Musings, Facts, Commentary:
“The corporate elite and wealthy white people are the material beneficiaries of democracy and are secure in the delusion that they gave freedom to the black majority. They’ve been asked to give up nothing, not even a modest wealth tax”
What is remarkable is the degree of restraint exercised by the impoverished majority given the continued display of wealth by the minority and the adaptation of many of the injustices of the past
It’s been estimated that the human cost for every ton of gold mined is 1 life and 12 serious injuries
Since mining started in South Africa, more than 100 000 men were killed with upwards of 2 million injured, most seriously.
Roughly 1 third of all miners are afflicted with some type of lung disease with very little compensation
Roughly 2-million men passed through the mines every 10-years or so. Richard Spoor- Human Rights Activist
In the sixties and seventies, the British and American corporates invested heavily in the South African economy because Apartheid provided a better ROI than anywhere else in the world.
The ANC’s most important historic compromise was to reinforce the so-called, “pillars of Apartheid” the Big 5 conglomerates that by the mid-eighties represented more than 80% of the total capitalisation of the JSE, with Anglo-America leading the way. It would be a few short years when these cash-rich companies would move their primary domiciles to London and New York. We are seeking to establish an environment in which winners flourish, said Trevor Manual, whilst the post-1994 economy was losing jobs at 100 000 per annum and profits for big business grew
“We do not want to challenge big business in a way where they are frightened and leave the country with their money” Nelson Mandela
25% of the budget during the Mandela and Mbeki era was to pay off the Apartheid debt; this means that black people had to pay for their oppression twice over
Nelson Mandela once said; “how many times have the liberators betrayed the ordinary people at the moment of victory? If the ANC does not deliver the goods, the people must do to it what they had done to the Apartheid regime”
“The only two things the ANC successfully secured for the black majority people in South Africa during the negotiated settlement was the vote and 4-million cheap, bachelor hovels after being in power for 25-years. It must be noted that white people had the vote anyways”
“In 1994 post the first democratic elections, the average corporate tax for a South African company was at an all-time high of 56%, by 2018 it had been reduced to 28%”
“The JSE, Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the highest value bourse in the world, relative to the size of the South African economy”
“There are 140 000 dollar millionaires in South Africa, most of them are white”
“As at the 31st December 2018, the market capitalisation of the JSE was US$ 1.015 billion. White people own 93% of the roughly 340 odd listed companies on the exchange”
“79% of the landmass of South Africa is still owned by white individuals, white-owned, and/or controlled companies, trusts, other entities and special purpose vehicles. The comparable size of their land ownership is slightly bigger than the size of Egypt”
The above is a loose collection of quotes, observations and sayings of John Pilger, Patrick Bond, Sampie Terreblanche and Wade Goodwin
