Earlier this week, Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance and her trusty sidekick Lindiwe Mazibuko had to be rushed to safety after they found themselves and their fellow marchers on the receiving end of some well-aimed flying rocks. The DA marchers had intended to hand over a memorandum to COSATU asking it to drop its call against youth wage subsidies when they were mobbed by hundreds of COSATU supporters, many wielding red t-shirts, black berets and also lots of rocks.

Political analyst and unofficial COSATU publicist Unlucky Tshabalala was in tears during the violence-ridden march: “I cannot believe that COSATU had finally won the hearts of a few white people with their fight against e-tolls and now this had to happen – Why, WHY?!” She pleaded with Wonkie to present COSATU’s side of the story since it seemed obvious that the media, public sentiment and the law would turn against the labour federation following the unfortunate event.

In response to Unlucky’s plea, Wonkie decided to investigate the situation further. Following dozens of interviews with COSATU members, the reality of the situation and the true motivation behind the Battle of Braamfontein became more apparent.

“All we can do at COSATU is strike… and now they – the DA – even want to take that away from us – it’s just not fair,” said one distraught COSATU supporter as he wiped his rock against his black beret for good luck. “They [the DA] must find another way to protest, this way is already taken,” he continued as he flung his rock into the blue crowd and began toyi-toying.

Wonkie went on to interview some senior officials at COSATU and the response to someone wanting to hear their point of view was astonishing. Wonkie asked: “COSATU undertakes many protests and you wouldn’t like your opposition to throw stones at you, would you? Don’t you feel that this is a case of people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?”

“Eh, if we could afford glass houses you could have a point – but it’s ok for us to throw stones since we mostly live in brick and zinc ones. Besides, our violent reaction is a result of our history – you must never ever forget that…”

When asked to elaborate, another senior COSATU member replied: “Well, you see we were victims of apartheid – we had such poor education. We barely had enough lessons to spell badly on protest placards. Strikes is the only tool we have – and you know how they say, when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail… Now how would you feel if someone was using your hammer and pretending like it’s their own? You see my point?”

Wonkie went on to ask if there were no way the youth wage subsidy could benefit South Africa, given that the unemployment rate is currently spiralling out of control. “Well, to be honest, we don’t fully understand the youth wage subsidy concept or its economic impact – but because what is being proposed will largely affect black youth and it is being supported by the likes of the DA, we can safely assume it can only be evil,” replied another senior COSATU official.

Curious to uncover more of COSATU’s strategy to fight unemployment, Wonkie asked as much and received this reply from an enthusiastic supporter: “Ah well, we are going to be undertaking a series of strikes to cripple the country economically until more jobs are created – if they don’t create jobs, they must know there will be a serious price to pay!”

When asked who the they were in ‘if they don’t create jobs’, he shook his head in disbelief and replied bluntly: “Ag, don’t be stupid man – you know – THEY!” as he pointed to the somewhat battered and bloodied crowd of blue marchers.

Following the interviews with COSATU, Wonkie mentioned to Unlucky that the COSATU leadership will be formally charged with intimidation, inciting violence and holding an illegal gathering. She immediately burst into tears and wailed: “But Patrick Craven said that unionists had conducted themselves with “exemplary discipline and restraint”. I swear, this is pure victimisation.”

NB: For the purposes of clarity and for the sheer enjoyment of stating the obvious, all interviewees mentioned other than Patrick Craven are fictitious and are unofficial members of COSATU. The real members of COSATU, of course, have far more valid reasons for throwing stones at the DA.

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Those DA members that felt that their rights were abused by rocks being thrown at them, will probably need some funding to take COSATU to court. Given the ridiculous cost of lawyers these days, perhaps now would be a good time for them to purchase lottery tickets online, or try to fund themselves using Wonkie’s top South African online casino directory. Indian readers who are still patiently waiting for the next Bollywood Nights post, may be better off taking their chances on the best casino in India directory instead. For other choices, please visit Wonkie’s very own popular sites directory.

