'Group of older men gossip about me': Malema on White House video clip
Trump played the clip to try to prove claims of white genocide in South Africa, which Ramaphosa's delegation denied, saying that violent crime affects all South Africans, not just white farmers.
Malema took to social media, describing the leaders and their delegation as 'a group of older men' who met to 'gossip about him'.
He said there's no evidence to prove white genocide, despite him consistently singing the song.
'No significant amount of intelligence evidence has been produced about white genocide,' Malema said. 'We will not agree to compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency.'
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TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
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Daily Maverick
8 hours ago
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Right goals but poor execution hampering SA's vital National Dialogue
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Without a solid foundation and clarity of purpose, never mind budget and structure, current prospects for the dialogue are not promising. An updated forecast from the African Futures team at the Institute for Security Studies reveals that South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has stagnated or steadily declined since 2013, with a brief upturn in 2018. On its current growth trajectory, the country will recover to its 2013 level in 2039, implying 26 lost years. Even in a high-growth scenario, that point would, at best, be reached in 2032, some years after the next national elections. It is widely reported that South Africa has the highest unemployment and inequality rates globally. As if we are not doing badly enough, our foreign policy is among the reasons the United States has imposed 30% punitive trade tariffs on South Africa. The ANC has been in power since 1994, so cannot escape primary responsibility for this dismal state of affairs. The dialogue's goal of forging a social compact speaks to the extent of national disharmony — a situation not unique to South Africa. Instead of the unifying vision of a Rainbow Nation, the ANC has prolonged the racialised politics of the past. Policies intended to promote inclusion do so selectively and perpetuate inequality. Instead of fixing structural drivers to enable broad empowerment — such as quality education, health and access to opportunity — a host of race-based policies smother the economy. Examples are preferential procurement policies and the Employment Equity Amendment Act. This comes on top of weak implementation, lack of consequence management and widespread corruption in the government. Somewhere, the ANC has lost its way and the extent of its corruption, incompetence and internal fractures is on daily display in the media. 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That requires four steps. First, harmonising the National Planning Commission and its work with the Eminent Persons Group appointed to guide the National Dialogue. Second, undertaking a comprehensive diagnostic analysis, as was done before the current National Development Plan. Third, crafting the follow-on plan through wide consultations and expert inputs, and fourth, taking it out for public engagement, amendment and finalisation. South Africa should align its planning horizon with the third 10-year implementation plan of the African Union's Agenda 2063. Its foreign and trade policies should focus on the continent, which objectively presents the most lucrative opportunities. The dialogue's first goal is more difficult but perhaps ultimately most important. In simple terms, South Africans need to recapture the dream of the Rainbow Nation, where poor people are not black, but simply poor people and where business is not white, but simply business. Even the Chapter 9 institutions created to promote equity and justice view pronouncements on race through the lens of past injustice, which is understandable but unhelpful in the context of our development challenges. South Africa needs to pursue a common citizenship and commitment to the future. Rekindling that non-racial vision could be the dialogue's largest contribution. But racial disparities in wealth, employment and education make this challenging, especially as race-based analyses have animated ANC breakaway parties, such as the Economic Freedom Fighters and the new uMkhonto Wesizwe party. Such analysis is also entrenched in most ANC factions. This does not mean sweeping the past under the carpet. But scratch deeply enough, and most countries have a brutal past. Ours is just more recent than most. How does South Africa forge a post-apartheid future when policies that are intended to promote inclusion undermine it? The National Dialogue's two objectives are closely linked. Only sustained, inclusive economic growth will allow us to deal with the results of our divided past and ameliorate its effects. To unlock growth, the country needs all hands on deck, particularly from those with the largest stock of education, wealth and access to finance. Unfortunately, given its shaky start, they are most likely to remain on the dialogue's periphery.
Daily Maverick
8 hours ago
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Scores of South Africans retrenched by NGO processing Trump's Afrikaner ‘refugees'
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