Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader, Reply to President Zuma's State of the Nation Address 2015, February 18 2015
Speaker,
What does a governing party do when voters start turning against it? They start with scapegoat politics.
What is scapegoat politics?
In Germany Hitler blamed the Jews for German poverty. Scapegoat politics.
When Mugabe lost the referendum in 2000 he called the nay-Sayers "sell-out Zimbabweans" and blamed white farmers. We know what happened to white farmers. Scapegoat politics.
In Rwanda Hutu leaders called the Tutsi's cockroaches and blamed them for the country's problems. When the problems remained, ordinary citizens decided to get rid of the cockroaches. Up to 1 million Tutsis were murdered in 10 days.
The same happened in Germany where millions of Jews were murdered.
In South Africa load-shedding upsets everybody. The honourable president doesn't blame Eskom's lack of planning. He blames apartheid and the previous white government. Scapegoat politics.
When the NP government handed power to the ANC in 1994, Eskom had a generation capability of 37,6 GW. After 20 years of ANC governments, Eskom has a mere 24 to 28 GW capacity.
Where do South Africa's problems come from? The honourable president says: "a man called Jan van Riebeeck arrived here and that was the start of the trouble in this country". I can prove the president is wrong - but what did he say in plain language? He said when white people arrived here, the trouble started.
What is the understanding of ordinary ANC supporters? They understand that if one gets rid of the white man, all problems are solved. Get rid of the cockroaches, then the problems go away. When I say this plays a role in many farm murders it results in a hysterical ANC reaction.
The same scapegoat politicks exists with land. Foreigners are buying all the land, that's why prices are so high. Get rid of foreigners.
Figures show that foreigners own about 2% of the land but their investments, job-creation and companies' contributions to tax are much more than 2%.
The same goes for Somalians and other foreigners. TV scenes of shops being looted in Soweto are shocking. Of course it was Xenophobia. Read the slogans written there. The president didn't say a word about it Thursday. He however said foreigners may not own land. Ordinary Soweto residents hear the president say that they were right in getting rid of foreigners in advance.
With regards to agricultural land your proposals are unrealistic and impracticable. I said it more than once in Cabinet Lekgotlas. Organised agriculture worked hard on practical proposals for their talks with government in March. Before those talks took place, you announced these proposals and derailed those talks. These proposals will not satisfy the EFF, will destroy agriculture and jeopardize food security.
Sir, you are not just the ANC leader. You are also the head of state. A head of state acts in the interest of all South Africans - not just for the ANC.
According to most ANC speeches in Parliament, a person is a good South African and African only if you join the ANC. If you don't and dare criticise, you're an enemy of the people, you're opposed to transformation and probably racist. Scapegoat politics. I and the majority of Afrikaners and English speaking white people and other minorities who call South Africa our only home, will not allow someone else to decide whether we are African and patriotic.
Honourable president, stop your scapegoat politics. You are setting a wrong example. It's exactly the opposite of what president Mandela did. You are playing with fire in a country which needs little to be set alight.
Speaker does the ANC really believe in the Constitution? When the ANC was under pressure in this Assembly Thursday, many South Africans got a fright when they saw an autocratic ANC who spared nothing to retain power. Is this the real ANC? Will the ANC hand over power peacefully when they lose an election? Does the ANC really believe in the Constitution's liberal democratic principles? I say no. They are hiding the true nature of the ANC behind a curtain of human rights and democratic words.
Prof. K.A. Busia of Ghana wrote:
A democracy in the last analysis depends on the character of individual men and women and the moral standards of the community. Rules governing elections may be made; freedoms may be provided in constitutions; and Bills of Right may be passed; they will make arbitrary acts easier to resist publicly, but they will not by themselves secure democracy. There are other rules which are unwritten, such as honesty, integrity, restraint and respect for democratic procedures.
Sir, you are currently the problem. Leave scapegoat politics, respect democratic values and stop attacking and driving me, as an Afrikaner, and other groups, away. You will not get rid of us and you will also not solve this country's problems without us. There are good people in all the different communities. Let us acknowledge this and take hands to make a success of South Africa.
We are angry with government but love this country. That's why we want to help make South Africa work. Look at Ethiopia and Europe how minority rights and self-determination are used to get the cooperation of minority groups.
Issued by the FF Plus, February 18 2015
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