Related articles on COSATU and the Economic Growth:

1. COSATU news and cartoons
2. Trade Unions and Economic Growth

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Last weekend, between deliberating the longer-term impact of the austerity measures in Greece and pondering the correlation between fatalism and happiness, Wonkie wondered what it would take for a rather average looking model to make it big in South Africa. As though the universe were eavesdropping on Wonkie’s very thoughts, headline after headline immediately appeared to guide Wonkie on the path to Truth.

The headlines consisted of numerous oh-so-clever wordplays around Twitter being aflutter, racist model rants, burning in hell, etc. Basically, a rather average looking South African model by the name of Jessica Leandra dos Santos was unfortunately harrassed by some guy at a local supermarket. She in turn, politely decided to not to poke his eyes out with her car keys and instead bravely attempted to vent her frustration on Twitter. She inadvertently succeeded in creating even more frustration, and more publicity than she could ever have dreamed of.

“Just, well took on an arrogant and disrespectful k***** inside Spar. Should have punched him, should have.”

- Jessica’s offending, not-so-tweet tweet

Wonkie should mention that before all the Indians in South Africa get alarmed that she said koolie, she didn’t. She used the other ‘k‘ word: you know – the really, really bad one.

Needless to say, there were devastating consequences to her actions:

1. A few followers ‘unfollowed’ her on Twitter (and she probably gained a few hundred more);
2. Every organisation that had some association with her disowned her – this includes men’s magazine FHM, Quick Trim SA, and Little Eden home – which is, quite ironically, an organisation for the mentally disabled;
3. Wonkie is still awaiting confirmation that the AWB has requested Jessica to be their poster girl for 2013;
4. She received the customary rage tweets and social media backlash condemning her and her entire race to hell – after all, it’s par for the course in South Africa to retaliate with something at least as equally inappropriate otherwise what’s the point;
5. Another rather average looking model, Tshidi Thamana – black, this time, jumped on the bandwagon and tried to get herself into the racist limelight. She succeeded by tweeting that she wished all whites had been killed;
6. Politicians tried to capitalise on it, as they try to do on everything – although in this case, Wonkie speculates that DA national spokesman Mmusi Maimane was just grasping desperately at the opportunity to invite an FHM model back to his pad… to challenge her ‘racist views’, of course;
7. Wonkie’s favourite was the reaction of opportunist, beg pardon, columnist Mabine Seabe who lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against Miss Jessica. Wonkie is still awaiting confirmation of whether Mabine has also filed charges for Crimes against Humanity against her in Belgium.

Since the incident, Jessica has apologised and also indicated that she often refers to herself, and her family as monkeys too – it’s more like a term of playful endearment rather than a racist one. In a classic overkill response, Jessica also apologised for “bringing the nation to its knees” with her racist tweets.

“If anything, this needs to become a healing process and a process of uniting the nation back to where we were a week ago.”

- Jessica Leandra dos Santos, on healing the nation

On the note of much-needed healing, Wonkie advocates that the ANC government immediately employ Nazir Alli to head up the soon-to-be-created national Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Racist Remarks. Given that official unemployment has crept to over 25% this month, government may well need to fabricate more jobs soon.

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For those of you who are still recovering from the fact that Jessica Leandra dos Santos used the dreaded ‘k‘ word on public media, believe Wonkie, so is Jessica. If she successfully manages to prove the adage that any publicity is good publicity, she should probably go out immediately and purchase lotto tickets online, or push her luck on a choice from the best South African online casino directory. Indian readers who are relieved that the ‘k’ word wasn’t used to refer to them should probably visit the top online casino in India site instead. For more recommended options unrelated to these, check out Wonkie’s other recommended pages.

Related articles on racism in South Africa:

1. Julius Malema and the Easter Bunny discuss racism
2. Jimmy Manyi – Racism in Government
3. DA promotes interracial hanky-panky

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One of the pleasant things about South Africa is that comedy is an easy find. One need look no further than the daily news – whether it is a priceless quote from Julius Malema that forces morning corn flakes to come out of your nose, sushi-eating ex-convicts, justifying public toilets without walls, or Jacob Zuma’s presidential romantic escapades – there is no shortage of funny content. This week’s episode arrives in the form of a court interdict against the controversial e-tolling system.

