Affirmative Action may be the under current that fuels xenophobic rumblings

The deep rumbles of discontent that have exploded into an orgy of violence, death and destruction may, rightly or wrongly, be the poor’s version of Affirmative Action.

Of course, AA is nothing else but implementation of the culture of ‘putting local blacks, first.’ Its widespread and, ironically, justifiable practice has, over the last decade resulted in the emergence of the ‘Black Diamonds,’ who now constitute the growing black middle class.

Over the last ten years, especially with the advent of Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment, the elite Black Diamonds have cut themselves from ‘our people’ and failed to think in terms “redistributing national resources to ALL people who work in this land.”

Instead, the elite Black Diamonds have been quick to turn themselves into beneficiaries of slow paced transformation that has seen them focus on the economic crumbs at the expense of the poor. In fact, they have long lost sight of the national big picture.

A large group of the potential elite were eager to move out of the townships to re-establish themselves in former whites-only suburbs where, within the space of 13 years, they have forgotten about the degrading conditions the African majority lives in.

In fact, the recent behaviour of the so-called “masses” is practically taken from much lauded policies and programmes of Affirmative Action which engenders a culture of entitlement to “putting blacks first,” if you like.

Those former townships folks who were fortunate and privileged to obtain tertiary education and training have gone on to demand that the educated black be put first when it comes to opportunities. This has been common practice since the dawn of freedom and democracy.

During the first decade of freedom, there have been countless instances where Black Diamonds have managed on the basis of indigenous blackness to make a clean sweep of positions, status, power, privileges and material accumulation that were exclusively owned by whites and, to a lesser extent, so-called Indians and Coloureds.

In fact, they continue to proclaim that they are entitled to be Number One in terms of preferential treatment simply because “we were blacks born here.” But they did not try to make the same demands for those who were from the masses of unemployed and poor working class.

Thus the illiterate unemployables have neither been truly integrated into the economic system, nor have they tasted the juicy fruits of freedom that come with educational qualification and political connectedness.

Instead, it is now insisted that those who had no education qualifications were not indispensable and had nobody but themselves to blame for not being ready to take their rightful place in society. Thus the condemnation of the marginalised and poor to a hell on earth was made legitimate.

In the meantime, the Black Diamonds waved their qualifications from Western universities, fast-track programmes and showed off their political connectedness to demand that whites, so-called Indians, Coloureds and capitalists make way for them.

As the doors of opportunity opened up for those who were educated and ready, nobody was bothered to plan to integrate poor and marginalized indigenous Africans into the economic mainstream. The unjust economic status quo remained intact. The rules for success and opportunity to join the economic mainstream were clear: with neither education nor political connectedness, no gain!

The elite were content to slip more and more into the dog-eat-dog capitalist system to become managers of an untransformed economic system. In fact, Black Diamongs do not believe in rocking the system. They understand that THAT, in itself, threatened their own material interests.

Those who were luckier were those Black Diamonds who were not only educated and prominent but also members of The Party. Where this was the case, the individuals have moved on to greater things in terms of access to positions, personal wealth and power.

There were some prominent leaders who encouraged this culture by declaring that blacks had every right to be “filthy rich.” Others refused to champion the aspirations of the marginalized and proclaimed that they “did not struggle to be poor.” Perhaps, with the special emphasis on the values and priorities of the Washington Consensus, there was never any intention to ameliorate the plight of the poor and marginalised.

What the new times and culture demanded was for every man to look out for himself while South Africa was for everyone who claimed it to be their home. The progress that Black Diamonds have made in terms of material progress has been astounding. In fact, the group earnings of the black middle class, now, is even said to be more than of the whites put together.

The dominant psychology is “to get rich quickly” or be damned.

Sadly, the black bourgeoisie have not hesitated to cut ties with the black poor and shut the door behind them as they wafted into the wealth and privilege previously enjoyed by whites only. The material accumulation of the middle class is on display for everyone to see: posh cars, plush homes, designer labels and splashes in magazines and television programmes.

The Black Diamonds have, rightly or wrongly, used their qualifications and political connections to hoard all the exclusive privileges and material wealth formerly kept and enjoyed by whites.

In a spectrum of organisations in the economic, religious, political and social sectors, including the NGO industry, the local blacks who are indigenous Africans continue to fight to the bitter end against people who are ‘not black. They have one simple demand: “give up positions and power so that we can take over.”

After all, this stolen land belongs to their indigenous ancestors. The fact that there aren’t enough local blacks in positions of leadership and management, if not downright ownership, is an ‘insult to the struggle for liberation.’ In fact, Black Diamonds have not stopped snarling and believe that transformation is not happening fast enough. Thus, behind closed doors, they espouse the economic gospel of the need to implement Affirmative Action and BEE until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The last weeks have, suddenly, witnessed the explosion of deep rumbles of discontent in some parts the country. Let it be understood that what we have seen are the masses of unemployed and other ‘small people’ implement their own version of Affirmative Action and the culture of entitlement.

Whether we want to admit it or not, the poor and marginalized have taken their leaf from the book of Black Diamonds which teaches that “local blacks must have positions, wealth, land and power,” at any cost. While those in the black middle class compete with whites for ‘scarce’ resources, the people on the ground can only do so with fellow Africans who they see as ‘foreigners’ who allegedly are stealing opportunities, jobs and women from them.

Of course, it is regrettable that a frightening wave of xenophobia is sweeping through the country now. But the masses of unemployed and poor working class that have been left behind by their middle class are calling on ‘foreigners’ to leave.

Unlike their educated patriots, their hostile attitudes are not hidden behind sophisticated policies and programmes like American invented Affirmative Action programmes to give back to indigenous Africans what rightly belongs to them.

They are not transformed by education and thus resort to any means necessary. This includes vandalism, looting, murder, rape, destruction and total mayhem.

If we are to be honest to ourselves, perhaps the chickens have now come home to roost.
The hostile manifestation on the part of the masses of unemployed and poor working class have no other significance than the duplication or implementation of Affirmative Action and BEE where indigenous blacks have a sense of entitlement to share in the resources of one of the richest countries in the world.

This nightmare of entitlement among local blacks is not less real because it happens among those who are educated and sophisticated.

In fact, it will be more so in that there is a growing gap between the rich and poor in the black community. And the black rich, themselves, are not satisfied that after more than 14 years of freedom and democracy, they own less than 2% of the wealth of the land.

What is to be regretted is that the privileged class are far from sharing the land and redistributing the resources from it. It is these facts that may see beginning of a downward spiral into what Nelson Mandela has called a “descent into divisive destruction.”

While we may all jump onto the bandwagon of condemning the ‘small people’ for unleashing an orgy of violence against fellow Africans, we should not forget how their leadership in the middle class has left them behind and continue to express a culture of entitlement. The middle class have long been blunt with both government and business: local blacks must be Number One in everything!

If there is to be less egg dancing, let us admit to ourselves that there is not much principled difference between how the middle class behave in the name of Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment, and how the masses have been behaving by reclaiming what they consider to be, rightly, ‘their’ space.

The middle class continues to dislodge whites, where they can, from top positions of power and wealth. For the masses of the people, competition is represented by ‘foreigners’ who allegedly are stealing their jobs, opportunities, houses and women.

Let us brace ourselves for a permanent bumpy ride until the leadership can find an economic solution that can make the poor and marginalized feel that South Africa, too, truly belongs to ALL who live in it.