DURBAN - Amid a growing public outcry about certain banks allegedly racially profiling black people and excessive political influence within the banking sector, analysts and political parties have called for the establishment of alternative banks in South Africa.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe weighed in and said it was of “historical record that South African banks colluded with apartheid and colonialism” and, therefore, these banks continued to oil the apartheid machinery by racially profiling black people and targeting certain companies.
“In the final analysis, why should black people expect to be treated differently by the sector that benefited from their oppression?
“What the banking sector has done is to co-opt a few blacks to give an impression that the sector has changed. These individuals have become defenders of the sector that remains untransformed in terms of racially exploitative practices.”
Seepe said the idea of creating a state bank had been around for several years, but it had not materialised because the “new mandarins are comfortably perched in positions that require them not to disrupt the status quo”.
He warned that even if such a bank was to be established, the other commercial banks would rush to the courts and make claims of unfair banking practices and the likelihood was that the courts would rule in their favour.
“The problem has largely been less about the oppressors and more about the oppressed prolonging their plight. As things stand, I have no faith in this administration doing anything that will upset white monopoly capital.”
Independent political analyst Professor Tumi Senokoane echoed Seepe’s sentiments and said that it was advisable to have a state-owned bank for the sovereignty of a state to be intact.
“The state bank’s founding documents should be in such a way that it is not dependent on the political order of the day or who is the ruling party. If this does not happen, the state-owned bank might be abused to punish and exclude those not favoured by the politics of the day. The policies of a state-owned bank must be well defined to avoid tampering,” Senokoane said.
ActionSA spokesperson in KZN, Busi Radebe, said there was a need to create a conducive business environment in the banking and financial sector.
“The banking sector should be regulated and not left to their own accord. However that, too, requires a concerted government effort championed by ethical leaders who will not be victims of bribery and corruption at the expense of the people. The government of the day cannot be trusted as such and that is why we as ActionSA are working hard to ensure that South Africans choose us as a viable alternative to the rot that decapitated our country,” said Radebe.
Leader of the Black First Land First party Andile Mngxitama said the banks were a law unto themselves and accused them of meddling in politics.
“The banks are weapons of mass destruction … they are corrupt from fixing the rand to multiple uncompetitive actions and straight-up corruption.
“There shall never be an independent black business so long as banks are white-owned. A genuine black-owned bank is long overdue. All the commercial banks in South Africa are partly funded by the government. The state has massive financial muscle to sponsor a black-owned independent bank or a state-owned bank like in China and make it provide affordable services, as an alternative for the masses,” Mngxitama said.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said: “To provide a comprehensive position on the establishment of a state-owned bank, the IFP would need to interrogate the ‘blueprint’ for this project, and the possible sources of funding.
“We believe that South Africa cannot fund a new SOE when there are more basic service delivery issues that need to be addressed, such as communities without a reliable water supply or children still being forced to use pit latrines at school.
“It is important to note that at present, most, if not all, state-owned entities are a drain on the fiscus. We are therefore concerned about the viability of creating a new SOE when the government is unable to manage the existing entities in a manner that is beneficial to the people of South Africa,” said Hlengwa.
Daily News