To start, South African citizens should observe a moment’s silence in gratitude and praise to OUTA – the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance. This group and their lawyers are largely responsible for the somewhat constipated look last weekend on the faces of Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele and Nazir Alli, the adamant head honcho of SANRAL – the SA National Roads Agency Limited.

Just last week, Ndebele insisted in parliament that the Gauteng e-tolling system had passed the point of no return. He also mentioned that the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project received the support of most users, clearly demonstrating that the ruling ANC is completely in touch with the happy masses that were thrilled about e-tolls. Enter Pretoria high court Judge Bill Prinsloo, who incidentally, should have been starring alongside Robert Downey Jr in The Avengers. If not for his powers of judgement, then for his superpower to reverse things that have past the point of no return.

Ndebele later went on to demonstrate his profound knowledge of international economics by suggesting that should the tolls not go ahead as planned, South Africa’s credit rating would be at risk. If the country would be at risk of default for a R20 Billion debt when its budget is sitting at over a trillion rand, the government is doing something seriously wrong.

Nazir Alli and SANRAL, on the other hand, are as profound world-class mathematicians as Ndebele is a Nobel-prize winning economist. The numbers disclosed in court showed that there would be literally billions of rands that South African motorists would be overpaying over the years. Wonkie wonders whether more digging would reveal the true math behind SANRAL’s funding equation. Hopefully, OUTA will push for a full investigation, even if the interdict results in a complete scrapping of the e-tolls. The results would be telling.

No doubt the comedy will continue over the coming weeks as the ANC would need to backtrack and have Jimmy Manyi shamelessly vomit out how the ANC, the party of the people, were in fact always opposed to e-tolling. Wonkie hopes that the working public remembers the exact ANC stance on these matters prior to the next national election – Julius Malema’s political party, should he choose to gather his herd, may get a few more votes than expected.

How now, Gauteng cow?

The short of it is that SANRAL (effectively the government) has been prevented from levying and collecting toll fees as proposed, effective immediately. Any tolling would only take place after a final court decision on the matter – that’s at least 3 months to get a court date and another 4-6 months following that for the actual judicial review.

Given that SANRAL does have debt to be serviced and that the case for interdict is likely strong enough to halt e-toll system altogether, it is likely that alternative funding will be required. This will probably take the form of an increase in fuel levy which will be nowhere near the magnitude of the e-toll fees.

The alleged 500,000+ motorists (according to S’bu Ndebele) that registered for e-tags will be whimpering around trying to claim back their money and more importantly, lamenting the hours of life lost on that sunny Saturday afternoon spent in e-tag purchasing queues. Serves them right.

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If you’re relieved that you won’t have to pay e-tolls for the rest of this year, and likely for a long time to come, press your luck and buy lottery tickets online right now. If you’re feeling more adventurous, check out an option or two from Wonkie’s online casino South Africa directory or visit the African Palace Casino review page. For Indian readers who are clueless about e-tolls, why not visit the best casino in India site. Other more straight and narrow options can be found in Wonkie’s recommended links section.

Related Wonkie articles on the Gauteng e-tolls:

1. 10 Reasons to be HAPPY about Gauteng e-tolls
2. How high toll fees entrench the legacy of apartheid

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Last year, Wonkie published an article about how the high toll fees in Gauteng will entrench the legacy of apartheid. Now, it appears the day of reckoning is soon approaching as the controversial toll system officially goes live at midnight on 30 April 2012.

Wonkie had outlined 3 basic options available to the South African public:

1. Start a revolution based on mass action;
2. Refuse to pay high toll fees and let the government try to take legal action against everybody;
3. Suck it up, pay the high toll fees and continue whingeing about it for the next decade.

Since Gandhi is dead and Julius is very busy, there just isn’t a strong enough leader to galvanise the masses to pull off options 1 and 2. If COSATU proves as impotent in addressing the toll issue as they have been in their political alliance thus far, Wonkie is bracing itself for a decade of serious whingeing.

Hence, this article. Wonkie thought it fitting to highlight the lighter side of e-tolls – something no publication has done in South Africa as yet.

