The South African Finance Minister Feels the Country is too ''Africanist''
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni seems to be in the bad books of Black Twitter once again.
South African Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, just can't seem to stay away from controversy, particularly on social media. If he's not rubbing South Africans the wrong way with his constant comparisons between South Africa and Rwanda, he's effectively opposing the rights of Black students to learn in a language they can actually understand at the University of Pretoria.
Mboweni's most recent comments are on how he feels South Africa has become too "Africanist". Is this code for the country having becoming too "Black"?
In an interview with local radio station Power FM, Mboweni said:
"Some appointments in government are not broad enough to represent what we call a democratic non-racial, non-sexist society. From time to time, I've had a feeling that we have become too narrow Africanist. Most of the appointments that we make in the public service, for example, are very Africanist."
Whilst the goal for many anti-Apartheid struggle veterans was the eventual emergence of a non-racial and equal society, the truth of the matter is that the current reality shows just how far South Africa still has to go.
From White South Africans stirring racial tensions with false "white genocide" narratives, the increasing establishment of Whites-only settlements to even the likes of Springboks rugby captain Siya Kolisi (a Black man, mind you) making ignorant comments on the racial quota system which is attempting to redress injustices of the past, a non-racial future is not quite within reach as yet.
On one hand, quite a number of South Africans were not impressed by Mboweni's comments:
Tito Mboweni is a self hating African, how can a country that has over 80% African citizen on African soil ever be… https://t.co/EdbSDVXCVP— Rrabo®🚜🌽🌻 (@Rrabo®🚜🌽🌻) 1553487367.0
Heard clips from Tito Mboweni's Power FM appearance. That man really shouldn't be anywhere near government— Thabang Tsebe (@Thabang Tsebe) 1553503371.0
Tito Mboweni is increasingly coming across as one of those chaps who receive a bursary that takes them out of the l… https://t.co/30AJsYu6zA— Jambase (@Jambase) 1553514834.0
Tito Mboweni is one of the ANCs weakest links...The comments he made last night on PowerFM...😞— ButiRaps (@ButiRaps) 1553495595.0
However, others were in agreement with him:
@Keith_AM @tito_mboweni Are we not allowed to #question government policy? Because that would make us something ver… https://t.co/Xid24uJdvW— Dianne Bayley (@Dianne Bayley) 1553512686.0
@TimesLIVE Mr Mboweni, not scared to say it like it is...— 🇿🇦 Nick Potgieter 🇿🇦 (@🇿🇦 Nick Potgieter 🇿🇦) 1553518112.0
@TimesLIVE First time @tito_mboweni talking sense. Well done minister. 👍— born to be a mom (@born to be a mom) 1553510862.0
we have become so title sensitive , has we listened to the entire interview we would understand what is being mea… https://t.co/wyKDGlzlay— GUGULEZWE (@GUGULEZWE) 1553519846.0
"You go get to the airport through immigration, most of the immigration officials would be Africans, yet they shoul… https://t.co/1TYPe8pqgb— Times LIVE (@Times LIVE) 1553510704.0