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The following article from South Africa shows
what many of us knowledgeable people (I am an ex-South African resident)
have forecast for some years now. But we are all called racists for
stating and warning what for us is the obvious. What is our forecast?
That South Africa under the Marxist trained ex-terrorist African National
Congress government is on its way to being another Zimbabwe. Read on
and remember this was written by a south African black religious leader.
S Africa: Widespread
discontent is fueling communism, economic collapse looms. And
Apartheid is not the reason although the ANC will try and blame all their
ineptness on it. Read the lines where many blacks are reported to
welcome the prosperity they enjoyed under Apartheid. But not the
ruling ones, of course.
Origin:
www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=42603&
Date Posted: Friday 06-Feb-2009
Hi Jan
[Came across this article today, it was written on the 3rd of
February....nothing that we don't already know, but well worth a read. Me
living in Vancouver had no idea what the ANC are promising the masses in the
run up to the elections. Is this article true in what they are
promising......? If so then I am glad to be living in Vancouver....LOL I
know one can't always read what one persons opinion is but it's well worth
listening to what other people say......
Regards Clive
Despite the global boom, most South Africans were left behind. Fourteen
years after the end of apartheid, widespread discontent is fueling
communism, and economic collapse looms.
By: Robert Morley
“Apartheid was a terrible crime against humanity. It left people with deep
scars, but I can assure you poverty is worse than that,” Rev. Faleni Mzukisi
of the Presbyterian Church of Africa said last October.
“Mzukisi said that whilst apartheid denied rights and privileges, poverty
meant people could neither meet their human needs nor attain proper dignity
…,” said Fredrick Nzwili writing for Ecumenical News International. What
good are human rights if people can’t live like humans? Mzukisi asked the
participants of the 2008 World Association of Christian Communication
Congress. “People do not eat human rights,” he said. “They want food on the
table.”
Fourteen years after the end of apartheid, some people are longing to return
to its relative prosperity. For millions of South Africans, the Mandela
“rainbow” revolution has become a gloomy cloud. Segregation laws are no
more, but conditions are much worse.
An astounding 40 percent of South Africans now live beneath the poverty
line. And according to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network, since
the official end of apartheid, “households living in poverty have sunk
deeper into poverty and the gap between rich and poor has widened.”
The exact unemployment rate is contentious. Unions place it at around 40
percent, while official government statistics say it is “only” around 23
percent. Either way, it is horrendous. Unemployment in the U.S. during the
Great Depression peaked at around 25 percent.
And, although government ministers claim that South Africa is still growing
and will avoid “recession,” conditions on the ground indicate that
“official” recession has already arrived. Investment bank Barclays warns
that the economy is currently contracting. Over 200,000 jobs were lost
during the last quarter of 2008—a very large number for a country with a
population of only 44 million. The U.S. equivalent would be akin to losing
1.4 million jobs over that time frame.
“The growth picture has soured radically,” warns absa Capital economist Ian
Marsberg, “we are in for a rough ride next year.”
For example, house prices fell by 4 percent last year. That may not sound
like much, but since government statistics indicate inflation is running at
approximately 11 percent, homes actually lost 15 percent of their value. And
the real depreciation may have been even greater since governments
characteristically underreport inflation numbers. That said, home prices may
have much further to fall after the massive run-up experienced over the past
few years.
Another clear indicator that the economy is in turmoil is the auto industry.
New vehicle sales were down a massive 27 percent in December. That meant
that for 2008, new vehicle sales fell 20.3 percent across all categories
compared to the year before.
The metals and mining industry is also getting pummeled. Although gold
prices have remained firm and even risen over the past year, the prices of
virtually every other metal—including platinum, palladium, manganese and
chrome—have plummeted. Platinum, for example, has plunged from over $2,000
per ounce to around $960 per ounce. Platinum makes up more than 14 percent
of all South African exports.
Mining is the single most important employment sector for the South African
economy. It is also the most important source of foreign revenue. But with
commodity prices plummeting, revenues have fallen, and more job losses could
be coming.
South Africa’s energy infrastructure is also old and decaying. Due to
government corruption and lack of new investment, much of the country now
suffers the same kind of widespread power outages that the rest of the
continent has grown used to in the post-colonial era. Last year, the state
introduced electricity rationing, with much of the mining industry and other
heavy electricity users only receiving 90 to 95 percent of their power
needs, after the national electrical grid almost collapsed. Eskom, the state
power company, is attempting to borrow money to upgrade the grid, but with
the global credit crunch in full swing, it is having difficulty finding
lenders willing to take the risk.
And as things are getting darker, the cost of eating is skyrocketing.
National food price inflation hit 17.1 percent in December. Coffee, tea and
cocoa products registered an increase of more than 20 percent. Grain
products were up 34.3 percent. Fats and cooking oils jumped 27.3 percent,
while vegetables and dairy products were up between 13.4 and 16.2 percent.