According to SANRAL, some 300,000 morons have already signed up for e-tolls. But are they really morons – or are they just sneaky devils that have realised the future benefits of the high Gauteng toll fees?

A quick survey revealed 10 reasons to be Happy about Gauteng Toll Fees:

1. You now have an excellent new excuse not to visit your mother-in-law over the weekends;
2. For the small toll fee, the government, and possibly suspicious spouses, will now also have an accurate record of exactly which toll gate your car travelled through and when – so helpful if ever you get Alzheimer’s;
3. COSATU will earn millions from Pfizer when they are asked to front their next Viagra marketing campaign – this money can in turn be used to create jobs (within COSATU);
4. The DA will have one more thing to happily object to for the next 10 years and make no headway on;
5. One day in the future when you’re paying R10 a kilometre in tolls fees you’ll reflect warmly on how cheap the currently proposed 30c per kilometre really was;
6. You can now set up that company you’ve always wanted to in Swaziland, win one of those dodgy tenders to service the toll roads and make your millions;
7. Employees now have a stronger case for “working” from home for a few days a week – woohoo!
8. You can rest assured that your hard-earned toll fees will not be used fund President Zuma’s upcoming nuptials. Well… at least not his fourth one next weekend;
9. The chances of meeting the girl or guy of your dreams will be increased tremendously because you’ll be out and about, waiting in line to pay for your monthly etag top-up or querying why you’ve been overcharged by 400%;
10. And finally, even the South African masses cannot possibly be so stupid as to vote in the current bunch of idiots again after this… wouldn’t that be something to smile about!

So there you go – the toll fees are not all bad you see. In the spirit of keeping the vibe positive, please add any other reasons why you feel the introduction of toll fees will be beneficial to yourself or others in the comments section below.

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If you’ve just about had it with all these uncontrollable expenses and are kicking yourself for not winning the multi-billion rand in US lottery last month, have no fear. There are a couple more big international lotteries this month to try out: go now and play lottery online here or visit Wonkie’s own play US lottery from South Africa page. If you’re up for more excitement, be sure to check out the daily updated offers on the best online casinos in South Africa directory. If you’re based in India, you may want to try this India Online Casino site. For none of these exciting options, check out Wonkie’s recommendations for more.

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To find out more about coaching, check out Wonkie’s post of the lighter side of life coaching.

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There is nothing quite like a sensationalist headline about religion to get juices flowing. This article, however, has little to do with the Easter Bunny, who is incidentally currently on treatment for severe depression. It does have everything to do with mental mayhem of another type though.

2012 has been a tough year so far. The world economy is in dire straights, Julius Malema is looking bloated – Wonkie is hoping it’s just gas and not some cardiac problem, the threat of e-tolling in South Africa continues to loom on the horizon, the impending end of the world is getting closer (have you packed?), Robert Mugabe is reported to be in critical condition at a hospital in Singapore – just to mention a few of the reasons that got the Easter Bunny so down.

What strikes Wonkie as amusing is that, despite these macro-level challenges, the small human mind seems to be preoccupied with making mountains out of molehills. To provide insight to readers, Wonkie called on its famous international think tank to produce some answers.

The think tank carefully considered all relevant facts and recently published this summary analysis in a peer-reviewed journal:

1. People tend to feel strongly about things that give them hope or a sense of purpose (e.g. chocolate)
2. If such things cannot be found, humans have no problem whatsoever making them up and pretending they’re 100% real
3. Humans are actually descendents of sheep not apes as Darwin would have had everyone believe. This is further corroborated with the fact that humans exhibit a strong herd mentality
4. A corollary to Murphy’s Law is that there is at least one idiot in every herd
5. Because of the internet and growing ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), symbolism and substance are easily confused. Wonkie blames the iPad for accelerating this phenomenon
6. People get very protective about things that they feel strongly about – this is largely a consequence of not being breastfed for long enough when they were young
7. Fuming rhetoric and violent behaviour is often exhibited when said people reflect upon their childhood feeding regime

Findings: Empirically speaking, the research proved conclusively that when a herd idiot gets symbolism and substance confused about something that provides hope or purpose, it’s definitely time to leave the chocolate factory.

