THE purpose of this letter is to correct the distortions and misinformation presented by DA councillor Ray Schenk in his letter titled “Vote for fairness, opportunity” that appeared in TotT on Thursday June 23.
I shall pick up two main issues, namely the 1976 June uprisings and the South African economy, to anchor and focus my argument. Starting with the June 1976 uprisings, Schenk’s letter distorts and misinforms the public. The hiding from police brutality in exile, crass and institutionalised racism, rejection of Bantu education, boycotting Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, loss of loved ones, torture, imprisonment, general suffering and a demand for a democratic South Africa is exactly what happened in June 1976 but is politely euphemised, buried and concealed in hushed liberal tones by Schenk as “diversity and dream of the future”.
He deliberately ignores the fact that this “diversity and dream of the future” is a political by-product of a South Africa that was burning at the time. His views have an added danger of annihilating a critical chapter in the chronicles of our South African history. If we were to rely on the likes of Schenk, our children will have no guiding reference regarding what actually happened in the past.
Ray further heaps up blame for the struggling South African economy singularly and squarely on the ANC, forgetting that there are several other world phenomena that have a bearing on the South African economy. Depending on the day, these factors yield either positive or negative results.
I expected Ray to present arguments with reasons and as such persuade readers towards a particular position. Instead, he engages in arm-twisting bullying orders that confine readers to his view of the economic world.
He writes as if the 2008 recession and general negative effects of globalisation had no impact on the South African economy. The only way one can arrive at such a false conclusion would be to assume that SA has weak global linkages and would therefore be spared from the effects of global crisis. The reality is that SA has always been an active participant in international trade and markets and her economy is partly based on commodity export growth. We therefore cannot blame the ANC about our struggling economy as if there are no other factors at play.
Further, the terrible and ungodly triplet of poverty, unemployment, and inequality have always been part and parcel of South Africa’s unique brand of capitalism, colonialism of a special type as some would prefer to call it.
ANC COUNCILLOR PHINDILE FAXI
