ANC stalwart who called for class suicide in South Africa said that land reform and real freedom are still needed

ANC stalwart Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who called for class suicide in South Africa, said that land reform and real freedom are still needed in the country.

She shared this view during an interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh on the popular SMWX podcast, where she discussed her political career.

Dlamini Zuma lost the ANC Presidential race against Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2017 Nasrec ANC Conference.

She said that there were behind-the-scenes deals which worked against her, including court cases in three provinces that disqualified delegates who would have voted for her.

Despite her loss, she remained in the cabinet and served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Corporate Affairs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this time, she made many controversial decisions, including banning tobacco products, which saw the illicit industry blossom.

Another controversial statement was when she said that the pandemic offered the opportunity for class suicide in South Africa.

“COVID-19 offers us an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of long-agreed-upon structural changes to enable reconstruction, development, and growth,” she said.

“These opportunities call for more sacrifices and, if needs be, what Amilcar Cabral called ‘class suicide’.”

“We must rally behind the common cause. The Coronavirus knows no class, race, gender or geographical location.”

Simply put, she supported Cabral’s call for the elites to give up their institutional privileges, economic advantages, and social superiority.

Despite the backlash against her statement, which was seen as trying to destroy the middle class, the ANC rallied behind her.

What Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma would have done as President

During the SMWX interview, Dlamini-Zuma outlined structural policy shifts she planned to implement if elected President of South Africa.

The first was true liberation. She argued that the current freedom was largely limited to voting and does not extend to economic liberties.

As part of this liberation, she would have addressed the ‘unresolved land issue’ to bring genuine economic liberation.

“In rural areas, there is land held under traditional leaders, such as through the Ingonyama Trust,” she said.

“My goal would be to support communities in using this land for proper agriculture to produce crops in sufficient quantities.”

She said that local farmers should not only grow produce but also establish nearby processing plants for finished products like sauces.

The same goes for mining, where the current model is to extract minerals in South Africa and to export them in raw form.

Dlamini-Zuma advocated for local beneficiation and processing of natural resources in South Africa to create local jobs.

Another area she wanted to focus on was financial sector reform and support for youth and women through financing.

“I would have tried to get financial institutions to be fair in providing financial assistance and loans to young people and women when they have viable plans,” she said.

“At the moment, many people fail to secure the financing they need even when they have good plans, so those are some of the things I would have done.”

The last is education. She advocated overhauling tertiary education to train young people to be creators of employment rather than just job seekers.

She noted the education system should teach accurate history and focus heavily on practical technical skills.