IN DECEMBER, among the Brexit clamour and Christmas preparations, a Foreign Office travel warning went virtually unnoticed. British nationals visiting or living in South Africa were warned that there was an increased likelihood of terror attacks against them, most likely by groups linked to Isis.
South Africa is part of the Commonwealth, one of the BRICS countries and an African powerhouse, although this latter accolade might not be applicable for much longer. Instead of embracing the goodwill, investment and opportunities that the West offers, successive ANC governments have instead chosen a far more disturbing path.
In November the ANC caucus met a Hamas delegation, called the Palestinian Legislative Council. Hamas is an Islamist terror group, proscribed by the UK and the US. Yet its members were feted by the ANC.
Hamas is currently ‘on tour’ shoring up support for its jihadist aims among some of the world’s worst regimes. Although it is one of the wealthiest terrorist organisations in the world, with an annual income of over £543.35million, it still saw fit to beg for ‘humanitarian aid’ from a country which has the largest disparity between rich and poor.
Hamas is merciless in its pursuit of waging jihad against Israel. Over 30million South Africans live on less than the poverty-line income of R992 a month (about £56) but that doesn’t concern the Hamas leadership who want more money to finance their luxury lifestyles in Qatar and to buy missiles from Iran. Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the Gazans, whom they use as propaganda pawns. Iran gives £77.62million annually to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. UNRWA also gave the Palestinians over £147million in the past two years.
By playing the victim and keeping Gazan Palestinians trapped in miserable circumstances Hamas gets wealthier, aided by fools and those sympathetic to its jihadi cause. No doubt now the ANC will finance Hamas as a virtue signalling act to show solidarity with their ‘comrades in arms’
ANC leaders are stuck in the 1960s, when they aligned with the PLO and IRA and various other nefarious so-called liberation organisations. Their fight against Apartheid is over yet ANC stalwarts still fancy themselves as romanticised freedom fighters sticking it to the man.
Beyond the political posturing and attempts to siphon money from South African taxpayers, this visit is also indicative of Iran’s growing interests in Africa as a means to bypass US sanctions. Hamas can certainly be described as a proxy of Iran. By cosying up to Hamas South Africa is showing that it’s affiliating with Iran and positioning itself as a potential ally in Iran’s on-going war against Sunni Muslims, the West and Israel.
This alignment with terror regimes will have deadly consequences. South Africa is now at risk of becoming another war-torn proxy country where Iran battles Saudi Arabia for dominance. Various Islamist factions are already operating in South African cities and towns.
Jihadists thrive under chaos. Thanks to the plethora of failings by the ANC, South Africa is on the edge of turning into another failed terror state. Its economy is now classified as junk status, the effect of which repels new investors who are desperately needed to create jobs. Towards the end of 2018 the unemployment rate increased to almost 30 per cent, meaning that millions can’t find jobs. There is no welfare safety net either for the masses of unemployed. In South Africa not having a job can equate to a death sentence.
The plight of South Africans is exacerbated by the inability of the government to keep the lights on. Thanks to a combination of corruption and theft the publicly owned electricity company, Eskom, cannot keep up with demand for light and heat. Load shedding, an innocuous name for blackouts, is a daily occurrence.
But these issues don’t trouble the ANC. It is more concerned with holding on to power and will destroy anyone or anything in its way. In an attempt to counter the appeal that its political rivals, the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have for impoverished and dispossessed voters, the ANC passed land reform bills last year to legitimise seizing of white-owned farms without compensation. This shortsighted policy is likely to cause another African famine.
In December Cyril Ramaphosa’s government published an updated Expropriation Bill documenting which types of land can be taken without compensation. The most disturbing one on the list is ‘farms with labour tenants’ – which describes most working farms. These policies are engendering a culture of fear among white South Africans.
The EFF ignited a race war and the ANC has encouraged it. Not only do the EFF incite followers to attack white farm owners but journalists too. Attacks on white farmers are feebly excused by the media because of the paucity of victims in comparison to the high number from other daily homicides. But focusing on body counts obscures the fact that the EFF is shamefully targeting others because of the colour of their skins. How sad that years after Apartheid ended race baiting is still rife.
Currently the South African population is 57,73million. Those younger than 15 years old make up almost 30 per cent. What future do these children have in a country riddled with poverty, high unemployment rates and likely to disintegrate into a failed terror state?
For those with no interest or connection to South Africa all this may seem meaningless and too far away to be of concern. But if the country destabilises further this will have an impact, not only on the rest of Africa but on Europe too. South Africa is lining itself up to be Iran’s best friend. It’s probable that what remains of its resources will be stolen by one of the greatest propagators of global terrorism.
Moreover this is a moral issue. Some think that white South Africans deserve what they get. But many of them hated Apartheid and saw it for the injustice it was, ensuring that the transition to an ANC government in 1995 was hopeful and peaceful.
South Africans, of all races, are a tough, compassionate, enduring people. They deserve better than a terrorist organisation masquerading as a government.