In light of this insightful research, Wonkie is curious to know your thoughts about how un-Christian it is to brand hot-cross buns as Halaal food, or for that matter, how evil it is to have a Christian food go through a Halaal certification process. Judging by the public reaction to this big issue, this is a pressing matter that must be resolved if mankind is to progress on its spiritual path.

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If you’re beyond debating about religion and have had enough of zealots for this year, then you’re out of luck. You can probably expect more heated commentary as the world approaches Armageddon later this year. However, if you owned your own island, you wouldn’t need to worry about it, right? So, why not get your act together and buy lottery tickets online now. Alternatively, if you’re convinced you don’t have symbolism and substance mixed up, check out some of the best online casinos worldwide, Silver Sands casino in South Africa or dabble on some casino in India. In either case, don’t shoot the Easter Bunny if things are not going your way at the moment – he’s got enough problems of his own!

Related Wonkie articles on the Easter Bunny:

1. Julius Malema meets Easter Bunny
2. Helen Zille meets Easter Bunny

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Over the last few months, South African politics went through a seriously dark time. Forget about the rampant corruption in government, the failing education system and the horribly unjust toll fees in Gauteng for a moment. Wonkie is referring to the dire prospect of losing Julius Malema, aka Juju, to national sensibility.

But enter April Fool’s Day – the most fitting day for Julius Malema to launch his comeback with a vengeance on Wonkie. Fashionistas all over Cape Town fawned over his classy Che Mampara beret having barely recovered from seeing him in his trendy purple pimpsuit last year. The DA wondered what suspension in ANC terms actually meant, given Malema’s measured speech at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg last week, fully clad in ANC gear. Wonkie does not care about any of these things – Wonkie cares that Julius is back.

As Wonkie endeavours to learn from all creatures big and small, smart or moronically stupid, here is an executive summary of lessons learnt from Juju’s recent oratory performance:

1. If you have a protégé that is from a different race to yourself, it means you are not a racist. Wonkie is unsure, but believes that this is akin to providing indisputable proof of non-racialism by merely stating that actually, some of my best friends are … (insert race group here);
2. You can say you’re willing to die for someone, but that someone should know that nothing is forever. Wonkie wonders if Jacob Zuma sings Where is the love? when thinking about Juju in the shower;
3. Studying business at Harvard must not be very demanding if Jonathan Ovadia, Malema’s protégé, can be prancing around in South Africa taking tuition from Malema – perhaps now is the time to sign up for that international degree you’ve always wanted;
4. In South African English, “driving the whites into the sea” actually means allowing them to retire peacefully with luxurious coastal properties – DUH to those of you who foolishly thought Malema meant that literally when he first said it – shame on you;
5. Being the voice of the poor and voiceless can be expressed in many ways, including wearing a R250,000 Breitling watch on behalf of 250,000 poor people that cannot afford watches themselves – it all balances out in the end, if you think laterally.

Tongue away from cheek for a moment though, one issue that Malema has identified is quite valid. There is a large percentage of the South African population that doesn’t really have a voice. These people vote for the ANC in elections because there is, realistically speaking, nobody else to vote for but them.

Wonkie wonders how long it will be before the likes of COSATU grows a pair and really champions the cause of the poor and unemployed, without pandering to the ANC political bigwigs that are more inclined to be governed by self-interest. Perhaps if COSATU can stop the e-tolling debacle from continuing, they will have laid the platform to launch a real party for the people – one that addresses the needs of the masses, not just the black elite and old cronies. Until then, the South African poor will have to rely on Julius.

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If you’re excited that Juju might return to South African politics with some force and you’re feeling optimistic, you may want to try your hand at one of the many South African online casinos, or if you’re based in India then check out the best online casinos directory there. For alternative recommendations unrelated to risking your hard-earned non-tenderpreneur money online, check out Wonkie’s suggested sites page for options.

Related articles on Julius Malema, the ANCYL and racism in South Africa:

1. Julius Malema jokes
2. Racism in South Africa
3. Is Jimmy Manyi racist?
4. DASO promotes interracial relationships

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The view that strong trade unions and comprehensive labour laws inhibit economic growth is a fond mantrum of neo-liberal thinking. It is based on the assumption that human rights in the work place and effective worker organisations are hostile to wealth creation. As such, it argues that giving employers untrammelled opportunities to extract high profits will result in reinvestment of these profits which in turn will generate economic growth for the whole of society.

