A Facebook feed engulfed by posts of an incident of a man beaten after he called a black man a ‘Kaffir’ and replaying the words of Minister Fikile Mbalula after was reported to have said, “DJ Gareth Cliff suffered from ‘Verwoed Hangover’,” left me with little option but to write this piece.
Reality is that no one can erase the past, we cannot carry on as though South Africa did not go through Apartheid; at the same time, we cannot and should not carry on as though Apartheid still exists, or as if it is the problem.
While we are concerned about the discrimination of the minority, we find no fault at the foolish words of Minister Mbalula which left me thinking, “The problem is not Gareth’s ‘Verwoerd Hangover’, rather the Minister’s ‘Verwoerd Hangover’.”
Yes, the words of the minister are an attitude of a majority of black people who still blame apartheid for the failures of government.
Looking at Mbalula’s incident; first of all, it is irresponsible for a leader to make such statements publicly. Also consider that Senzo Meyiwa was not a legend of South African football, he was a rising star, not a legend… So why give him a Provincial funeral? The government should admit they spent our money carelessly.
When those who killed a four-year-old spent three months walking free only to have their case withdrawn, makes you question the priority. Instead of giving Meyiwa a Provincial funeral, we needed to invest more towards finding the killers.
Apartheid is gone, it is time we trashed the pain that came with it.
Instead of acknowledging that Gareth Cliff raised a valid point, the minister resorted to referring to Apartheid. Although indirectly, the fact is he did. The minister then went on to say ‘who paid for Verwoerd’s funeral?’ The minister needs to realise that Verwoerd was a public servant, while Meyiwa was merely a rising football star, whose lifestyle off the pitch should leave a bad taste in our mouths.
I find it annoying each time someone blames apartheid when we have issues to deal with, or need to engage in debates about the challenges we face. A while back I wrote a piece, ‘Vuka muntu o mnyama Vuka (Wake up Black Man Wake up)’, it was in this piece I was hoping the majority of South Africans would realise that today we are not oppressed by a white man – we are oppressed by a black man.
We are oppressed by a group of people who are mostly interested in maintaining their place in parliament than serving the people who deserve quality services. The problem is not that Steve Hofmeyr is racist – the man is not even much of a decision maker for crying out loud! South Africa’s problem is that we have a government or leaders who are still trapped in the past.
Today we are not oppressed by a white man – we are oppressed by a black man.
While we have moved forward as a nation since 1994, black people are their own worst enemy, they are still holding to the pain of ancient history. Apartheid is gone, it is time we trashed the pain that came with it.
Our concerns should not be the racism of the minority, but the oppression of the majority. I look at South Africa today and I can’t help but be driven by the possibility of uniting a nation, just as former President Nelson Mandela would have appreciated.
It is time to build a South Africa for all South Africans, a place where we truly embrace the reality of a rainbow nation, just as Tata Madiba would have wanted.
