by Hannes Wessels
I am 63 now. I have lived, worked and watched events unfold from a close distance in most the countries of southern Africa. While I have been blessed to have lived a fulsome, exciting life I have also spent most of my years watching the socio-economic fabric of towns and countries being destroyed along with millions of people being condemned to needless and undeserved poverty. In one country after another I have looked on as ‘liberation-leaders’, coming to power riding a wave of widespread optimism, have dashed the hopes of their citizens and delivered little other than poverty and egregious misrule. Now I watch in sadness mixed with anger as South Africa follows the same well-worn road to ruin; and I feel I have seen enough of this for one lifetime.
Against this backdrop, to make matters worse, I, like the rest of my European compatriots, must accept full responsibility for these tragedies because in the modern world of cultural marxism and identity politics, the only bad people are white people who, simply by dint of skin colour, are inherenetly racist. This horrible racist meme is now orthdox in most western nations, even to the extent that the evils of ‘white privilege’ and colonialism are now compulsory subjects in many primary schools.
A heterosexual, I am suspected of being a homophobe, and coming from a Christian upbringing, I am most likeley considerd an Islamaphobe. As someone, inherently patriotic and defensive of the country in which I live, I am scorned as a right-wing nationalist. Because I believe we all have to take responsibilty for ourselves and our dependents, that people should only have the children they are able to sustain rather than expect the taxpayers to take on the burden, I am seen as a heartless capitalist.
I am only one of many, like-minded people in this benighted country who is branded thus. But this sort of twisted thinking lays a convenient platform for the new rationale, which has gained widespread traction in South Africa to excuse the gross malfeasance, dishonesty, incompetence and outright criminality that permeates every nook and cranny of the country’s political and bureaucratic establishment.
It was the abhorrent, previous ‘apartheid regime’, so this particular shibboleth goes, that was so utterly corrupt and incompetent, that set the standard for the new ruling class to follow and that is the reason why the governing ANC is behaving so badly; they, poor people, are only following the example set by the last, ghastly white rulers. A massive perversion of the truth, but even more distressing is being witness to virtually the entire, liberal intelligensia, here and abroad, embracing this rubbish. Unfortunately, that includes most of academia so schoolchildren and students throughout the land are being taught, that the real blame for the country’s march to mayhem lies with the whites and of course their apartheid.
This then, adds further fuel to the political firepower being aimed at dismantling what is often referred to as the ‘white monoply capitalists’ that allegedly retain a stranglehold on the private sector. From President Ramaphosa down, the ANC chorus calls for radically reduced white representation at management and executive level in the private and public sectors and the rapid replacement of these highly skilled people with the ruling party appartchiks and cronies who have just about finished destroying the public sector and are busy doing the same to once well run and profitable para-statals like ESKOM, SABC and South African Airways.
When the president draws breath from hurling abuse at the people who are striving mightily to make a success of their farms and businesses, in a country where the transport and energy infrastructure is collapsing, where the unions are in full flight and the politcal space is hostile, he then exhorts foreigners to invest in the country. One can only assume, the thinking is, bring your billions, buy your businesses and we will then show you how to run them properly.
However, the blame-game does not end there. Lack of education is the other reason frequently given, for the abysmal performance of African administrations, not only here in South Africa, but across the length and breadth of the continent. It was the selfish, self-serving Europeans who have been horribly remiss in failing to provide fine education up to the highest level for all those eager Africans in search of knowledge. If it wasn’t for this mean-spiritedness, our children are taught, Africa would be a prosperous paradise. Underlying this premise is the arrogant presumption that black Africans can only develop on the back of European intellectual capital but few will find the courage to explain that resources are normally finite, education is expensive and maybe the colonisers were a little strapped for cash when they arrived so only so much could be done in the allotted time with what was available.
But surely the 40-65 years since most of Africa became independent has given sufficient time for the ‘new’ black nations to redress these colonial imbalances, to invest in education and to liberate the intellectual capacity and potential of the dark continent? Why has this not happened, in contrast to the successes that former colonial administrations achieved in much the same timescale.? Perhaps those in power who are responsible for the educational policies in their countries could provide us with their insights into this intriguing phenomenon.