The past twenty years have seen this prescription for growth adopted world-wide. Certainly in some economically stagnant societies with large peasant populations now unleashed to enter the world of Euro-American consumer products, this approach to industrialisation has generated a wave of capital accumulation of staggering proportions – China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Turkey and Brazil being good examples. Key actors in this process were corporations in industrialised countries who shifted productive capacity to these very low cost economies. Following from this, the cheap products created were imported by the industrialised world.

Over a ten year period a massive trade imbalance occurred as these imports began to cause balance of payment problems as well as unemployment caused by the denuding of local productive capacity. Moreover, in transferring productive capacity, the new post-industrial economies became based on the financial and service sectors. These sectors enjoyed a massive expansion, but have, for different reasons, led to a general lowering of living standards for the middle and working classes and the unprecedented enrichment of a small elite at the apex of the financial sector, as well as those in the top echelons of big business.

In South African terms we have had jobless growth – apart from certain areas of mining, financial services and retail/hospitality, the productive base of our economy has been reduced. Instead of a surge in manufacturing led by beneficiation of raw materials/minerals, and massive growth in exports to Africa, we have experienced substantial job losses because of cheap imports. In the mining sector mechanisation led to similar job losses.

Let us take the clothing sector in Newcastle, KZN, a small mining town with high unemployment, as a case study. The majority of factories are owned by Chinese nationals who are currently facing prosecution by the local Bargaining Council for not paying the statutory minimum wage of R447 per week (about US$60 per week); they are paying R100 less, which means that for a 5 day week workers are earning R70 per day. The current minimum wage for unskilled farm labourers is more or less R50 per day; as such, semi-skilled cutters and machinists are expected to accept that 20% more than a farm labourer is fair remuneration for their skills without getting the housing and other benefits that farm workers enjoy.

The Chinese owners have threatened to close down their factories if they are forced to meet the Bargaining Council minimum. They argue that such rates will bankrupt them as wage levels in China are far lower and thus render their South African operations uncompetitive.

What are the lessons to be extracted from this situation?

1. That without a defence against imports whose competitiveness is based on ultra cheap labour, local labour will be held to ransom;
2. That without a state industrial policy that supports sectors threatened by dumping, a national economy loses all autonomy to external forces;
3. That a global war of “all against all” based on super exploitation is a return to the worst features of industrialisation (a la nineteenth century Britain) and its attendant human misery.

Having noted these features of an economy at the mercy of unlegislated “market forces”, the question remains: what can stimulate growth that benefits greater society rather than just a small elite – viz. the managers of capital flow and the owners of the means of production? The answer is a productive labour force that shares meaningfully in the fruits of production and has a say in the productive process, as is the case in a social democracy with a mixed economy. Such a system is perhaps an ideal but one worth pursuing on not just moral grounds but also in terms of building social cohesion and stability as well as in facilitating creativity and inventiveness.

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If you’ve already given up on South African labour law and are ready to throw in the towel, then now would be a great time to buy lottery ticket online. If you’ve already closed up shop and are preparing to gamble your capital on more exciting terms, then check out Wonkie’s updated online casino South Africa directory, other offers on online casinos in India, or for more international options go to online casinos and check out the short reviews there. For more options, visit Wonkie’s recommendations here.

Related articles on COSATU, labour law and trade unions in South Africa:

1. Strikes in South Africa
2. Made in China cartoon

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Following last week’s article presenting an alternative take on empowerment and calling for greater socio-economic innovation, Wonkie thought it fitting that this month’s photo caption challenge tries to solicit some brilliant ideas from readers.

The most creative entry in this week’s challenge will be awarded one of the funky new 2012 Wonkie CartOOns T-Shirt. Wonkie looks forward to receiving many innovative ideas, hopefully some of which can be forwarded on to President Zuma to support his ambitious job creation drive.

As usual, Wonkie kindly requests that if you’re going to submit multiple entries, then please submit them all as a single comment instead of many individual comments – thanks.

