If youve been following much international news, youve probably heard that, after literally years of scandal, abuse, and incompetence, South Africas president Jacob Zuma was finally forced to resign last week.
This is a big deal for South Africa.
The country has been suffering for nearly a decade under Zumas corruption.
And people are certainly hoping that the new President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will represent a positive, new chapter for South Africa.
Yesterday Ramaphosa addressed the nations parliament in Cape Town and made clear that his priority is to heal the divisions and injustice of the past, going all the way back to the original European colonists in the 1600s taking land from the indigenous tribes.
Ramaphosa called this original sin, and stated that he wants to see the return of the land to the people from whom it was taken
to heal the divisions of the past.
How does he plan on doing that?
Confiscation. Specifically confiscation without compensation.
The expropriation of land without compensation is envisaged as one of the measures that we will use to accelerate redistribution of land to black South Africans.
Ramaphosa minced no words: hes talking about taking land from white farmers and giving it to black South Africans.
Astonishingly, he followed up that statement by saying, We will handle it in a way that is not going to damage our economy. . .
Wow, what a relief. For a minute it sounded like South Africa wants to do what Zimbabwe did several years ago.
Oh wait a minute.
Thats exactly what Zimbabwe did.
Seeking to correct similar colonial and Apartheid-era injustices in his country, Zimbabwes president Robert Mugabe initiated a land redistribution program in 1999-2000.
Thousands of white-owned farms were confiscated by the government, and the farmers were forced out.
Bear in mind that Zimbabwe used to be known as the breadbasket of southern Africa. Zimbabwes world-class farmers were major food exporters to the rest of the region.
But within a few years of Mugabes land distribution, food production plummeted.
Without its professional, experienced farmers, the nation went from being an agricultural export powerhouse to having to rely on handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme.
Hyperinflation and a multi-decade depression followed.
If theres an economic model in the world that you DONT want to follow, its Zimbabwe.
And youd think that the politicians in neighboring South Africa would know that.
They had a front-row seat to the effects of Mugabes land redistribution, not to mention they had to absorb millions of starving Zimbabwean refugees who came across their borders.
Yet this is precisely the policy that they want to adopt.
However you might feel about social justice, it seems pretty clear that copying Zimbabwe is a pretty stupid idea
and will only end up hurting the people they claim to be helping.
Yet the president claims that they want to initiate a land redistribution program that wont impact the economy or South Africas food security.
And of course, the most important reality is that anyone who willfully chooses to copy Zimbabwes economic model deserves to suffer the consequences of their stupidity.