africa_Summit_Day_1If you privatize everything, from where will the state earn its income??

Everybody knows that employment tax revenues are not a sufficient revenue source. That’s why there are so many governments across the world that have budget deficits, simply because all the tax companies pay plus the tax their employees pay – IS NOT ENOUGH to sustain all the functions of government. From Britain, the US, France, Ireland, Italy and Greece to South Africa, Malawi,  Ethiopia and Mozambique, and many others, budget deficits and debt are commonplace. As a consequence most of these countries fail to adequately invest in healthcare, in poverty alleviation, in education, in job creation for young people, in women’s health and advancement…because there isn’t enough money coming into the government coffers for them to spend on these things.

Simply put, the state has no full-time job and is only employed part-time. So how the hell can it spend, or raise its family properly?

5. Instead of privatisation, countries should enter into joint venture partnerships with businesses, for win-win deals because these will not only provide tax revenues from employment tax, and corporation tax,  but will additionally earn the government dividends (which can be significantly higher than corporation tax and employment tax combined).

CossartDevelopment_webfg2

It also means deals that involve raw materials should principally benefit the people of the country in which the raw material is first (NOTE I’m not using ‘politicians’ or a country’s leaders here. Contracts must benefit the people not a handful of politicians). As I like to put it, when was the last time an African mining company was given a 70% mining/ oil drilling stake in Europe or the Americas?

africas-natural-resource-wealth6. Empower young people by training them to acquire advanced entrepreneurial skills so that they become assets capable of adding real value to communities.

Providing Aid is not good enough, emphasis on ‘Trade not Aid’ (other than Fairtrade or better) is becoming cliché. Further, I think the advantages of possessing a first degree are overstated. In my experience they rarely equip students with entrepreneurial skills.

business-paper-clipWhat is required to begin denting inequality is to train young people to be ‘go-getters’. And that is a different ball game altogether over and above merely providing a quality education.

7. Finally invest in services (hospitals, transport, policing and security, infrastructure, the youth and women, etc) including investing in things like ecofriendly energy. Because if everybody paid their dues, such investment would create jobs. And they’d be enough funds for people to receive living wages.