03-01-2018, 12:09 AM
*** 1-Mar-18 World View -- Moving sharply left, South Africa calls for potentially disastrous land reform
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Moving sharply left, South Africa calls for potentially disastrous land reform
****
![[Image: g180228b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180228b.jpg)
South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa after addressing parliament on Tuesday (Daily Maverick)
In a major shift in public opinion in support of the radical far left
Economic Freedom Fighters and its leader Julius Malema, South Africa's
parliament has passed overwhelmingly a motion for a constitutional
amendment that would allow the government to expropriate land from
white-owned farms with no compensation whatsoever.
A year ago, a similar motion was rejected, with 261 against and 33 in
favor. But on Tuesday, the vote was carried with 241 votes in favor,
and 83 against. Expropriation of private land without compensation is
forbidden by Section 25 of South Africa's constitution, but the
overwhelming acceptance of the motion far exceeds the 2/3 majority
required to amend the constitution. This change within one year
represents a radical shift in public opinion.
The successful campaign to pass the motion was led by left-wing
radical Julius Malema, who was expelled from the ruling African
National Congress (ANC) party in 2012, with the expectation that he
would die a quick political death. Instead, he's successfully led a
racially divisive campaign that's become so popular that the ANC was
forced to endorse the land reform proposal, giving it an overwhelming
victory.
Leading the debate in the parliament, Malena said that "it was time
for justice" on the land issue:
<QUOTE>"We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our
people without compensating the criminals who stole our
land."<END QUOTE>
According to South Africa's new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who
recently replaced the corrupt Jacob Zuma, taking farmland away from
white farmers is necessary because of "land hunger" among blacks:
<QUOTE>"Land dispossession is a defining feature of
colonialism and apartheid in SA. Land hunger among black South
Africans is genuine and pressing. The time has arrived that we act
decisively to resolve this matter. We must repair the damage
inflicted upon our people.
The time has arrived that we act decisively to resolve this
matter. We must repair the damage inflicted upon our people.
By providing more land to more producers for cultivation and by
providing the necessary support, we are laying the foundation for
what I would call an agricultural revolution. We are determined to
work with traditional leaders to significantly expand agriculture
not only to ensure food security, but also to create jobs on a
significant scale and increase the value of our
exports."<END QUOTE>
This is a typically meaningless political speech, full of hot air.
The promise of an "agricultural revolution" is laughable.
Ramaphosa also promised that the land expropriation would only be used
when the amount of food produced would be increased. This is also
laughable.
What will happen is what always happens in Socialist societies.
Thousands of hard-working white farmers and their families will be
thrown into the streets, and their farms will be turned over to party
cronies who know nothing about farming. This happened in Zimbabwe,
and similar things happen in all Socialist countries. This will be a
disaster for South Africa's economy, and for all of Africa.
I've written many times what happened in Zimbabwe. It's hard to
believe, but Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa,
growing much more food than the country needed and exporting the rest.
Then in 1999 Robert Mugabe instituted a "land reform" plan just like
the one that South Africa is about to implement. Within ten years,
Zimbabwe was an economic disaster, with mass starvation, a worthless
currency, and massive million percent inflation.
We've seen the same thing happen in Venezuela, as Hugo Chávez and
Nicolás Maduro destroyed the economy to the extent that food and
medicines and even toilet paper are unavailable.
Bashar al-Assad is destroying Syria by different means -- with barrel
bombs, Sarin gas, and attacks with other chemical weapons, including
chlorine, ammonia and phosphorous.
We now know that North Korea has been supplying components to Syria to
manufacture poison gas, and it uses the money to develop nuclear
weapons and long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying the
nuclear weapons to the United States, or elsewhere in the world.
And all this is going on with the support and encourage of China,
Russia and Iran.
This is the club of countries where the leaders are destroying their
countries through economic destruction or weapons destruction. It's
not surprising that South Africa is now joining that club. Daily Maverick (South Africa) and Business Live (South Africa) and Citizen (South Africa) and News 24 (South Africa)
****
**** Julius Malema and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) movement
****
Julius Malema was expelled the ruling ANC in 2012 because he offended
large sections of society, and has been accused of racism, sexism and
corruption. He was twice convicted of hate speech in 2010 and 2011,
for inciting violence against whites.
