Occupy South Africa Begins Today

It was inevitable. South Africans like to copy everything the Americans do. They want to protest an institution that has been remarkably beneficial to the country and plays a vital role in Job Creation and Foreign Investment and even Equality.

Who is Occupy SA - Operation Ubuntu?

Occupy SA – Operation Ubuntu is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. The People come as the People.

Our Mission

On 15 October we want to see people flood into South African cities’ allocated spaces, set up beds, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy SA’s financial districts for a few months.

TakeTheSquare

You have a problem with the government? Go occupy Parliament Square in Pretoria. Instead you want to disrupt the one thing that has kept South Africa stable and relatively peaceful - our relatively strong Business and Finance sector. Almost everyone in South Africa has a vested interest in making sure the Stock Exchange keeps going - anyone can invest (and probably does, even indirectly), and it has exceeded Black Ownership targets set by the government. I am not against protest but lets target the right parties for the right reasons. Don't do all the work for the ANCYL as they want anarchy, as a broken South Africa means more power to them. Lets see if anyone is allowed to protest once we have a tyrant in charge. Just ask the Zimbabweans.

Lets destroy our own pension funds:

“The BEE Codes require 25% black ownership by 2017. Currently black people own at least 28% (using the dti calculation). Moreover, with 32% of total market yet to be analysed, the actual black ownership figure is likely to be higher.”

Trevor Chandler of Chandler & Associates, who headed the research team appointed by the JSE, said, in total, black South Africans hold at least 17% of the Top 100 Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with 32% of the shares of these companies still to be assessed.

The 17% includes 8% held directly, mostly through empowerment stakes, and 9% through mandated investments, such as pension funds and unit trusts. This figure is understated as it is not taken in context of overall availability and also because all shares have not been analysed.

JSE Black Ownership

As South Africans dig their own graves, their calls for peaceful protests are naive. It is fairly obvious to me that any gatherings will be hijacked by groups with a hidden (or not so hidden in some cases) agenda.

These extraordinary, historical and global events will affect many strata of the 99%. There is a lot of rough ground to be covered in the coming months as the NWO push their agenda to its eventual conclusion. Upheaval will pit violence against violence, do not be drawn into their trap of self induced exposure to their system.

Look to the future....See what you want our country to look like and be the change. Store 'seeds', have a bug-out bag and keep your ears to the wire. Iran will be the trigger.

much love

isn't south africa already occupied by the descendants of illegal white english and boer colonialists who are in charge of raping and pillaging all of south africas minerals and wealth and transferring them to harmless and "innocent" neutral country's like switzerland where bankers use the funds to loan to genocidal warlords in the region to buy arms from american weapons manufacturers and then use them to depopulate the continent of "worthless eaters" so the ravaging and theft of minerals and resources can continue to go unstopped, unchecked and with minimal resistance.

and all the while the u.n. is more interested in pushing global world day and b.s. like earth day and distracting spoiled, ignorant n.american's and taking advantage of a blinding arrogance that makes them believe that they saved the world by turning off a light bulb for an hour.

all, so they can go to sleep, blissfully while hell creeps slowly and closer onto the shores of their fantasy world.

reply to post by soylentcitizen


Personally, I don't see anarchy, chaos and death on the African continent as being very helpful. Africa has seen too much of it already.
What we need is education, strong agricultural sector (leave the big farmers alone!), and a government held in check by the independent media and judiciary.
These Occupiers are quick to provoke the guys in charge, claiming that they need to spark a revolution, but they are just as quick to scream and wail when they are roughed up, complaining about civil rights. Surely the rejection of the government and demanding a rebuilding also entails understanding that you are giving up your "civil liberties". If the Occupiers do not want the Existing Rules, then there should be no surprise when those rules are broken by government.

But, hey I guess I will be called a Sheep. I hate corrupt government as much as anyone else but I am not going to stick my head up my behind and ignore reality.

Bugout bag? You are funny. This is Africa. Very few places to hide or be self sufficient (at short notice).

reply to post by randomname


Yes South Africa was colonised by Europeans several hundred years ago. So was America and most of South America.
Go back far enough in history and you will find that almost every single geographical region of the world was colonised by some sort of group.

reply to post by randomname

No, since 1994 we have a democracy for all the legal citizens of South Africa, including the descendents of the indigenous Khoisan, the white and Indian minorities, and those of the majority black tribes who moved here from the Congo in the 17th century.

Since then we've had a black-led government consisting of the ANC and its alliance with the communists and trade union groups.
There have been massive efforts at wealth "redistribution", focusing mainly on Black Economic Empowerment and Affirmative Action quotas.
Dur to the skills shortage (fueled by the ANC's disastrous education policies), change in the top sectors of some companies has been slow, but it is definitely being pushed.
It is certainly true that most of the wealth lay in the hands of elite families and anglo-American corporations, but black people are active in all spheres and echelons of the economy.
They pretty much have their own elite families now, who are involved with various local and foreign interests.

