THE BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN MILLENNIALS AND BORN FREES ARE IN A TIGHT CORNER

My heart goes to the enormous challenges faced by black South African millennials (1982-1995) and born frees (1994- to date). These challenges are in addition to their generational challenges which I classify as those of their own doing or, at least, those over which they have a great measure of control.

This group is caught within a triangle which makes it very difficult if not impossible to escape.

At the top of the triangle is lack of ethical leadership.

On the left is lack of creative or enterprising leadership.

On the right is lack of economic resources.

Never in my experience have I ever heard of a liberated people who must fight to emancipate themselves from failures of others before they start to look at how they can release their potential.

The ethical leadership manifests itself in the following practical ways, at least:

·         Failure to provide this group with a proper education system that equips them for the future.

·         Failure to deal with corruption decisively so that resources of the country are not squandered.

·         Failure to embed a culture of accountability as this creates an impression that failure has no consequences.

On the left:

·         Adults continuously blame government and shift their responsibility of parenthood.

·         Able bodied adults who don't want to do anything for themselves (they don't even want to paint by themselves a house given to them by government).

·         Adults who refuse to explore other possibilities for survival when traditional means are no longer viable ( e.g, who wants to go back to plough the fields when jobs are no longer available in the mines)

·         Adults who have eroded the black traditions and values and have passed nothing to the next generation.

On the right:

·         False expectations are being created that if people spend enough time at hotel lobbies waiting for or discussing deals, wealth will come soon.

·         Our white compatriots who are still by far the captains of industry unwilling to give this group any opportunity.

·         Endless  and meaningless discussions about rich black people instead of acknowledging that wealth has not shifted at all from our white compatriots.

·         Lack of bold steps by those in authority to embark on serious programmes to help this group with economic means (not grants) so they can take their chances.

I hope these millennials and born frees will understand what Steve Biko meant when he wrote “Black man you are on your own".

NOW, BLACK MELLENNIALS AND BORN FREES, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.

SOUTH AFRICA MUST TAKE ITS PLACE ONE DAY IN THE WORLD STAGE: JULY 2012

Sometimes one cannot always discuss South Africa without making reference to the rest of the African continent. This is so because the rest of the world, sometimes rightly or wrongly, will attribute certain behavioral patterns to Africans with no care whatsoever whether you are from the South, East or anywhere else in Africa.

I was taken aback by two issues on the recent trip I had to the East. This was in South Korea and in Vietnam.

The first striking thing was the absence of Africans, everywhere I went in these countries, even in the markets where you might think African traders would be present. The assumption they make there is that if you are black, you are American.

It was quite clear that in these countries they do not receive any significant number of Black South Africans, I guess they would not know where our white compatriots come from, in fact, they might be surprised if they come from Africa at all.

The surprise they had, was not derogatory like in the west, where people think wild animals still roam the streets in Africa.

I was particularly shocked by all this in Korea (they don't call it South Korea) because as late as few months ago, a Korean telecoms company wanted to buy a significant interest in Telkom.

Whilst this was a shock, it pointed to immense unexplored opportunities by South Africans to go to markets they are not in, if they have something to offer.

The second shock was an identity one.

As far as Easterners are concerned there is only East and West in the world. Since, as an African, I am not from the East I am therefore from the West.

When people continuously tell you that " we don't do things like you do in the west" you get tired of telling them that you are an African and not from the West in the sense of what they say.

For the first time, I asked myself, if I keep arguing that I am an African but continue to behave, in all manners like somebody from the west, what makes me different in their eyes? Is our being African reduced only to looks and the texture of our hair?

It's about time that South Africa take up their rightful place in the world stage and assert. My only concern is that we are so absorbed and consumed  by our internal petty issues that we forget that there is space waiting for us in the world stage to be occupied but we have to go out there and take it.

18 YEARS SINCE INDEPENDENCE: WHERE IS OUR HOPE

With the apartheid era fading from collective memory a new question arises, when will the next generation, especially black youth up to the age of 27, be truly independent? I feel that this question should come in the context of the South African youth being compared to other African youths.


Africans from the rest of Africa, from my personal observation, demonstrate admirable confidence, and have an extensive knowledge of their history and culture. It could be that this is due to the fact that some of my African compatriots were liberated from the 1960s and have had ample opportunity to find a sense of self, this is shown by the large number of Africans who have gone abroad and established themselves beyond their borders.