Hannes, thanks once again for an excellent article. I am always amazed by how much evil, malfeasance and corruption is hidden by the political correct and political leaders who continually hide behind the much flaunted “Ubuntu”. They rather blame the colonisers
Ubuntu – “Humanity, I am because we are” – the tragedy is that this wonderful concept is ignored and almost never practiced by the African leaders who choose to pursue obscene wealth at the expense of their own people. I cannot think of one country that practices Ubuntu on this benighted continent. South Africa politicians being probably the worst example followed closely by Zimbabwe’s.
All the best for you and yours for the new year. Patrick Walsh
Thanks Patrick and the same to you.
WELL SAID. IF I DIDN’T KNOW BETTER, I WOULD THINK YOU WERE DESCRIBING AMERICA AS MORE AND MORE AMERICANS BELIEVE SOCIALISM IS THE ANSWER TO PROFOUND LAZINESS IN OUR YOUNGER GENERATIONS.
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ECONOMIST AND AUTHOR THOMAS SOWELL SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING. MOST AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES WON’T LET HIS BOOKS GRACE THEIR LIBRARIES AND OUR CHILDREN ARE FED ONLY WHAT THE SOCIALIST EDUCATORS WANT THEM TO READ. IT IS SO VERY SAD!
Time to through down the gauntlet. Enough already.
Greetings Mr. Wessels. I enjoy reading your articles as they are a refreshing contrast to the usual politically correct rubbish written about Africa. I have read about Russia offering asylum to white South Africans (and presumably Rhodesians), to live, farm and build businesses in a fertile part of eastern Russia. What are your thoughts about that?
Regards,
Sam C.
Hi Sam,
Yes I have read about this and I know wherever they go those farmers will add value. Some of the best farmers in the world I believe and a huge loss to a continent that cannot feed itself. But who can blame them for seeking new pastures when under siege in their homeland because of the colour of their skin?
Hi Sam,
I believe this is happening. All I can say with absolute certainty is they are some of the best farmers in the world and they will add huge value wherever they are afforded a chance to work. They depart a continent that cannot feed itself but who can blame them? They are under siege in their homeland because they are white!
Hi Hannes,
I regularly read your website and I have some of the books you wrote about Rhodesia. (We dared to Win….etc).
I came across another author , Col. Kurt Schlichter ret., he also writes for Townhall.com and other newspapers. His series on The Peoples Republic, and following 3 books are pretty decent. The last book Collapse, is down right hilarious. Kurt really sticks it to the Squad, Communist/Socialist/Inter-sectional wacko’s, and the dystopian shit storm coming to the USA if unimpeded ANTIFA pukes take over. Seeing the British vote this week massively against the Labour Party, and reading your books, really opened my eyes to how evil the Liberals have been to Rhodesia, undermining a functioning economy that was more fair and reasonable then what Zimbabwe devolved into under communism.
As the books Kurt has written, and seeing it myself here in California, with rampant homeless, out of control Socialist Millennial’s who refuse to get jobs, and hate everyone and everything because its somehow racist to work, I see a pattern that’s linked to laziness, and envy.
I think someone important once said, “Socialism is great, until you run out of other peoples money…”
I think that was Mrs Thatcher who said that. It seems the liberal socialist bandwagon rolls on no matter how much damage they have done and continue to do. I’m starting to think liberalism might be some sort of psychosis? Seemingly intelligent people who somehow blind themselves to the facts staring them in the face. If they can’t look away they simply shut down the discussion by claiming ‘hate speech’!
I think liberals suffer from some sort of psychosis. Intelligent people who somehow manage to ignore facts and history. And they are intolerant; when the discussion does not fit their philosophy they simply shut it down by terming it hate-speech.
I wish people would get off their high horses with this ‘redressing colonial imbalances’ myth. Let’s get past all the PC garbage and say it like it should be said. African leaders have made a mess of it. The most persecuted, hated and disadvantaged ethnic group of all time are the Jews. They lost their country and have been hounded out of every nook and cranny they managed to find and still managed to do well under any and every circumstance they found themselves in. And this has been going on for thousands of years! The worst mass genocide of any group of people in history (as far as I am aware) was against the Jews. They were turned into soap, had hideous experiments done on them and after the Second World War the world had such a guilt complex that they gave their land back to them but that was not the end of it. To this day the persecution of these incredible people is still going on (with governments like Iraq threatening to wipe them off the face of the earth) yet they have one of the finest airforces and armies in the world and the list of their incredible scientific achivements since 1948 is beyond the scope of this letter.