This has resulted in an emerging black middle class (who were already emerging under apartheid) but sadly it has also led to a super-rich black elite with daily scandals of corruption and massive self-enrichment, often accompanied by socialist, anti-imperialist rhetoric (see Julius Malema, for example).

Currently the biggest trading partner of SA, and growing player in the region is China.

SA exports arms to various questionable regimes, and its biggest arms client is the US.

There are no armed conflicts in our region as such (except perhaps for crime, the repression in Zimbabwe by the Zanu-PF Marxists and outbreaks of xenophobia), unless one would include countries as far north as the Congo or Somalia in the definition of "southern Africa".
Both Mbeki and Mugabe have directly sent troops to those countries, often under a cloud of suspicion that they were securing their mining interests in central Africa.
But yeah, I'm sure there's lots of Swiss bank accounts from their plundering.

As for the whole occupation protest - I'd first like to hear exactly what they are protesting in our context, since we already have socialists and "anti-imperialists" in power, who pay lip service to the poor at every election.
I'm not sure how an extra protest would differ from the hypocritical politics we hear every day, and the annual gauntlet of violent strikes and mass actions.
I'm not sure what difference a few more people squatting on the pavement will make.
Will anybody even notice them?
I hope they bring change for the homeless, who will no doubt be pestering them day and night.

If you are South African (regardless of race) then you know how bad corruption is in our country. Not just in the ruling party (ANC) but in every single department. From the police where officers sell weapons from evidence rooms to high ranking officers trying to bribe the NPA for documents related to tender scams. From nurses and teachers who dont give a # about doing their work properly to hospitals that doesnt have equipment and schools no roofs, yet the money is available for exactly that purpose. I can go on and on, the evidence is already in the history books. Our country is rife with corruption and all we South Africans do is sit back and shake our heads whenever we read the news. This is not about race, nor is it naive as the OP said. We are reaching a point where all South Africans are starting to realise that we are not creating a legacy, but destroying one. Occupy South Africa? I'm there!


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I like how you demonize the movement before it exists. Do you even know how the GAs work? You're assuming they're going to fight against things that haven't been established. If you disagree with them on a topic, then go there and tell them that. That's what the GAs are for.

Rocket science, I know.

Within the context of South Africa there are already a number of "revolutionary" parties.
The whole rhetoric will strike many people as banal.

The last "revolutionary party" cost the taxpayers R106 million at the The World Festival of Students and Youth last year.
www.givengain.com...

Well, it's the first we've heard of it, and it's really up to them to tell South Africans what they are about, and what revolution they represent.

Knowing our complex history and forms of protest I just hope that the various revolutionaries won't be at each others' throats.

The ANC has ways of dealing with revolutionaries outside its official "revolution" (with swift action against groups like the Anti-Eviction Campaign or Pagad, and racist accusations against Afriforum).
Unless it's just going to be a middle class love in, it's bound to be an interesting show.

Ultimately the masses support the ANC and vote them into power, and their version of being revolutionary is to demonize the West (while still doing business with them) and supporting intolerant "revolutionary" dictators.
Really being "revolutionary" would thus amount to being "anti-revolutionary".
Couldn't they find a better word for SA?
It really does sound like more Marxist drivel, using a word that is associated with repression in Zimbabwe, and Malema's call to nationalize the mines or invading Botswana because they have an "imperialist" US airbase.
Great revolutionary thinking - invade Botswana but support Mugabe when millions of his terrorized people are here as refugees.

As long as they clean up after themselves, and don't cost the taxpayer or the poor any money (like other "revolutionary" events and their corrupt tenders) it could be interesting.

This seems to explain more, while really explaining nothing, except that "something" is wrong:
www.occupysa.org...

It mentions the Zeitgeist movement, which means that most of the churches will already be alienated.

They want to get rid of the monetary system, when the common motto in SA is that "we didn't have a struggle to be poor". The distribution of money and the striving for material wealth is what the revolution in SA is really about.
Clearly this was not written by somebody who was born in a shack.

Then we get a whole bunch of middle class concerns about paying the electricity (the masses have it connected illegally and recently burnt down an ANC councilor's house when she built meters - revolution SA style!), buying bags of groceries for R500, or why does my cellular phone not last forever? We are indeed flooded with junk from our revolutionary comrades in China, and they usually benefit from mass events by printing the T-shirts, while our own people are unemployed.

When they figure out where to actually protest and camp, I might ask them a few questions.

A lot of South Africans already have a clear idea of what "revolution" means to them, and it's not daffodils swaying to John Lennon. It's a scary Marxist picture of the seizure of productive farms and the nationalization of major industries.
The tone of this movement sounds more New Age.

