REDISTRIBUTION
Deficiencies of SA’s decolonisation efforts contain lessons for the future
No progress to be found in Zille’s legalistic liberalism, Mbeki’s welfare neoliberalism or Zuma’s rural nationalism, writes Leslie Bank
The furious reaction to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s comments about the value of the colonial contribution to SA’s judiciary and transport, health and reticulation infrastructure indicates where many black South Africans imagine SA is located today in its "decolonisation", 23 years after the introduction of democracy. By contrast with India and Singapore, which largely appear to have moved beyond a discourse centred on the legacy of colonialism and are looking for hybrid forms of institution-building, economic development and state-making, SA often seems mired in its efforts to formulate credible alternatives and strategies to escape the grip of colonialism. The country has arrived at this juncture partly because of the apparent failure of liberals and the left within the ANC to deliver a widely accepted version of development that enables the black poor and working classes to access a greater share of the economic wealth and the possibility of a better life in their lifetimes...
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