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Cape Town - Prominent businessman Herman Mashaba has recently taken legal action against SA's BEE labour laws and argues that the country should embrace free market policies.
According to Mashaba current policies pursued by the government promote ‘public slavery’ and should be done away with to allow the economy to grow.
READ: The Capitalist Crusader – Herman Mashaba going legal on Labour Laws
In reaction to a BizNews interview with Mashaba on the state of the economy and the legal action that he’s taking against the labour laws of the country, Fin24 user Jack Carstens says all South Africans need to see each other as partners - each with different skills, irrespective of colour. "These skills must be utilised to the full and built upon to ensure the country benefits the most it can."
He writes:
"Race based BEE is nothing but reverse racial discrimination. It’s a form of punishment aimed at the whites to get them back for the wrong doings of the past. I can understand the chip on the shoulder. No-one should minimise it. However, it is now enough. Apologies have been made. It’s now more than 20 years later. To continue is to “cut your nose to spite your face”. Its counter- productive in the sense that it is not only hurting whites, but the country as a whole.
In the spirit of racial tit-for-tat, the government made the cardinal mistake of firing or retrenching thousands of whites in government and parastatal jobs, instead of letting the old timers fade out as would have happened. Along with their demise went skills and experience that could not be adequately replaced. The result - a crash in capacity, service delivery, education standards, electricity mismanagement, law and order issues etc. etc. - the economy lost its growth and millions of South Africans are without work or hope.
The policy has backfired. Not only that, the inefficiency, corruption and excess use of expensive consultants has cost the government billions that has actually been stolen from the poor. That means this policy of reverse racism has cost the black majority the most in terms of living standards.
Twenty one years later, billions of rands have been lost to the fiscus. Blacks are still using outside toilets and have no running water in their homes or proper sanitation. The good that has been done is admirable but it is too little to support the ever growing population. The present policies will not allow the government to play catch up.
The policy of revenge has to end. If you hold something against someone, you are ultimately the loser.
We need to see each other as partners. Each partner has different skills, irrespective of colour. These skills must be utilised to the full and built upon to ensure the country benefits the most it can. As the country grows, we all benefit. Taxes make sure that surpluses get ploughed back into the community to increase their skills so that they can join the upwardly mobile of all colours and persuasions.
This is the radical transformation that South Africa is waiting for. When money (capital), labour, business and the entire community work together towards a common goal, the market will regulate the allocation of our resources to the places that are most needed.
South Africa will become a beacon of light and a place of hope, as it was meant to be."
Disclaimer: All letters and comments published in MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
