Pieter Vorster, Chairperson of the Afrikanerbond, "The ANC and the National Democratic Revolution are not good news for minorities, unless ... ", June 3 2011

The last few months have revealed a face of the ANC that do not bode well for minorities, unless the ANC acts drastically and with discipline in their own ranks and unless the ANC as government display the necessary will and courage to properly apply the constitution and its provisions.

In recent months a new wave of racism has emerged from ANC members, which increased in severity during the election campaign. Before the recent local government elections it was the statements by Mr Jimmy Manyi's statements focusing on Coloured and Indian communities that were in the spotlight. 

During the election campaign the comments by Julius Malema aimed at Whites were in the spotlight. The reference to "white people are criminals" was made in the presence of President Jacob Zuma and Mr Zuma has to date neither denounced nor rectified there remarks. In the meantime it can be seen as government-condoned racism. 

The forked-tongue approach of the ANC and its allies has created anxiety, particularly amongst minority groups and the outcome of the recent elections is indicative of how minority groups feel about the ANC. The ANC, in the person of Secretary General Gwede Mantashe, conceded this in their evaluation of the results.

Where did it all go wrong? The Freedom Charter - used by the ANC as a propaganda tool - states that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.." and "the rights of the people shall be the same regardless of race, colour or gender".  In light of this, the ANC's new racism is strange and the envisaged post-1994 non-racial society has been swept from the table with the offensive and inflammatory racism which has thus far characterised 2011. All this is indicative of the goals of the National Democratic Revolution.

"The ANC is scraping the bottom of the barrel to find reasons why people from minority groups - Indians, white and coloured people - did not vote for the party in the recent local government elections. It is not necessary to mull over this. The reasons are simple and it is their own fault. The first - and more philosophical reason - is that the ANC has forsaken its own principle of non-racialism." Editorial comment in Beeld, 26 May 2011

With the above in mind one needs to express the desire that things will change. However, common sense and the reality of the composition of the ANC and the ongoing leadership struggle suggest the opposite. Considering the following quotes, we must however warn that the situation will in fact get worse.

"It is for this reason that the characterization of our national democratic revolution has been that of the liberation of blacks in general, and Africans in Particular, but with a national liberation movement with a bias towards the working class." - Blade Nzimande SACP Secretary General on 2 March 2011

"Part of that challenge arises from the fact that the ANC is not a normal political party. When a party with a two-thirds majority in Parliament is still Committed to a "national democratic revolution," we must ask what it is that they wish to stage a revolution against. The economic system? Probably. Democracy? Perhaps. The rule of law? Very likely. The Constitution? Possibly." John Kane-Berman, (Institute of Race Relations) 10 March 2011.

All indications are that the racism and accusations made against white, coloured and Indian communities will only increase as the NDR, as articulated by Blade Nzimande, is now the foundation for the new ANC. What we began to experience in the past few years since Thabo Mbeki has gained momentum under the visionless leadership of President Jacob Zuma. The ongoing leadership struggle within the ANC has brought an end to party discipline. The leadership is now determined by the militant youth which is a power block in the ANC as they can mobilise the voters through inflammatory rhetoric.

The protection and promotion of the constitutional rights which minorities are supposed to enjoy are ignored and in fact in some cases undermined. The tragedy is that it is the indigenous ethnic groups in South Africa that are the hardest hit by the ANC's inability to adhere to the language and cultural requirements and there is no promotion whatsoever of these issues.

"The failure to take any steps to improve their (Pansalb and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities) effectiveness seems to indicate a serious lack of political commitment to the goal of promoting respect for cultural and language diversity and for maintaining harmonious relationships between our different communities." Centre for Constitutional Rights - 24 May, 2011

Our interpretation of the ANC's execution of the NDR ideology is that a faction within the ANC will take the NDR and its goals even further, a position that will be in conflict with the Constitution. This will not bode well for South Africa , and in particular this will lead to a deteriorating situation for minorities:

•  Affirmative action will be stepped up in an effort to accommodate cadre-deployment. This means that white, coloured and Indian representation will be reduced even further, especially in the public sector.
• Black Economic Empowerment will intensify to appease black ANC-minded business people even further.
• Some pillars of the economy, such as property ownership, will increasingly come under pressure. The ANC Youth League's demand for the nationalisation of mines and banks has created domestic and foreign uncertainty.
• South Africa's food security is at stake with the inability of the State to apply fair and reasonable land reform and to protect vested interests.
• Our education will deteriorate even further as the grip and power of unions within this sector increases and government remains unwilling to manage the education crisis.
• Service delivery will increasingly fail as the expertise and experience, especially in technical areas, are lacking.
• The tax burden will become heavier for all taxpayers - this must be seen against the backdrop of the ever-increasing social security net which include welfare grants, free housing and medical and educational needs.
• Crime's intensity is increasing and the government's hard-hitting statements about crime are unfortunately not reflected in the day-to-day experience of all South Africans.

All of the above suggest that South Africa is on its way to becoming just another failed African country. One in which there is no room for the various minorities in each language or cultural community.

Let me immediately state that the above is not a repeat of the "swart gevaar" rhetoric from a previous era or that it only represents white fears. The following viewpoints are held by Justice Malala, a respected journalist, in his column in The Times, 30 May 2011:

"In this election the yearning to fashion a new South Africa took a backward step when political leaders began to use race in itself as a way to demean, discredit and malign opponents. It is one thing to demand affirmative action, and a totally different thing to refer to all whites as criminals, or to call Lindiwe Mazibuko a tea girl who is serving a "madam".

Such talk leads to the likes of Nceba Faku, the idiotic ANC regional leader in Nelson Mandela Bay metro, exhorting a crowd to drive blacks who voted for allegedly "white" parties into the sea. This is not a solution to our problems, but fuel to the fire.

There are consequences. If ANC leaders continue to condone such behaviour then the day is not far off when minority groups will be targeted for attack. Leading the mobs will be the likes of Faku. Many will say this is alarmist talk. I say look at Rwanda and Nazi Germany , and remember that it all started when good men and women kept shtoom when the propaganda speeches were started by political leaders such as Faku."

We need to worry when a respected black commentator raises such views and we as members of the Afrikanerbond, whose vision is "As Afrikaners we build South Africa's future together" can no longer remain silent and allow an irresponsible and outdated NDR ideology to threaten our future. As Afrikaners we have, together with all South Africans, the right to rise and demand that the ANC government starts doing its job. South Africa can only be successful if:

• the ANC abandons its outdated NDR ideology and acknowledges the aspirations and expectations of all South Africans;
• the ANC adopts the constitution, and not its NDR, as the only gauge against which policy frameworks must be measured;
• the ANC acknowledges the diversity of people in South Africa and protects and promotes this diversity;
•  the ANC accepts that Afrikaners, like other minorities, can be nothing else but South Africans;
• the ANC utilises the potential of all South Africans to the full advantage of the country; and
• the ANC realises that black racism and discriminatory policies are as wrong and just as unacceptable as white racism and apartheid.

Only then can there be hope for South Africa 's minorities. Perhaps it is time for all minorities in South Africa to challenge the ANC to answer the above. As Afrikaners, we must work with other minorities on our common problems. It can however not be done in a hostile climate. The ball is now in the hands of the ANC!

Issued by the Afrikanerbond, June 3 2011

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