Warning: ignore Julius Malema's guile at your own peril 28 Jun 2011 | Andile Mngxitama | 67 comments<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2011/06/28/warning-ignore-julius-malema-s-guile-at-your-own-peril?filter=all_comments> JULIUS Malema is a political genius. Actually, he is a master hypnotist who does it through one easy step: WHAM!
- Tweet <http://twitter.com/share> - RELATED ARTICLES<https://mail.google.com/mail/html/compose/static_files/blank_quirks.html#> - Malema 'is a demagogue'<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/06/28/malema-is-a-demagogue> - ANC alliance is in crisis - Zuma<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/06/27/anc-alliance-is-in-crisis---zuma> - Unionists gather<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/06/27/unionists-gather> - Juju, the darling of Mzansi?<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2011/06/24/juju-the-darling-of-mzansi> - Will the real youth leaders please stand up<http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/goodlife/youthtube/2011/06/27/will-the-real-youth-leaders-please-stand-up> The idea of Winning the Hearts and Minds (WHAM) has always been a key strategy of those who want to keep power through deception. Even PW Botha at the height of the struggle against white rule in the 1980s attempted this strategy. He organised holiday trips for the black youth where they were "educated" about the dangers of rebellion and the greatness of SA under white rule. Malema's genius comes from his capacity to read the moment and audacity to raise passions to ruthlessly attain his political ambitions. When he wanted Jacob Zuma to be president of the ANC, he was not afraid to declare preparedness to kill for Zuma. When he sang Dubul'Ibhunu, he was plugging into the experiences of the black masses for whom South Africa is an anti-black racist country. Malema had through such a song shifted focus from the reality that the ANC had been in power for 16 years and had failed to end white racism. After Polokwane, with Thabo Mbeki and his cohort removed from the helm of the ANC and government, it became business as usual. Comrade Blade Nzimande got his cabinet post and his R1,1million BMW. Comrade Mbalula got his ministerial job and all the perks that come with it. They happily continued the policies of Mbeki. The strategy seems to be: promise change and once you get what you want forget your promises promptly. In 2012 there is another elective conference of the ANC. This time around it is not Mbeki and his 1996 class project that is being targeted, but Gwede Mantashe who must make way for Fikile Mbalula. It is also an opportunity to test whether Zuma can be taken on. So Malema invents a new line "expropriation without compensation"! According to this new line, only those who support it will be elected into political office. We can be assured that once Malema's favourite politicians are elected into the ANC and then into power, the whole thing will be forgotten. Malema is exploiting a real issue: failure to redistribute land and transform the mining wealth of the country to benefit the people. What he is not doing is to show how these failures have been caused by no one but the ANC in power. He is creating the impression that whites have been blocking transformation, but this is not true. Land and mining policies are creations of the ANC and not whites, and have benefited some comrades well at the expense of communities. Malema has been silent on the Aurora mine scandal. He is making an indecent proposal to the poor. He is saying I promise you heaven on earth on condition that you keep the ANC in power for another 20 years. He even says he wants a two thirds majority. After 17 years of ANC rule that doesn't benefit the poor, Malema with his empty radical rhetoric is ironically the only one who can keep the people's confidence in the ANC! And he is doing it WHAM-style! Be warned! -- Gugu Ndima +27 76 783 1516 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
