Cape Town’s Inner Ugly
▻https://africasacountry.com/2018/12/cape-towns-inner-ugly
The Democratic Alliance (DA), has governed South Africa’s Western Cape province since 2009 and Cape Town, its largest
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We are all Helen Zille. Or, why the West thinks that #colonialism was not all bad.
▻http://africasacountry.com/2017/03/we-are-all-helen-zille-or-why-the-west-thinks-that-colonialism-was-In a series of tweets circulated earlier today, Helen Zille, who is Premier of the #Western_Cape (one of #South_Africa’s nine provinces) and the former leader of the country’s second largest political party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), asserted there are many positive aspects to colonialism. Zille, who is white, governs the Western Cape, which…
#POLITICS #Democratic_Allaince #Hellen_Zille #Hitler #Twitter
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The end of colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow have marked the global rise of liberal racism – what sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva calls “racism without racists”. Even when we do not openly endorse colonialism like Zille does, our works are filled with strategic silences, omissions and erasures that continue to sustain ideas of Western superiority.
Some scholars hint at the superiority of the political institutions of Western democracy. Others mention the “inevitable” rise of capitalism, seen always as a quintessentially Western achievement. Others still talk about the “advanced” cultural practices of “European modernity.” Even critical Western scholarship opposed to the neoliberal paradigm rarely acknowledges the persistence of whiteness and racial inequalities, often developing criticisms of the world of finance, the banks or the multinationals that underplay the role of race in these institutions. These coded forms of racism have contributed to consolidate white supremacy in the last few decades of neoliberal hegemony.
That edifice is now crumbling. The Zilles of the world are tired of beating around the bush. They want to speak openly about white superiority and do not want to feel uncomfortable for their views.
They believe that postcolonial countries have been given a chance but failed to assert their worth, denying the fact that neocolonial structures are just as sturdy as colonial ones. They are tired of “diversity talk,” it is all a sham in their opinion. They see a return to the “good old days” of fascism, colonialism, Jim Crow and apartheid as the way forward.
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It makes perfect sense to name one of #Cape_Town’s busiest roads after #FW_de_Klerk
▻http://africasacountry.com/it-makes-perfect-sense-to-name-one-of-cape-towns-busiest-roads-afteAll this controversy around honoring former #Apartheid president FW de Klerk by renaming one of Cape Town’s busiest streets after him got me thinking. The act of public naming is.....
#AFRICA_IS_A_COUNTRY #Democratic_Alliance #Patricia_de_Lille #racism
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Admit it, you didn’t expect the Economic Freedom Fighters to do so well
▻http://africasacountry.com/admit-it-you-didnt-expect-the-economic-freedom-fighters-to-do-so-weAt first sight, the results for national and provincial elections in #South_Africa may suggest that little has changed. The ANC still got more than 60% of the national vote (despite its poor leadership); the largest parliamentary opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, did not significantly increase its share of the national vote (it is still very […]
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The Economic Freedom Fighters
▻http://africasacountry.com/80911At first sight, the results for national and provincial elections in #South_Africa may suggest that little has changed. The ANC still got more than 60% of the national vote (despite its poor leadership); the largest parliamentary opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, did not significantly increase its share of the national vote (it is still very […]
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The Undemocratic Alliance
▻http://africasacountry.com/the-undemocratic-allianceI do a monthly radio show for #Jacobin_Radio. Listen at the link below as I discuss the South African “opposition” party, the #Democratic_Alliance's politics with another AIAC’er T.O. Molefe. In the first half I sketch the history of #liberalism in #South_Africa. The interview with T.O. starts about 22 minutes in if you’re impatient.
#MEDIA #Helen_Zille #Lindiwe_Mazibuko #Mmusi_Maimame #Tony_Leon #Western_Cape
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The day South African news #MEDIA ate crow
▻http://africasacountry.com/the-day-south-african-news-media-ate-crowSouth Africa’s official opposition the Democratic Alliance (DA) wasn’t the only one left exposed and scrambling to save face when Agang leader #Mamphela_Ramphele decided to withdraw from a proposed deal that would have seen her pack up her new, barely-opened-yet-already-flagging political enterprise to throw in her lot with and become the ‘presidential candidate’ of […]
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Mamphela had a Party
▻http://africasacountry.com/mamphela-had-a-partyA star that shone too brightly has been snuffed out before its time. On Tuesday, not even a year since its launch, and months shy of contesting its first – and #South_Africa’s fourth – democratic election, #Agang has announced that it will merge with the #Democratic_Alliance (DA), and its leader, Dr. #Mamphela_Ramphele, […]
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That #New_York_Times column about #Cape_Town
▻http://africasacountry.com/that-new-york-times-column-about-cape-townLet me be clear, because some responses suggest I was not in my recent column for the International New York Times: from just about every assessment, the City of Cape Town and the #Western_Cape are consistently rated among the top performing South African metros and provinces respectively in terms of governance and levels of service delivery. That said, if the Democratic Alliance [which governs the city] had its way, this should be the only basis by which the metro and province it governs are to be assessed: relative to other metros and provinces. If the African National Congress had its way, Cape Town and the Western Cape are to be assessed independently, with no reference to the other metros and provinces the ANC itself (...)
#Business #HISTORY #OPINION #POLITICS #healthcare #housing #land #Patricia_de_Lille #sanitation #South_Africa #water
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The most superficial and platitudinous politician in #South_Africa
▻http://africasacountry.com/the-most-superficial-and-platitudinous-politician-in-south-africaIf leaked reports to local media are to be believed, #Mmusi_Maimame is one of the two young turks vying for the future leadership spot of South Africa’s ‘official opposition party’–the Democratic Alliance. The spot will open once their current strongwomen Helen Zille finally relinquishes her position after next year’s national election. The other candidate is […]