Have fun and enjoy the weekend! This photo caption challenge closes on 31 March 2012 when the best entry will be published and the t-shirt awarded.

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ps: The next Wonkie will be on COSATU, the labour law and its impact on job creation. Bonus points if your caption entry touches on that!

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For the lazy amongst you who would prefer to simply think really hard about some winning numbers and play lottery online instead of coming up with job creation ideas, the good news is that this week’s US Megamillions one is currently sitting at over US$ 200 Million! If you’re impatient and can’t wait till the next draw, check out Wonkie’s latest online casino South Africa directory, the top international online casinos review site or the best offers on Silversands Casino right now. Alternatively, if you haven’t already, be sure to visit Wonkie’s other recommended links here.

You can find older photo caption challenges at Wonkie’s photo caption challenge archive pages.

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Today’s post is the first in a short series on economic empowerment and job creation in South Africa. Wonkie’s guest author, Trudi Makhaya, proposes a way forward to creating real empowerment in South Africa.

Imagine if you will, a sleek boardroom somewhere in Sandton. It has all the markers of a modern South African corporate environment – cushy chairs, designer table, multimedia and communication gadgets, and colourful artworks depicting scenes from the margins of life in Johannesburg. A group of executives are waiting for a meeting to begin. So they trade stories about sports and schools and Schengen visas.

Of course, this being the new South Africa, in walks Mandla clutching a stash of PowerPoint print-outs. He is followed by his middle-aged white business partner, Koos. The chairman of the board welcomes Koos with a warm hug. They both grew up in the same small town in the Western Cape. Koos introduces Mandla, who is pre-occupied with setting up the presentation and handing out documents. Eventually the chatter dies down.

The chairman formally opens the meeting and welcomes Koos and his partner, Mandla. He looks forward to hearing their proposal, which could be the beginning of a fruitful business relationship. Koos leaps to his feet, thanks the assembled suits for their time and provides a brief background of his start-up. Then he introduces Mandla again. He explains that Mandla oversaw the development of the core technology of the product so he will take them through the business concept. And Mandla is also closer to the numbers so he will also break down the financial projections.

Mandla directs everyone to the first slide. Feet are shuffled, throats cleared, ties adjusted. The silence in the room is of the stunned kind.

In boardrooms across this country, it is still expected that “black entrepreneurs” are the curtain raiser, the opening act. The idea that it is the black business partner who lost sleep for years, coming up with a profitable idea and then building a company is pretty inconceivable in corporate South Africa.

We often pretend that this is not how we feel about black enterprise but this is betrayed by the way we speak. We ask of others in casual conversation: “Have you ever thought of going into BEE (black economic empowerment)?” We read that so-and-so is a BEE player. What could that possibly mean? What product does this BEE industry produce?

What started as a pragmatic solution to the marginalisation of black people in the South African economy has led to the creation of a new type of marginalisation. There are now two types of citizens in SA Incorporated: businesspeople and black business people; entrepreneurs and BEE players.

The second type of citizen is often not even visible. She is represented by a one-liner or a rating in the annual report. Her significance is to inform the world that the business has done the right thing.

This state of affairs is a pity for all the reasons that critics of BEE have put forward. The policy is perceived as entrenching racialism, distorting incentives and merely creating new oligarchs. These views informed the rejection of narrow BEE that aimed to empower politically connected (or at least politically palatable) elites. This led to the move from Empowerment 1.0 to Empowerment 2.0. With Empowerment 2.0, the benefits were meant to be broadly shared. BEE ceased to be an enrichment project and moved closer to more developmental objectives.

But reviews of key BEE initiatives paint a picture of the continued economic exclusion of black people.

This state of affairs robs us of immense possibilities. Across the world, leading business thinkers, including the late CK Prahalad, have recognised that the wealth of the future will be created at the “base of the pyramid”, through fulfilling previously unmet needs of the poor and disadvantaged for consumer products, medicine, education, sanitation, entertainment and other products. In a similar vein, the innovation magazine Fast Company has argued that business innovation has begun to “trickle up” from the developing world to the developed world. Examples include the increasing adoption of microfinance and mobile payments in the US.

