Blacks Do Need Land

In a recent debate between Andile Mngxitama and Dawie Roodt the following things were said and I quote

Roodt‚ however‚ said according to research‚ fewer than 5% of black people in SA considered land to be the most important issue. “The most important issue is unemployment - we want jobs‚ we want to grow the economy in order to alleviate poverty in SA‚” said Roodt. 

Roodt said farms were not the place where wealth creation happened in a modern economy. “People do not want farms. People want to stay in cities‚ where they can have proper and decent jobs. We are not going to break agricultural land into millions of small pieces and settle millions of small farmers in SA‚” he said.

This narrative conveniently omits the full context of the land situation and how it was deliberately and nefariously designed to be that way by colonial minds.

 At the turn of the last century the mining industry was just emerging, and it was faced with a serious problem -- labour shortage. Natives were unwilling to work in the mines.

What was the reason? It was because they had access to economically viable land. Economically viable does not mean land to become a millionaire but land to feed your family and shelter them. They preferred to work their own land.

Organisations, such as The Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA commonly known as Wenela) and the Native Recruitment Corporation (NRC) were formed to recruit labour. WNLA had offices as far afield as Tanzania.

In the vast territory of Central and Southern Africa natives were not looking for jobs and didn't want jobs.

A look at the timelines is informative. In 1894 the chamber of mines wrote a report on the serious shortage of labour on the mines. Around 1900 WNLA and NRC were formed to recruit native labour as far and wide as possible.

About a decade later, in 1913, the Native Lands Act was passed. This act banned natives from owning land, or renting land from whites. It should be clear as a baboon's behind that the main objective of this act and other practices to stop natives from sustaining themselves or profiting from the land. It was a tool to turn the natives into cheap labour by denying them access to land.

Over the years, the law has been a huge success. Today most of the natives have got no other choice but to look for a job because they have got no economically viable pieces of land which could be an alternative to a job.

When economists like Roodt brazenly boast that black people do not want land but jobs, they are correct but the carefully skirt around the deeper reasons for that. People are now forced to think no further than their immediate basic needs - food and shelter for the very near future. Generations who have grown without access to land find it hard to envision how access to land will solve these basic problem.

They think the solution to food and shelter is a supermarket and money for rent.

It has taken generations to adjust natives to that mentality. Give them access to land and time to adjust they will soon learn that another solution is tilling the land and building houses with materials you find on your own or a neighbour's land.

I do not know whether is is out of ignorance or by design that Roodt omits the background of the iniquitous designs of colonialists that made sure that for the generations natives knew of no other alternative but to find a job.

If you give them the choice and opportunity it is quite possible for the natives to soon learn that land will not only provide an alternative means of sustenance, but enable you to be the master of your own time.

When you live on the land you work you cut your cost of living drastically. You no longer need transport every day. You also have extra time for other activities by cutting down on commuting time.

Land reform is absolutely necessary, not as a way of getting back at racist whites for past wrongs, but as a way of rebuilding a fair and equitable society from the wreck of past racist designs. Only a fair and equitable society can ensure future social stability for everyone.

Despite all it their might, past racist governments failed to enforce inequitable living standards forever. Today people should not think a black government can sustain the inequities where past racist governments failed.

Social imbalance will always lead to revolution. Ask the French, the Bolsheviks or the English. The Magna Carta was born out of bloody struggles over unfair land distribution.

Labour serfdom is not an alternative for South Africa today just as it was not an alternative for Britain those many centuries ago.

The Reason For Many Foreign Trips by Zimbabwe Politicians

https://www.herald.co.zw/ed-courts-africas-vote-on-sanctions/

If you would believe the Herald ED went to Guinea to ask for the removal of sanctions. I didn't know ED's spin doctors have such a low opinion of our intelligence. They would have us believe that ED's visit to Guinea is very important since it has something to do with the removal of Western sanctions.

The truth is quite different. Over the past few years successive ministers have lamented that the government wage bill was taking 90% of Zimbabwe's budget. The latest information filtering into the public domain is that 40% of this figure goes towards, not basic salaries, but allowances for top executives.

