The Betrayal of a Nation Dr. EV Rapiti — Cape Town, July 20, 2025

Western colonialism never stopped; it merely morphed—continuing its relentless plunder of poor nations.

The Betrayal of a Nation
Dr. EV Rapiti — Cape Town, July 20, 2025

Western colonialism never stopped; it merely morphed—continuing its relentless plunder of poor nations.

📈 The Power of Entrepreneurship
The broader masses would prosper if governments actively encouraged them to become entrepreneurs—charting their own destinies, creating wealth, and building resilient communities. Yet, most remain trapped as faceless workers in large corporations, mere numbers following instructions. These people are constantly at risk of being replaced, retrenched, or discarded—even in the prime of their careers—when companies restructure, collapse, or are bought out.

🌍 Echoes of Colonialism
Colonialism began in the late 15th century, when European powers like Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, and the Netherlands used force to dominate indigenous populations. This laid the foundation for extractive economies and entrenched racial hierarchies—conditions that remain deeply embedded today.

💣 Modern Forms of Imperialism
Western influence persists through military interventions, economic sanctions, and political manipulation. Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan are examples where “democracy” served as a smokescreen for access to oil, minerals, and geopolitical control.

🏢 Corporate Power and Exploitation
Multinational corporations headquartered in the West shape the economies of developing nations. Their investments often come with a high cost:
- Exploiting cheap labor and weak regulations
- Extracting resources with minimal reinvestment
- Undermining local businesses and creating long-term dependency
- Polluting the environment with impunity, leaving communities to suffer from poisoned air, contaminated water, and degraded ecosystems

These corporations are rarely held accountable for the ecological and social devastation they leave behind, protected by powerful legal teams and cozy relationships with governments.

⚠️ The Cycle of Instability
External interference, arms sales, and support for authoritarian regimes have birthed a cycle of poverty and violence. Many regions in Africa and the Middle East remain destabilized, marked by displacement, suffering, and systemic chaos.

🇿🇦 South Africa: A Nation Let Down
Three decades after democracy, the ANC has destroyed the country’s economy, infrastructure, and future—racking up R4 trillion in debt and reducing South Africa to a beggar state. Politicians from all major parties feed from the same trough, while ordinary citizens scrape to survive.

The ruling party’s ministers regularly make headlines—not for progress, but for stealing billions with zero improvement to infrastructure or poverty relief.

They pride themselves on creating a socialist state where over 30% of citizens survive on a meager grant. Meanwhile, unemployment exceeding 50% has created a fertile ground for corruption, with law enforcement, government, and the judiciary either complicit or asleep.

🧨 Justice Denied
Gangs and cartels operate with impunity due to their deep ties to the justice system. Petty crimes are prosecuted to inflate statistics, while major offenses—murder, fraud, theft—go unpunished.

Healthcare is in ruins. Public hospitals are understaffed, overwhelmed, and under-resourced. Private hospitals, motivated by profit, conduct unnecessary tests just to fill beds—turning healthcare into a cash cow. The proposed National Health Insurance (NHI), backed by a 7% tax, is poised to join the long list of failed state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Education is in tatters

Our education department and institutions are completely out of sync with the demands of a modern job market. Most graduates hold qualifications for which there are no jobs. Tertiary institutions seem indifferent to the fact that their alumni are left unemployed and burdened with student debt—as long as these bloated institutions and their staff continue to survive.

A matric certificate—for a cleaning job

To get a casual cleaning job with the City of Cape Town, applicants must have a matric certificate. This requirement reveals just how little that certificate is actually worth.

Time for a radical shift

Students should be trained in practical technical skills and AI—where the future of employment is unfolding. But our education policies still cling to outdated colonial blueprints introduced by the British over a century ago. The world has moved on, yet our policymakers remain smugly stuck in the past.

🏚️ The Graveyard of SOEs
South Africa’s SOEs—once functional pillars of progress—now lie in ruins:
- Eskom: A collapsing energy utility plagued by corruption and rolling blackouts
- Transnet: Rail and port inefficiencies hurting trade and logistics
- SAA (South African Airways): Grounded by mismanagement and chronic debt
- PRASA: Public transport in disarray, leaving commuters stranded
- Telkom: A telecommunications giant cannibalized by poor leadership
- SABC: A national broadcaster drowning in financial woes
- Denel: A defense firm crippled by scandals
- Post Office and Alexkor: Reduced to shadows of their former purpose

💸 Corruption at the Top
From presidents stashing millions in sofas to ministers implicated in VBS and Gupta-related scandals, South Africa’s leadership operates with impunity. Expensive inquiries reveal the truth, only to have it diluted or buried.

Most politicians use power as a pathway to enrich themselves and their families, cloaked in the pretense of serving the public.

🏙️ Cape Town’s Disconnected Leadership
The recent 20% increase in municipal rates in Cape Town is a clear example of leadership detached from the people. While top councillors earn up to R10,000 a day, struggling families—many living on R6,000 a month—grapple with soaring transport costs, inflated water and electricity bills, and property rates that crush the working poor.

📢 A Call for Accountability
We need a new system—where salaries are capped, perks removed, and officials held accountable by an empowered judiciary and fearless law enforcement. No one should be immune to prosecution.

This principle must apply globally. Government officials found guilty of corruption must face real consequences.

🌍 A Nation of Potential, Squandered
South Africa is rich in resources—but crippled by mismanagement. The government’s racial equity policies, which exclude other groups from employment, are pushing us toward more crime, deeper division, and the threat of secession. If left unchecked, we will spiral toward anarchy.

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Author’s Note
Dr. Rapiti has served the people of Mitchells Plain for over 42 years and fought for South Africa’s liberation. He writes this with deep sorrow, bearing witness to how the dream of democracy has betrayed its citizens. Each day, he counsels patients battling the emotional toll of living under a government that has turned its back on its people.