South African black youth, still in their formative years, seem to lack the ability to rebel at being treated as second class citizens, which classification their African counterparts have long rejected. This rejection form the basis of free and independent Africans who are comfortable with themselves and are equal to anyone, who are willing to explore and learn, and possess no inferiority complex due to being African.

One has to acknowledge though that whilst our education system is still one of the major drawbacks to unleash this potential, the few who have come out the private and model C schools and thus have escaped the less than ideal public education system should begin to form the nucleus of this movement to independence

They are a generation which hopefully shall not require BEE to assist them to get into business, they shall not require initiatives such as affirmative action to get opportunities in the corporate world, they shall demand their place in the corporate world, and they shall unleash creativity and innovation that will help them release their business acumen with no need of government support

It is therefore important for this generation, from day one, to learn from their African counterparts as to what it means to be a free African in terms of values, demands, aggression and self self-reliance

Whilst the intention is not to put pressure on this generation, it is important for one to realise that as a black community in SA for the first time in almost 300 years, we have a group of people to showcase and pin our hopes on. It is now up to each and every one of them to wake up tomorrow, understanding the very ideal position they are in, to decide how they will take advantage of the vast amount of space afforded to them, to think, to express, to enjoy, to be free.

It's a very interesting continent, my continent.

It's a very interesting continent, my continent.

I was yet on another journey via Nairobi in Kenya. By the way, if there is one thing Kenya Airways has done well, is the creation of an African hub, Nairobi. Once in Nairobi it's far easier to get a flight to Freetown, Monrovia or even Djibouti or Khartoum, to mention but a few.
So once you are at Jomo Kenyatta airport, you have a better chance of observing fellow Africans in their natural habitat. I think a number, when they get to Johannesburg are not their usual self or those who get to Johannesburg are of a particular breed.
This time there was a group of East Africans going to Libreville for the finals of the AFCON, between Zambia and Ivory Coast (sorry Cote d’Ivoire) which was to be played on Sunday, 12 February 2012. Don't forget South Africa is hosting, by default, in 2013, yes I did say 2013.
Now there are interesting observations.
The group from Somalia is not very good at observing the queues. I reached a conclusion that queues are a luxury of civilization, which is easily dispensed with, when there are other pressing needs.
There were officials of football associations of various East African countries. I pity the South Africans that want some CAF positions. It's a clique/a club. The luxury of South Africans waiting for one person to talk at a time was not on the agenda. So, you needed your voice to be very loud to get a piece of the ears. I entertained myself, puzzled at the same time and hoping that when they are in formal meetings they do things differently.
Out of the 16 people in the business class, there was only one white person. Now this is what you can't miss in the continent. One of the reasons is of course that it is the continent of black people predominantly, but the other one is that if you cannot take harsh conditions get out of the African continent. I don't include South Africa which is referred to as, Africa for beginners.

People who are 40 years old and those that are 31 years old

Let us begin with a bit of arithmetic, move to logic and finally to why all of this.

If in the year 2011 you are 40 years old that means you were born in 1971. If you are 31 years old that means you were born in 1980. Ok, even if this is not arithmetically accurate, the margin of error would be very small to be of any consequence.

Now, if you were born in 1971 that means:

You could not have participated in the 1976 uprisings, because you would have been 5 years old. There is a possibility that you did not go to exile because when Tata Madiba was released from jail in 1990, whey you were 14 years old, the numbers of people "skipping the country" , for the first time, were very low if it was still happening.
If you have any tertiary education, it means some of the years of your tertiary studies would have been under the democratically elected government.

If you were born in 1980, what does it mean?

When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, you were 14 years old and therefore all your high school education, if you have it, could not have been Bantu Education. I do not believe the democratically elected government could have taught people Bantu Education.

It also so means that you did not vote in 1994.

So, where are we going with all of this…

I do not know Mr Fikile Mbalula enough to know his age. I only gathered in the media, specifically some of the print media on Friday 28 October 2011 that he turned 40 this year, 2011. I also understand that " there are some amongst us" who would like to see him being the Secretary General of the ANC sooner. If that were to happen in 2012' as an example, he would be 41 years old.

Ms Lindiwe Mazibuko has just become the DA's parliamentary caucus leader at 31 years old. Some of the same Friday newspapers are even talking about her moving higher.

Let me declare before I proceed, that I am not a fan of politics. I am a business person and very happy at that. My point below is not about politics but about a different "new" generation.

So, it's possible that when South Africa goes to vote in 2014, there will be people who are from the different generation who will have a lot of influence on policy matters. I am hoping that South Africa will go back to discussing policy matters.