However they do correctly point out: Nobody wants to spend time in a local jail.
No comrades we certainly do not!

reply to post by halfoldman


You are able to put a lot of my unwritten concerns into words. Getting to the root issues of this whole Occupy SA copycat movement seems to be like trying to grab a handful of slippery eels. There are far too many agendas in this country - I do not see your average householder standing shoulder to shoulder with the Malema's and the Terreblanches of this world.

Thank you for you balanced and logical responses in this thread.

After this morning's blogging, I watched the local E-TV news with great expectations this evening.

They only said one sentence on Occupy SA, and showed no footage whatsoever.
Instead they showed footage of Italy.

Just saw it mentioned that there was a meeting in Cape Town's Company Gardens and Grahamstown, hardly the centers of finance.

I can't find any images or news on the web so far either.
Maybe tomorrow's Sunday papers will have more.
Seems to be a bit of an elitist student and hipster event (or non-event).
Unfortunately (or rather fortunately) the real revolutionary masses did not arrive.
Phew...at least nobody had to redistribute their precious mobile phones.

reply to post by halfoldman


Moneyweb has posted an article:

South Africans gathered outside the JSE under the banner of the “Occupy SA movement” click here to view our gallery.

Thembisa residents demanded wind turbines and renewable energy. Others called for the death of capitalism.

In Cape Town more than 100 Capetonians protested.

The Occupy JSE movement managed to attract over 100 people before it dissipated. One wonders what crowds the ANCYL and Cosatu’s march to the JSE on October 27-28 will draw.

Moneyweb

The October 27th march is the one I am concerned about. COSATU are militant, so Sandton could become a warzone if tempers get frayed.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


Thanks for the link.

The headline reads: "Occupy JSE fails to draw crowds".
Looks like a few fringe organizations, and nothing that will steal the official ANC/COSATU revolution's thunder.
No wonder it didn't even make the news.
However, I'm sure some of the slogans will be gradually co-opted by the wider socialist movements, as long as they are critical of Western capitalism and not the ANC and their allies.

The only constant is change. And change we must. Our state media is 'kettling' our thoughts. Our tolerant rainbow nation has drawn corporate greed to the treasures at its ends. Our government have charted an aimless foreign policy into doldrum waters, and for a revolutionary party like the ANC to bury their heads in the sand and dig their feet in, is defeatist. We are the great hope of the UN, that others might see our great achievement and follow our peaceful and prosperous footprints.

All of our leaders have squandered the opportunity to move our semi-autonomous country to the next level. Depravity, addiction, solicitisation and mass murder have gripped our great nation. We have been left behind in the early 2000's while our prestigious ministers and representatives have bickered over power and sought financial beachheads in our resource rich country. 'Hev you tried spoke wif a cop lately?'

But we know the problems. What are the solutions?

We can't do anything that doesn't work. We've had a lot of practice at that. So we look to the nation, the 99%. We cannot solve these problems with conflict. We cannot solve these problems with the tools that the regime has given us, or can we?

We have the net.
We have each other.
We have a lot more besides.

The Oppenheimer regime that succeeded the Rhodes regime has not for a second stop serving his colonial masters in England, America and the Vatican. His, and other monopolies in our country, along with a list we are still compiling will do well to prepare for their TRC hearings in the near future.
We have been coerced, duped, hijacked.....re-colonised.

Occupy the country. Occupy the planet. This is the last time, we as humanity, can pledge our efforts to the sustained freedoms and civil liberties that we have been wrongfully denied for over 4000 years.

This is our time. And it will be ours forever.
Love to all.

I am sorry to say, but this was a failed attempt from the beginning.

All you fellow South Africans know that this will not happen here. It is a very nice ideal, and a good idea, but people here just are not interested. Also, i was not even aware of it, and i try to stay up to date with these things. Now imagine how the mayority of people in SA was not aware of it either, and you will understand how this was a no go.

There was nothing said about this at all, and the bit that was, was for the minority who even knows about the whole OWS movement. In SA that is not alot.

vvv

sn't south africa already occupied by the descendants of illegal white english and boer colonialists who are in charge of raping and pillaging all of south africas minerals and wealth and transferring them to harmless and "innocent" neutral country's like switzerland where bankers use the funds to loan to genocidal warlords in the region to buy arms from american weapons manufacturers and then use them to depopulate the continent of "worthless eaters" so the ravaging and theft of minerals and resources can continue to go unstopped, unchecked and with minimal resistance.

Wow, basically calling all white people in SA descendants of rapits and murderers. Are you South African?

I see what you are trying to do with this ignorant comment of yours, but i guess i can ask the same of any country in the world basically.

vvv