Pretoria - A generation of black people needs to be willing to make the necessary sacrifices for future generations to become economically liberated in their own country.
It is that sacrifice that Soshanguve author Sakhile Sibiya is hoping to inspire in the current generation though his book titled, "Black Man! Are you Stupid?
Sibiya launched his first book at the Christ-Centred Chapel of Grace in Soshanguve Block L yesterday.
Sibiya said he had deliberately used a controversial and provocative title as he had no intention of giving a lullaby but rather a rude awakening to black people of the continent.
He said although black people were the indigenous people of the continent, it was sad that they were the worst treated and excluded in most spheres of life and economically inept too.
Given that there are 48 million black people on the continent and only five million white people, Sibiya said what was worrying was that the 48 million were dependent on the five million for practically all their basic necessities and wants.
"Black people have the strongest buying power and they need to know that even if other races continue to support the big retail giants should they withhold the black purchasing power for just three months those same giant companies would collapse."
"We have economic power because we are the economy but the truth that has illuded us is that we have turned ourselves into the unsuspecting cash cow for all the other races."
Sibiya said he wrote the book with the hope of reshaping the mindset of black people in order for them to realise that the ability to propel themselves into economic giants like other races was indeed still possible.
"Black people spend 96% of their purchasing power supporting and promoting the industries of other races and that needs to stop because if we fail to dominate in Africa there is nowhere else we can dominate."
"As it stands if I give a black person five hours and R10 000 to buy their necessities from black-owned stores only, I know a large chunk of that money would come back unused."
Sibiya added that the book seeks not only to propel black people to be willing to do the work needed by supporting black businesses, but also be willing to be brutally honest and frank when giving feedback in order to enable those businesses to do better.
He said unlike other books written on reshaping black people on joining the economic race, this book was better contextualised for the South African environment.
It retails for R280 and is available via sakhilesibiya.co.za
Pretoria News