South Africa has to turn around 350 years of oppression: Manyi

I have a couple of issues with what Mr Manyi has to say here. Firstly, there must be an election coming up soon, because the ANC usually trot out that tired and beaten to death 'oppression' phrase when they have an election to win. Yup, I was right - Municipal elections take place on 18 May! Secondly, Mr Manyi seems to be a tad hypocritical. I was a starry-eyed youth in my early 20's when the ANC was unbanned by the stupid NP government under Traitor de Klerk. The terrorist Mandela was then magically released to huge national and international fanfare and the ANC stated that they would be contesting the next election - which they won by a landslide in 1994. During their electioneering, I distinctly remember the ANC promising a 'better life for all'. What they forgot to add (maybe there wasn't enough space on the banners?) was that the phrase meant a better life for all people in their government and their comrades in arms. They also promised the end to racial discrimination and celebrated this by imposing Affirmative Action on the White race in the country - that didn't mean Whites came first - it meant they came last for any job applied for, not to mention Blacks being forced onto existing company boards. Here we  have the government spokesperson, Mr Manyi, who stated that there were too many coloureds in the Cape (not racist at all) and apologised for saying this via his deputy - not directly. He's now taken exception to people calling him out on this and cited his African heritage of sending a delegation to do his dirty work apologise for the comment. He's also now complaining that the top businesses in South African are still owned by Whites. Well Mr Manyi, I have some advice for you. Do what every good African traditionalist has done and go buy a sheep and cow and go grow some corn. You can't have it both ways. Whites are from a Western civilised culture as opposed to your Black heritage. If it's good enough to apologise like an African then it's good enough to live like one. What's keeping you back? Oh, yes, I forgot. You've tasted what money brings you - money that wasn't around until the Whites landed and built the country up for you. You are a fence sitter Mr Manyi - running to your African roots when it suits you and to the hated Western culture when you want to feel like a big man. As you say, 350 years of oppression can't be undone in 17 years. BTW - Apartheid was only implemented in 1948, but let's forget that little fact. He also conveniently forgets that the worst oppression came from his own Black tribes wiping each other out. That's why each were given their own homeland under Apartheid - to keep them separate. The fact is that in 17 years the ANC have managed to make a few of their comrades wealthy and their Black masses are poorer. They’ve also driven skilled and scared citizens out of the country due to the escalating violent crime happening under their leadership. Keep looking at the successful White companies, which were built up on hard work. Keep excusing your own Black people for failing to start their own businesses, and instead parasite on the White companies. Keep trotting out that tired and dead horse 'oppression' whenever you need to scaremonger and excuse your government’s performance. With clowns like you in the government South Africa is sure to prosper. Hopefully the transformation butterfly life cycle ends as it does in nature - dead soon after transformation!

 

 Johannesburg - South Africa cannot expect to turn around 350 years of oppression in 17 years, the government's chief spokesperson, Jimmy Manyi, said on Thursday.

"Seventeen years will never be enough. Do you understand what it is to turn around 350 years of deprivation?" he asked a Tomorrow's Leaders convention in Sandton.

Manyi compared transformation to the life cycle of a butterfly and said that what was needed was fundamental change from the beginning of the cycle to the end.

He mentioned the recent outcry over comments he made about there being too many coloured people in the Western Cape by having a go at television journalist Deborah Patta.

She had criticised him for not apologising for these comments himself, but having government communications deputy CEO Vusi Mona apologise on his behalf.

"What is she saying? The African way of apologising is not acceptable?

"When you have offended as an African, you send a delegation to apologise for you.
"[Patta] said it's not good enough. I have to do it the Western way," Manyi said.

South Africans needed to respect each other's cultures and learn to co-exist, he said.

Economics

"When we have arrived at the rainbow status [of our nation] we would not have dispensed with our diversity."

Manyi said he was glad DA leader Helen Zille had launched her party manifesto in Kliptown at the weekend.

"I was glad she went there so she could see [what apartheid has done]."

South Africans had political freedom, but the challenge was still economic freedom.

"It's not going to be easy, because once you tamper with the issue of economics, then you have very little friends. People don't want to let go of what they have."

Manyi said the government inherited an unbalanced country in 1994, when 87% of the land was owned by whites, who made up 12% of the population.

"Not much has changed."
Manyi said transformation still had a long way to go.

"The challenge we are facing is very, very big," he said.

In 1994, more than 80% of the top jobs were held by white people and 87% of government procurement went to white companies, he said.
Blacks represented less than two percent of the JSE.

A survey of 3 500 companies in 2007, including all those listed on the JSE, found that 74.8% of ownership was still in white hands.
"They did not even have this discussion to sell to white people."

The survey found there had been "some kind of progress" on employment equity, but it was "very small.

"You could argue this was the good work of the labour department over the year... You know it's a very good department," he said to laughter.

Equality

Manyi, who also heads the Black Management Forum, was the director general of the labour department before being suspended last year after the Norwegian ambassador formally complained that he had used an official meeting to promote his private interests.
Manyi also took aim at the Freedom Front Plus for calling affirmative action immoral.

Earlier this week, the FF Plus called Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's defence of affirmative action during his visit to the United States "immoral.
"The time has come for affirmative action to be phased out," FF Plus spokesperson Anton Alberts said.

Manyi disagreed: "I don't know where they are coming from."

The Constitution provides for equality, including a provision "to promote the achievement of equality.

"It recognises it's a work in progress."

Manyi said this was why he liked the Afrikaans phrase "regstellende aksie" for affirmative action.

"If something must be put right, it means there is something wrong with that thing."

Source