–– Paul Schlehlein
In September 2023, at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington D.C, Congressman John James examined the current status of the United States/South Africa relationship. His speech shows that American officials are keenly aware of some of South Africa’s disastrous policies.
John James is a Christian, a West Point Military Academy graduate, an 8-year Army veteran, a successful businessman and now serves as a politician in the House of Representatives. He also narrowly lost his bid to become Michigan’s first African-American senator.
During the three minutes in which Mr. James spoke, he began by praising the cordial relations between South Africa and the United States for the past several decades. South Africa has been America’s largest trading partner in Africa since 2014 and is the home of hundreds of American businesses.
However, Congressman James also recognized that while the story of South Africa is one of hope, he believes the ANC (that is, the ruling African National Congress) is no longer the party of Nelson Mandela. This is because the party is “motivated by perpetuating a system of elite capture built on corruption and increasing government dependence through its national democratic revolution.” Mr. James bemoans South Africa’s increasing relationship with Communist China and Putin’s Russia.
But the central point of James’s speech was that after 30 years of ANC rule, South Africa is more dependent than ever on a failing government that is unable to provide its citizens with even the most basic necessities.
Mr. James gives two examples of the ANC’s failed policies. First is BEE, or Black Economic Empowerment. This organization was supposed to give South African citizens access to the economy. Instead, it has been undermined by nepotism and corruption so that the powers that be can enrich themselves.
James referenced a recent article stating that in 1999, 2.5 million South Africans were dependent on government grants. That number has ballooned to 19 million today. These days in South Africa, more people live off grants than salaries. The Daily Investor writes that 27.3 million South Africans live on grants but only seven million pay taxes.
According to James, this is not by accident. The South African government wants more people on grants. More grants mean more control. As the story of Israel’s King Saul teaches us, too much control in the hands of a small group of men always leads to disaster.
The second example of the ANC’s failed policies is Land Reform, specifically expropriation without compensation. This destroys South Africa’s property rights. Without personal property, a nation plummets into communism, poverty and anarchy. The 8th commandment that came down from Sinai through Moses assumes personal property. “Thou shalt not steal.” But stealing is exactly what progressive land reform reforms want to do.
The ANC claims that their Land Reform laws are popular, even though their own studies show that just 2% of the population thinks land reform is an issue. James is correct—no country in the world has remained prosperous after stealing away personal property rights.
But Mr. James also offers hope to South African citizens with these seven words: hard work, perseverance and getting a shot. This, in part, is the way out of poverty. Nations that offer their people equal opportunities, and not promises of equal outcomes, place them on the road to prosperity. And those citizens must respond to these opportunities with hard work and determination.
As the Parable of the Talents teaches us in Matthew 25, God gives gifts and opportunities to everyone, though these gifts are not distributed equally. The issue is not how much we have but how faithful we are in stewarding what our Creator has bestowed.
If we bury our gift or are moved to jealousy over another’s gifts and refuse to work, then as 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, neither may we eat. Our gift will be taken from us. But if we work hard with what God has given us, even if it be small, God will bless these efforts to the point that individuals and nations will enjoy an eventual life of bounty.