This is not necessarily about these two individuals, because they say a day is too long in politics, but I have no doubt that by the time we get to 2014 people born in 1971 and people born in 1980 will be in very influential political positions in South Africa.

This makes me so excited and those that are in their 20's today (28 October 2011) will have a huge responsibility then, because some would be voting for the second time. Their views and decisions would be very crucial.

I have written before about young people but it looks like they are now taking their rightful place.

Help us God, The All Mighty, to be around then to witness this era of significant change is our country.



Sango Ntsaluba

Reconciliation in South Africa will be set back by the R750 000 payment - September 2011

The taste, the settlement reached by Mr Bees Roux and the family of the late Tshwane traffic Sergeant Johannes Mogale, is not a sweet one at all. The timing of it all is very unfortunate indeed.

Sadly, it comes at a time when black communities are increasingly asking themselves whether the call by former President Nelson Mandela for the nation to open their hearts towards reconciliation has not been exploited by some.

My heart goes to Mrs Mogale who has been robbed of her husband. The Saturday Star (September 10,2011)" reported that Mogale's wife, Margaret, sat quietly in the front row of the court, and only spoke when the judge asked her if she was satisfied with and agreed to the details of the plea agreement. She did not speak to the press and quite honestly what was she supposed to say, this was not a match of equals and we will never be sure if the justice system could or even should not have done better for her.


It gets even worse when the same paper quotes Taukobong, the late Mr Mogale's uncle, as saying that “she (Mrs Mogale) was relieved that the saga was over and that she could now finally concentrate on raising her children". The family of the late Mr Mogale is quoted by the same paper as having said "...The Bible says you must forgive in order to be forgiven...."


Many years ago when I used to go to Sunday school I remember we were told that the Bible also says “Thou shall not kill!"

I hope I do not come across as judgmental but I hope that those who know the law better will tell us that justice has indeed been served. I also sincerely hope that those who know the bible better will tell us what should or will happen to those who kill.

I hope the reconciled world that Mr Mandela hoped for has not been set back by the
R750 000 payment.

I hope the timing of this event does not add to the growing list of concerns that black people are being asked to dig even dipper into their reconciliation reserves when other people seem to offer very little.

May Mr Mogale's soul Rest in Peace

WE ARE 17 YEARS INTO OUR DEMOCRACY: August 2011

There is a sense of discomfort as we approach 20 years of our democracy. At 17 years into our democracy, we are nearing the period when panic begins and people start to take a hard look at economic gains made or not made.

Former President Mbeki once said "As a consequence of the victories we have registered during our first ten years of freedom, we have laid a firm foundation for the new advances we must and will make during the next decade." Keep this in mind as we look into some of the recent developments in South Africa.

Post 17 years since our political freedom, don’t we hear voices from a distance urging us to get on with “new advances” as advocated by former President Mbeki when we were only 10 years into our political freedom? Seemingly, the voices are calling for economic freedom or emancipation.

I do not wish, at all, to be part of the chorus on privatization mainly because it sounds like a choir with no conductor. What I want to be part of is a sober but urgent discussion that accepts that South Africa has not made the economic gains for all its citizens as was expected in 1994.

The prerogative of our struggle was political freedom. Our Bill of Rights originates, in its preamble, with " We, the people of South Africa, recognising the injustices of our past..."

It continues to state the values that include "human dignity; all adults will be able to vote; there will be regular elections..., etc". It is clear and understandable that our constitution was mainly concerned with restoration of our dignity and entrenching our political rights.

There seems to be a belief that political stability is one “…of the victories we have registered…”. The question now is whether a lot of the “noises” are not arising from those who believe that it’s now time for economic emancipation.

There are a number of questions which will be asked, amongst them being whether the various pieces of legislation which sought to empower previously disadvantaged people are not adequate.

I seem to hear a response that says so far we have been tinkering in the periphery and now it’s time for a comprehensive economic struggle. There can no longer be a piecemeal and half-hearted approach but a whole movement needs to be behind the economic revolution.

The problem of not having a comprehensive approach is that we will have disjointed and uncoordinated noises, like those that are happening around privatization. Each group will seek to protect their current positions rather than to conduct honest assessments no matter how hard it is.

I hear voices, that sadly will not be silenced soon, that say there is a need, and an urgent one for that matter, for the economic freedom to begin now. Let us ignore the noise but we must please listen carefully to the voices.

Sango Ntsaluba