A substantial portion of these allowances are travel related. The reason why Zimbabwe's top leadership is always on the road with huge entourages is to give cronies and other posterior clingons the opportunity to milk state coffers dry through exorbitant travel allowances.

When they embark on these travels, they cannot use worthless Zimbabwe currency such as bond notes. That is the reason why they take foreign currency from anyone who brings it into Zimbabwe. They then quietly give their travel allowances priority when allocating that foreign currency to the extend of sometimes leaving the state without enough to import basic necessities such as fuel.

Travel is one of the main avenues through which the political elite have systematically skimmed state coffers of money. The reason why Zimbabwean presidents travel so often is they are under pressure from their patronees.

Mugabe stayed in power through carefully cultivating a patronage system. If you within his circle, you eat all you want. It looks like Munangagwa is well on his way down the same road.

To me the adoption of the same frequent travel routine as his predecessor is a sign the The System is running Munangagwa. It is not him running the system.

There are other ways the elite rob the state such as using their authority to evade statutory payments such as duty and tax for their businesses. They normally raise 'capital' for those ventures through travelling and coming back with allowances.

A large portion of the money is wasted on social consumption - parties, bling, expensive cars and other stupid things such as pouring expensive wines on expensive watches.

What is Central Karanga In This Book

This is the cover of a book published in 1931 by the Witwatersrand University Press.

This was one year after a conference at Dadaya at which missionaries decided upon a "standard" language for the various dialects spoken in Southern Rhodesia. They decided to call that "standard" Unified Shona.

It is from that decision that the name Shona became popular. Previously it had not been commonly used.

The title of the book is "A Grammar of Central Karanga as at Present Spoken in Central Mashonaland Southern Rhodesia".

I know most people have already made subconscious and uncritical assumptions on what this Central Karanga dialect is.

What is the geographic area where this Central Karanga was spoken and what is it most likely called today? Fortunately the title of the book gives us a geographic locale. Central Mashonaland.

Now let us take a look at the provinces of Southern Rhodesia. We had Victoria Province and it is not referred to in the title of the book.

We also had Midlands province which at the time included Hartley District and Charter District. Hartley is now called Chegutu and the district Mhondoro.

Charter district is now called Chikomba with the main town being Chivhu, then called Enkeldoorn.

In short Central Mashonaland referred to Seke and Zvimba districts going northwards. The dialect being referred to as Central Karanga in this book is most likely what today we call Zezuru and may include Korekore.

However given that at the time students of Bantu languages would have been based in urban centres with little access to remote areas my guess is that this was the work of someone who did their studies from Salisbury.

How The Zimbabwe Government is Killing Industry

To make soap you need caustic soda which is imported. Organic oils are locally available. If you export soap but that government takes 85% of you hard currency and gives bond notes you will simply be out of business after a few batches because nobody outside Zimbabwe will sell you caustic soda for bond notes.

That is how government has been killing local industries. I know for a fact that Unilever, then Lever Brothers, was exporting soap and other consumables from their factory here. They actually made plans to upgrade that factory to a regional manufacturing hub for Southern, Central and East Africa.

How ever that is when Gono started his crazy monetary policies and exchange controls. Around 2000 which eventually led to hyperinflation starting around 2004. Unilever then simply upgraded the factory in Kenya and transferred engineers from Zimbabwe there. Several of my classmates were send to Kenya.

Heavy handed ignorant tactics by those in power are the main reason why the economy tanked. Where else in the world does government pass laws overnight. You wake up one morning and your goods already in customs suddenly need a permit. Or you wake and your hard currency is gone replaced with worthless numbers and paper.

Nobody in their right senses can run a business in Zimbabwe because you don't know what government is dreaming and on which side of the bed they will wake up. Only people after a very quick buck or those with massive capital who can afford to arm twist or eat together with politicians can do business here.

The startups are buried before they are born. You certainly can't plan more than a year or two ahead because government policy us fickle, unpredictable and emotional rather than logical.