One of their mottos is, “what have we got left and where do we go from here?” We don’t hear endless wailing and whining from these people. They simply get on and do what has to be done, but they give a warning, “Don’t ever mess with us again.”
What an amazing group of people.
Hannes, for the answers to your, and my dilemma as residents of Africa you need look no further than the people who brought this intolerable situation into being in the first place and who have been perpetuating it by their inaction for many decades, ie, western ‘democracies’ who certainly in the case of the destruction of Rhodesia seem to have formed some sort of informal alliance with countries who were communist at the time. We know this as a fact as all military hardware that came into Rhodesia during those years in the hands of the CT’s (communist terrorists, the official name given to these insurgents by the Rhodesian government) were either made in communist Russia or communist China or other communist countries. We know all pleas concerning this communist onslaught to the so-called free-world fell on deaf ears. We know that the liberal western world seemed to be more than happy that power be handed over to despots like Mugabe and thereafter rewarded for their crimes. While whites in Africa were being lambasted with verbal rhetoric and abuse by previously friendly western countries the communist countries who were supposedly their enemies did the dirty work for them on the ground. Now the obvious question is why? The answer is global control. Countries run by intelligent, self-sufficient, honest, hard working and patriotic people, particularly those whose roots lay in Judeo Christian values and who might challenege their nefarious endeavours simply could not be tolerated and must be destroyed and later re-built within a broad framework of global communism. No doubt there are those who will dismiss this thinking as fantasy but there are equally sinister developments, although in different ways in all western countries in regard to the destruction of traditional values and attributes along the lines of those I mentioned above. We are not alone in Africa in regard to sheer lunacy of governance. In regard to Africa, increased education is ok to a point but these days it seems very little emphasis is put on the merits of wisdom, honesty and duty to one’s country. Mugabe had degrees coming out of his ears but that did nothing for us.
In regard to your last paragraph, the answer is Africa is simply incapable of governing itself properly as has been clearly demonstrated over the last 60 years of starvation, wars, and crime on an industrial scale. With the present bunch of buffoons running Africa from top to bottom, I doubt you will be provided with any insight into the ‘intriguing phenomenon’ you mention above other than ‘we were oppressed and are disadvantaged therefore you whites must pay.’ Sadly, this status quo will continue for as long as the crippling disease of political correctness remains.
Redressing colonial imbalance is a favourite topic of mine and one which always leaves me without answers to the questions you have listed
Sorry, I would like to have been able to think and say better but my pounds pension has been reduced to pennies thanks to African theft and incompetence. I never did have any faith or trust in them.
Right on the nail again Hannes – I’m a little older than you, also an ex-Rhodesian and mightily sick of the situation here and internationally!
Some of my own family members have been partially infected with this cultural disease that is truly viral! It is so sad.
Reason and logic have fled, expediency and correctness have filled the vacuum. We seem to have bred a generation of automatons incapable of thinking for themselves.
Sometimes I think we should follow the example set in Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and just withdraw our services for a month or two – that should be sufficient to bring things to a head – the only trouble is that we don’t have a sanctuary to flee to, and that is probably why it hasn’t happened yet!
Keep up the good work, and may you and yours have a peaceful and joyous Christmas.
Thank you Philip. And best to you and family.
Thank you for another great article. With Nigeria being the first to get Independence over fifty years ago , still corrupt , still lawless , what hope is there for any other state to be any good.? I enclose a link you may find interesting. http://www.rhodesia.com/docs/other/deconst.htm
My sentiments exactly Hannes. You took the words that I cannot express right out my mouth and put them on paper.
I will add a link to this on my FaceBook feed for my friends to read as well.
Thank you. Spotted.
Thanks old friend! Happy Christmas to you and family.
Perhaps there is an element of the Dunning-Kruger effect in play with the leadership…a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge or competence in a given intellectual or social domain greatly overestimate their own knowledge or competence in that domain relative to objective criteria, or to the performance of their peers or people in general.
Hannes, once more you have nailed the point.
Looking forward to your next communication.
May I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and all the health and happiness in the New Year,
Thank you Owen. And same to you and your family
Again a magnificent article…… must be archived to be produced in the future when the whole tragedy of African Liberalisation is eventually unearthed to be a massive disaster.
Thanks Trev. Happy Christmas!