The reactions by pseudo-politicians to the naked racism displayed by officials of Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke, whereby four pupils of colour were separated from 18 others occupying a larger table in the same class, was almost expected.
This is due to the fact that besides vocal condemnation against the much-visible racism everywhere in South Africa, the ruling party, in other provinces, has simply lost its mandate to govern.
This is, of course, after 25 years of being in government. The question should be posed: do people want a black government or a fair government?
After the usual cursing, politicians are continuing with their everyday lives, waiting for another racist incident to happen before they may again offer another rant in the strongest terminology they know.
They will continue expressing their pathetic shock and utter disgust against the national social construction that refuses to die.
South Africans have embraced the concept of botho-ubuntu premised on the Rainbow Nation. But the reality is the country is still divided according to race, so little has transformed with respect to economic power relations.
It’s true that people of colour now have political power, but what’s the point of this kind of power without land power and economic power.
Should South Africans, people of colour precisely, invest their resources in the “new dawn” towards transforming racial behaviour?
The reality is, through the lens of most white people, people of colour are still the down-trodden. They still are the “domestic girls and the garden boys”.
They are still the good-for-nothing “farm labourers”. Inversely, the whites are still the economically dominant class. They own wealth and are therefore the employers.
They have access to the best development infrastructure and other recreational facilities. Hence people of colour continue smuggling their kids into such white dominant spaces. The reality is, unlike our downtrodden mud schools in the villages, white institutions are well equipped.
The South African government has done us a huge injustice with respect to transformation from the apartheid legacy, and has directly perpetrated the ill-mindset that people of colour are incapable of governing themselves. Gauteng province, with education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, is an exception to this.
The continuous unfolding of events from Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke in North West province continues to remind us as a nation that those occupying political office continue to dismally fail the people of this country with regards to using their powers to substantially transform this country.
Had they acted swiftly against racism, those who are determined to humiliate people of colour would have by now learnt that justice is on the side of those advocating anti-racist practices. However, like other societal ills, racism continues to be a lived experience for people of colour in South Africa.
Unashamedly so, corporate South Africa still ignores the government-institutionalised AA policy meant for transformation.
How sad that, after decades of “talking shop” on transformation, South Africa remains the only country globally where the majority seeks affirmation from the minority.
For redress in our national psyche in our beloved country, people of colour must get their land back and retain economic ownership. People of colour must take control of developmental institutions (learning and industry).
And until we do this, we’ll remain with the Chinese idiom: “Talking does not cook rice.”