One of the tried and tested tools of colonialism is instilling fear. Rating agencies, which are nothing but organised economic gangs, must be seen and understood in this context. Our former oppressors, whose oppression has taken on a subtle and systematic manner, are now using these "gangs" to whip us into line. Just like during colonial and apartheid times, the "gang" uses the whip to impose on developing countries their preferred economic and social system, which ultimately dictates how a supposedly free SA must behave, robbing us of the critical right to define our own destiny, a right that was central to our liberation struggle. The governing ANC, which has been voted into power by the citizenry of SA, the majority of whom are black Africans, has been tamed and managed by the rating agencies. While the same ANC voters are suffering from high levels of unemployment, poverty, inequality, landlessness, homelessness and other serious social ills, the government is threatened with ec...

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