Malema is at it again

Ferdinand Berkhof | Tuesday March 4, 2014 14:28

This is not a new sentiment. Some time back, Malema stated that the ANC Youth League would overthrow the ruling party in Botswana. “The Youth League will establish a Botswana Command Team … to oppose the puppet regime … led by the BDP.” It was one of the reasons he was finally expelled from the ANC.

Now Juju is back, with all his reckless populist rhetoric. Who is this man? He was born in 1981, in which was then the Transvaal  province of South Africa. He comes from a humble and simple single-parent family. His mum was a domestic worker. He grew up in late Apartheid South Africa and it is therefor understandable he is the racist he’s openly demonstrated to be. I understand all that.

But now, Malema is calling for nationalisation of all the mines and for the expropriation of all white-owned land without compensation. Now where have we heard that before? And how did it work out in the end? Somehow, the name Zimbabwe comes to mind.

Obviously, Malema’s rhetoric appeals to the young, uneducated, unemployed poor masses. If you’re living off the streets and you don’t know any better, Juju is the man. But is he really?

At the launch of the EFF manifesto, it was said that the party, if voted into power, would end government corruption and slash wasteful spending. How on earth is that going to happen while their ‘Commander-in-Chief’ is charged with fraud, money-laundering, racketeering and tax evasion to the tune of R16-million? R16-million? I haven’t known anyone from such humble beginnings owing that much to the tax-man at Malema’s age. Could it be that Juju, who has also on several occasions been convicted of hate speech, is not the man-of-the-poor he claims to be? And yes, I am being sarcastic there.

Meanwhile, and that is the main reason I’m writing this blog, why does he have to target Botswana? The same Botswana that during the 70’s and 80’s, despite its economic dependence on South Africa, was a haven for refugees and anti-apartheid activists from South Africa. I agree with Malema that a lot of things still need to be done in South Africa. The ANC has achieved little in the sphere of poverty eradication over the last 20 years. Although the middle class has grown remarkably in especially the urban areas, the poor, unemployed masses have seen very little change in the two decades since the end of Apartheid. But with all due respect, what does that have to do with Botswana?

What have we done to Malema or to the poor in South Africa? Why should Botswana be isolated by its neighbours? Although it has experienced its challenges, I would argue that Botswana has been doing much better as a democracy over the last twenty years than its southern neighbour.

I wish Malema all the best at the numerous court cases that he has coming up. May justice be served. All the best with his new party as well; South Africa is desperately in need of a strong opposition, even if it comes from dubious quarters.