According to Dali Mpofu, the way to balance the chasm between the rich and poor in South Africa, is to make the rich pay. Is this the way to go forward?
Now that we're literally on the 20 year mark since democracy in South Africa was achieved, one would be forgiven for thinking that the ill gotten gains of the Apartheid regime, would have been stamped out by now.
This unfortunately, is not how the EFF see things. The rich are still seen as the enemy in our country. Companies and entrepreneurs who play a major role in contributing to the muzzled success of our economy are still being portrayed as an elite few who throw scraps to the masses. False messages of how the wealth of the economy is purposely being withheld from the masses, are droned into poor's heads almost daily.
It is not taken into account that, those who are rich (in the private sector), got rich by working hard, having initiative and vision on how to stay current with the ever changing markets.
By taking from the rich to give to the poor, the culture of reward for hard labour will diminish. There is unfortunately a strong sense of entitlement in our country, where our people are being told that they are owed things because of the Apartheid regime.
One cannot deny the disadvantage and damage that was caused by Apartheid. The biggest mistake that was made post-apartheid, was not finding a proper balance between correcting the injustices of the past and nurturing a culture of good reward for hard work.
What message will this send out to the next generation who are supposed to be our future leaders, entrepreneurs and businessmen\women?
Employees who have drive and motivation to perform well in their jobs will become few and far between, if they know that the earnings they make based on blood, sweat and tears will just land up in the pockets of those not willing to better themselves.
Our country needs to cultivate and grow a new culture of working together for the greater good. We need to move away from the idea that taking from one to give to another is going to be beneficial for the country as a whole.
Little does Dhali Mpofu realize that by taking from the rich, he would need to be one of the first contributors.