For those claiming the legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water etc.”
This is the tweet which nearly cost Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille, her career.
It blew up in social media and beyond into allegations of racism, colonialism and who knows what else. It brought out the race nationalists, the anti-White brigade, the woke and everyone in between.
Most people will be aware of this firestorm which erupted on 16 March 2017. The tweet garnered a ‘mere 1,000 comments (a combination of support and criticism), 464 retweets and 500 likes… it was actually a non-event’.
The background to this escalation was exposed in Zille’s book #STAYWOKE: GO BROKE Obsidian Worlds Publishing 2021.
According to Zille’s book, significant antagonists in the triggering the affair were the former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Mmusi Maimane, the CEO Paul Boughey and chief strategist Jonathan Moakes (both now working for Herman Mashaba, leader of ActionSA).
They were ably assisted by the 26 tweets and retweets by the “race hustler” commentator Eusebius McKaiser. This was followed by the no-platforming of Zille by the Franschhoek Literary Festival, the Kingsmead Book Fair and St. Mary’s School for Girls from the 50th anniversary of Zille’s graduating class.
Bots (fake accounts) from a flunky of the Guptas featured as well.
The “tweet from hell” consisted of these four tweets:
“Much to learn from Singapore, colonised for as long as SA, and under brutal occupation in WW2. Can we apply the lessons in our democracy?”
“Singapore had no natural resources and 50 years ago was poorer than most African countries. Now they soar. What are the lessons?”
“I think Singapore lessons are: 1) Meritocracy; 2) multiculturalism; 3) work ethic; 4) open to globalism; 4) English; 5) future orientation.”
“Other reasons for Singapore’s success: Parents take responsibility (sic) for children, and build on valuable aspects of colonial heritage.”
The problem for all those who labelled Zille a racist is this – she was absolutely right! Eusebius McKaiser tweeted: ‘Criticism can be levelled at Zille for tweeting too liberally and thus failing to be sufficiently nuanced in how she says things rather than what she says.’
I do remember thinking at the time that I would have worded it differently, particularly as the tweet mentioned the dreaded C-word – ‘colonial’. One doesn’t have to say anything else in a tweet for the woke and the racists to crawl out of the social media woodwork.
The reality is that notwithstanding the depredations of colonialism and apartheid, those governing a now democratic society could use that legacy for improving the lives of the governed. The great advantage of such infrastructure is that the work is already done and, mostly, paid for or even operating at a profit.
The 1994 African National Congress (ANC) picked up these resources and started to use them to the benefit of the people of this country; they were absolutely entitled to as the government in power.
This infrastructure, built by colonial and apartheid governments unfairly to the benefit of a minority, was now out of their hands.
That is what Zille was referring to when talking about Singapore ‘build[ing] on valuable aspects of colonial heritage’.
So notwithstanding the refusal by some in the twitter sphere to acknowledge these benefits, they were part of the new South Africa.
South Africa benefited from British colonialism because, unlike French, Portuguese, Belgian and German colonialism, the British built substantial infrastructure. The other four colonisers left little, nothing or worse to the societies they colonised. This put South Africa in a position of being the dominant economy in Africa. The ANC could have expanded the effect of these state companies and used the legacy to even better effect.
But they didn’t. Jacob Zuma came to power and used everything and anyone at his disposal to strip the state-owned entities of their value. Through cadre deployment, BEE, corruption and plain incompetence, the government stripped and captured the state.
The ANC and its deployees carry responsibility for ensuring that crucial societal infrastructure has been all but destroyed. The list is eye-watering: Eskom, the railways, passenger rail, ports, Denel, SAA, Alexkor, the Industrial Development Corporation and others.
Included in the colonial “legacies” are the parliament buildings in Pretoria and Cape Town which are grand and architecturally impressive. The ANC has continued to use these buildings adding culturally different elements and style.
These don’t clash – they add. No one, with the possible exception of the Economic Freedom Fighters, thinks that this shouldn’t happen or is in anyway inappropriate.
- The British were largely responsible for the building of the railways,
- The apartheid government created Denel (from Armscor),
- SAA evolved from Union Airways, a largely private company established in 1929,
- Eskom was completed in 1929 as a statutory body by the South African government and converted into a public company in 2002,
- Radio broadcasting began in 1923 and in 1936 it was sold to the SABC to become a state monopoly.
- The South African government founded Alexkor, the diamond mining company, in 1928 in Alexander Bay.
- The South African Reserve Bank was started by the South African Government in 1921. (The oldest private bank in South Africa (ultimately First National Bank) was started in 1938.)
- The union buildings were completed in 1913 as the Government Building of the Union of South Africa.
- The first parliament building in Cape Town was completed in 1884 with additions in the 1920s and 1980s.
Unbelievably the following has happened:
- The railways have been all but destroyed, hobbling our economy in so many ways;
- Denel is bankrupt;
- SAA’s resurrection from state capture is by no means assured;
- Nothing more needs to be said about the nation’s electricity supply;
- The SABC exists but has suffered from state capture like the other SoEs;
- Alexkor was destroyed for the Guptas;
- The SA Reserve Bank stands strong notwithstanding the government’s repeated threats to nationalise it and destroy its independence.
- The parliamentary buildings, including the historic first building, were damaged in an act of arson, aided and abetted by incompetence, poor management and sheer carelessness.
The cost of destroying these “benefits” is immeasurable and immiserating.
While this piece was being written, the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a judgment setting aside the public protector’s finding that Zille had breached sections of the executive ethics code with these tweets.
The public protector did not oppose the appeal and only Zille’s counsel made oral submissions.
The SCA said that the public protector had not determined whether Zille intended to incite violence, nor that the threat of imminent violence was established.