However, he has thousands of supporters, mainly poor black South
Africans who resent the history of apartheid. In 2013 he formed the
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which describes itself as follows on
its web site:
<QUOTE>"1. The ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS is a radical and
militant economic emancipation movement that brings together
revolutionary, fearless, radical, and militant activists, workers’
movements, nongovernmental organizations, community-based
organizations and lobby groups under the umbrella of pursuing the
struggle for economic emancipation.
2. The EFF is a radical, leftist, anti-capitalist and
anti-imperialist movement with an internationalist outlook
anchored by popular grassroots formations and struggles. ...
5. The EFF is a South African movement with a progressive
internationalist outlook, which seeks to engage with global
progressive movements. We believe that the best contribution we
can make in the international struggle against global imperialism
is to rid our country of imperialist domination. For the South
African struggle, the EFF pillars for economic emancipation are
the following:
a. Expropriation of South Africa’s land without compensation for
equal redistribution in use.
b. Nationalization of mines, banks, and other strategic sectors of
the economy, without compensation."<END QUOTE>
We've seen this script before. Socialism has a 100% failure rate, and
South Africa is headed in the same direction, starting with the
nationalization of farms, and continuing with the nationalization of
mines, banks, and other businesses -- all without compensation.
There are a couple of things that are becoming clear.
First, you'd have to be crazy to invest in South Africa, because any
business could be subject to nationalization without compensation at
any time.
Second, you'd have to be crazy to give foreign aid to South Africa,
since any money would just be wasted on corruption.
A country that goes down the path of nationalizing farms without
compensation, with nationalization of other businesses to follow, is a
country that cannot be helped. Economic Freedom Fighters online
and BBC (30-Sep-2014) and South Africa History
Related Stories
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, South Africa, African National Congress, ANC,
Cyril Ramaphosa, Jacob Zuma,
Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF,
Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
China, Russia, North Korea
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Moving sharply left, South Africa calls for potentially disastrous land reform
- Julius Malema and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) movement
****
**** Moving sharply left, South Africa calls for potentially disastrous land reform
****
South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa after addressing parliament on Tuesday (Daily Maverick)
In a major shift in public opinion in support of the radical far left
Economic Freedom Fighters and its leader Julius Malema, South Africa's
parliament has passed overwhelmingly a motion for a constitutional
amendment that would allow the government to expropriate land from
white-owned farms with no compensation whatsoever.
A year ago, a similar motion was rejected, with 261 against and 33 in
favor. But on Tuesday, the vote was carried with 241 votes in favor,
and 83 against. Expropriation of private land without compensation is
forbidden by Section 25 of South Africa's constitution, but the
overwhelming acceptance of the motion far exceeds the 2/3 majority
required to amend the constitution. This change within one year
represents a radical shift in public opinion.
The successful campaign to pass the motion was led by left-wing
radical Julius Malema, who was expelled from the ruling African
National Congress (ANC) party in 2012, with the expectation that he
would die a quick political death. Instead, he's successfully led a
racially divisive campaign that's become so popular that the ANC was
forced to endorse the land reform proposal, giving it an overwhelming
victory.
Leading the debate in the parliament, Malena said that "it was time
for justice" on the land issue:
<QUOTE>"We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our
people without compensating the criminals who stole our
land."<END QUOTE>
According to South Africa's new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who
recently replaced the corrupt Jacob Zuma, taking farmland away from
white farmers is necessary because of "land hunger" among blacks:
<QUOTE>"Land dispossession is a defining feature of
colonialism and apartheid in SA. Land hunger among black South
Africans is genuine and pressing. The time has arrived that we act
decisively to resolve this matter. We must repair the damage
inflicted upon our people.
The time has arrived that we act decisively to resolve this
matter. We must repair the damage inflicted upon our people.
By providing more land to more producers for cultivation and by
providing the necessary support, we are laying the foundation for
what I would call an agricultural revolution. We are determined to
work with traditional leaders to significantly expand agriculture
not only to ensure food security, but also to create jobs on a
significant scale and increase the value of our
exports."<END QUOTE>
This is a typically meaningless political speech, full of hot air.
The promise of an "agricultural revolution" is laughable.