Meat prices climbed 8.4 percent.
No jobs, and higher-priced food: It is no wonder that social breakdown
continues.
hiv infection rates remain high. About 29 percent of pregnant women visiting
hospitals are infected, according to 2006 statistics.
Violence runs unchecked throughout much of the country. It was estimated,
according to 2006 figures, that a woman is raped in South Africa once every
26 seconds. During that year, less than 1 percent of rapes led to a
conviction.
Murderers run free too. About 19,000 people were murdered last year—more
than 50 per day.
Rule of law has become the rule of organized crime. Just yesterday, 500
police in South Africa’s crime-ridden commercial capital, Johannesburg, went
on strike, accusing authorities of failing to bring senior officers to task
over corruption.
Last Friday, the government disbanded the country’s elite anti-crime
investigating unit, known as the Scorpions. Why, especially when the
Scorpions had a much better track record than the police at solving crime?
According to Agence France Presse, it was because they fell afoul of the
ruling African National Congress party for their corruption investigation of
anc leader Jacob Zuma. Zuma is expected to become the country’s next
president when elections are held, probably in April.
But as bad as conditions are in South Africa, they may be about to get
dramatically worse.
South Africa’s government has shifted radically to the left, according to
the Sunday Times. In a move to placate angry voters and cement power, the
ruling anc party’s Jacob Zuma is pushing a manifesto largely dictated by the
country’s Communist party. Zuma’s election promises, if adopted, could
easily bankrupt the country.
The anc already promises a free allowance of water and electricity to all
people and has introduced “the largest welfare state ever seen in a
developing country,” according to the Times. More than 40 percent of the
population currently receive state handouts.
But the state handouts are only beginning.
The possibly soon-to-be-published new state manifesto is said to call for
universal health insurance, free education, increased child allowances, new
maternity grants, wage subsidies, an old age savings scheme, subsidized
housing for farm workers and military veterans, and free food handouts to
all poor families.
But perhaps the bigger shock is the manifesto’s proposal to transform “the
private sector through the development of cooperative financial
institutions.” In other words, nationalize and communize the economy.
Zuma’s program also calls for the state to take over the South African
central bank.
Economists are astounded.
Greta Steyn, a leading South African financial analyst, says that the
markets are being set up for a massive crash and are “in denial.” Servaas
van der Berg, professor of economics at Stellenbosch University, said that
just the proposal for a basic income grant of R100 (us$10) would force up
marginal income tax rates from 40 percent to 66 percent.
So where will South Africa get the money to finance all these reforms?
Jacob Zuma, whom the Times describes as knowing relatively little about
economics, seems unconcerned.
But here is a hint: Zuma will get the money he needs the same way his pal
Robert Mugabe gets the money he needs.
Lest we forget, Zimbabwe used to be even more prosperous than South Africa
was at its peak. But then Robert Mugabe set off on his post-colonial
reforms, his social programs, his government handouts, and the land grabs.
And how did Mugabe pay for it all? First, he redistributed the land in order
to fill his coffers and buy favors. When that wasn’t enough, he started
nationalizing other sectors of the economy, including some of the world’s
richest mines. But that wasn’t enough either. So eventually, he was forced
to nationalize and assert complete control over the nation’s reserve
bank—that way he could print whatever money he wanted to pay the bills.
Unfortunately, that destroyed the value of Zimbabwe’s currency—completely
wiping out what little savings his people had left. But Mugabe and his
cronies got filthy rich in the process, moving assets offshore, or
converting their devaluing dollars into gold or other currencies.
The anc’s supposed desire to nationalize South Africa’s central bank should
be a clear indicator of what is headed in South Africa’s direction: Zimbabwe
economics. And that means a Zimbabwe standard of living for the vast
majority.
Things are about to get much tougher in South Africa.
Africa’s modern history is a continent filled with nation-states in various
stages of post-colonial collapse. South Africa was a notable exception to
this rule for several decades after becoming an independent republic. But
now, that is changing—and rapidly. The true cause for South Africa’s wealth,
and the reason it is now disappearing, is rooted in the nation’s historical
connection to the British Empire. Biblical prophecy outlines the curses
South Africa increasingly finds itself under, curses that are destined to
grow worse in the time ahead. A vital warning to the peoples of South Africa
is contained in our booklet South Africa in Prophecy. Though written over a
decade ago, its forecasts are all the more relevant today.
However, there is great hope for all people living in South Africa. Read the
booklet The Wonderful World Tomorrow—What It Will Be Like, by Herbert W.
Armstrong. Prosperity will eventually include all people around the world.
South Africa will blossom like a rose, and poverty and corruption will be a
thing of the past—and best yet, it will happen during this generation.
Source URL:
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