South African society is sitting on a gold mine. With elements of the developing world and the developed world co-existing in this country, creative sparks should fly. We should be generating the “base of the pyramid” innovations of the future rather replicating such innovations from elsewhere. Some notable businesses have been able to gain success through meeting the needs of a broad range of South Africans. Imagine if this were not the terrain of a few radical companies (or the “mass market” divisions that are ghettoised in most companies) but business as usual.

For this type of innovation to take off on a large scale, true collaboration between the previously disadvantaged and established capital needs to occur. South Africa is on the cusp of a fundamental economic transformation. But first, all its people’s productive and entrepreneurial capacity needs to be unleashed. When we move past the “going into BEE” mentality and insist that black entrepreneurship is not an anomaly, perhaps then the business ideas that will address the challenges and opportunities of a transforming society will emerge and flourish.

Trudi Makhaya is a writer, economist and South African thinker of note. Wonkie readers are encouraged to visit her excellent blog at http://www.mzansipreneur.com/.

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If you’ve just about had it with all this talk about BBBEE and are ready to skip the country, now would perhaps be a good time to invest and buy lottery tickets online or if you’re into real gaming action, check out Wonkie’s updated best South African online casinos directory, the updated offers on the Silver Sands casino page, or for international options visit this great online casinos reviews site and make your selection there. Alternatively, check out Wonkie’s recommended links for more.

Related articles on Black Economic Empowerment, and affirmative action in South Africa:

1. Trevor Manuel on Black Economic Empowerment
2. BBBEE News and Cartoons
3. Skilled Blacks Shortage

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South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has a tough job. It is certainly much tougher than that of his predecessor, Trevor Manuel, who happily rode the coat-tails of a boom-time economy. Mr Gordhan finds himself at the helm with an increasingly turbulent global economy, rising unemployment, a shrinking tax base and a huge demand for money for public spend.

As far as the South African budget goes, the 2012 one appears to address all the things that rating agencies typically like to see. It is balanced and pragmatic, particularly given the economic challenges that South Africa is currently facing. No doubt the rich and the super-rich will be unhappy with their ever-increasing tax burden. In fact, Wonkie’s sources revealed that Sandton housewives gathered secretly after shopping last week and mumbled their disgruntlement about the increased dividend tax rates for hours. This was followed by numerous positive affirmations about how the country is going down the toilet.

Kugels aside, Mr Gordhan has limited options to raise funds for the ambitious public sector projects proposed by Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address earlier this month. Who else but the few that are already earning can help him with that? Perhaps greater effort to tax the likes of the taxi industry and other high-value informal industries more effectively would have been a welcome addition to help raise the state’s coffers.

The bigger challenge however, Wonkie believes, is not collecting the funds to implement to these wonderful infrastructure projects. It is what happens after these funds are collected. The reason why tax-paying South Africans are irritated with the level of taxation is because they do not get the value for their contributions. Between government squandering funds on their personal jollies, rampant corruption, and tenderpreneurs that don’t deliver, there is so much leakage that only a fraction of tax funds goes to where it is supposed to.

Perhaps it is time for Mr Gordhan to apply his legendary skills in-house and clean up government’s act before raping the public any further with increased taxes, forced toll fees and the like. How would that be for a storyline for next year’s budget speech?

In the meantime, one can only hope that the rather arrogant insistence that the toll fees in Gauteng will go ahead will be met by crippling public protest. The public losing that battle is tantamount to allowing government free reign to be stupid with their spend.

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If you are grateful that Mr Gordhan has not introduced the gambling sin tax in 2012, perhaps you should celebrate and play lottery online right now. If you’re after more real-time excitement, you can dabble on a selection of the best on the online casino South Africa list or Wonkie’s updated international online casinos directory. If you’re in India, be sure to flex your 2012 budget on the best India casinos where you can take a chance in rupees. If you’ve had enough talk about taxation and budgets, visit the latest recommended pages for other choices.

Related Wonkie articles on South Africa’s Budget and Pravin Gordhan:

1. Pravin Gordhan news
2. Pravin Gordhan 2010 Budget

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