Ramaphosa also promised that the land expropriation would only be used
when the amount of food produced would be increased. This is also
laughable.
What will happen is what always happens in Socialist societies.
Thousands of hard-working white farmers and their families will be
thrown into the streets, and their farms will be turned over to party
cronies who know nothing about farming. This happened in Zimbabwe,
and similar things happen in all Socialist countries. This will be a
disaster for South Africa's economy, and for all of Africa.
I've written many times what happened in Zimbabwe. It's hard to
believe, but Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa,
growing much more food than the country needed and exporting the rest.
Then in 1999 Robert Mugabe instituted a "land reform" plan just like
the one that South Africa is about to implement. Within ten years,
Zimbabwe was an economic disaster, with mass starvation, a worthless
currency, and massive million percent inflation.
We've seen the same thing happen in Venezuela, as Hugo Chávez and
Nicolás Maduro destroyed the economy to the extent that food and
medicines and even toilet paper are unavailable.
Bashar al-Assad is destroying Syria by different means -- with barrel
bombs, Sarin gas, and attacks with other chemical weapons, including
chlorine, ammonia and phosphorous.
We now know that North Korea has been supplying components to Syria to
manufacture poison gas, and it uses the money to develop nuclear
weapons and long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying the
nuclear weapons to the United States, or elsewhere in the world.
And all this is going on with the support and encourage of China,
Russia and Iran.
This is the club of countries where the leaders are destroying their
countries through economic destruction or weapons destruction. It's
not surprising that South Africa is now joining that club. Daily Maverick (South Africa) and Business Live (South Africa) and Citizen (South Africa) and News 24 (South Africa)
****
**** Julius Malema and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) movement
****
Julius Malema was expelled the ruling ANC in 2012 because he offended
large sections of society, and has been accused of racism, sexism and
corruption. He was twice convicted of hate speech in 2010 and 2011,
for inciting violence against whites.
However, he has thousands of supporters, mainly poor black South
Africans who resent the history of apartheid. In 2013 he formed the
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which describes itself as follows on
its web site:
<QUOTE>"1. The ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS is a radical and
militant economic emancipation movement that brings together
revolutionary, fearless, radical, and militant activists, workers’
movements, nongovernmental organizations, community-based
organizations and lobby groups under the umbrella of pursuing the
struggle for economic emancipation.
2. The EFF is a radical, leftist, anti-capitalist and
anti-imperialist movement with an internationalist outlook
anchored by popular grassroots formations and struggles. ...
5. The EFF is a South African movement with a progressive
internationalist outlook, which seeks to engage with global
progressive movements. We believe that the best contribution we
can make in the international struggle against global imperialism
is to rid our country of imperialist domination. For the South
African struggle, the EFF pillars for economic emancipation are
the following:
a. Expropriation of South Africa’s land without compensation for
equal redistribution in use.
b. Nationalization of mines, banks, and other strategic sectors of
the economy, without compensation."<END QUOTE>
We've seen this script before. Socialism has a 100% failure rate, and
South Africa is headed in the same direction, starting with the
nationalization of farms, and continuing with the nationalization of
mines, banks, and other businesses -- all without compensation.
There are a couple of things that are becoming clear.
First, you'd have to be crazy to invest in South Africa, because any
business could be subject to nationalization without compensation at
any time.
Second, you'd have to be crazy to give foreign aid to South Africa,
since any money would just be wasted on corruption.
A country that goes down the path of nationalizing farms without
compensation, with nationalization of other businesses to follow, is a
country that cannot be helped. Economic Freedom Fighters online
and BBC (30-Sep-2014) and South Africa History
Related Stories
- Zimbabwe bans food imports as new 'bond note' currency crashes (21-Oct-2017)
- Zimbabwe launching a Soviet style command agriculture program (20-Aug-2016)
- Xenophobic violence against migrants returns to South Africa (27-Feb-2017)
- Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Puerto Rico - three amigos in Marxist economic destruction (01-Jul-2016)
- Venezuela's currency becomes worthless, as Zimbabwe introduces new currency (08-Dec-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, South Africa, African National Congress, ANC,
Cyril Ramaphosa, Jacob Zuma,
Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF,
Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
China, Russia, North Korea
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
