Beyond Brilliance: Exploring Diamonds' Dark Side in South Africa

 

A diamond is forever!

You must remember this ad.

Diamond is one of the most precious jewels

in the world,

and the one who has a diamond

is the king of the world.

This equation is quite correct,

but there is a country that

was destroyed by these diamonds.

We are talking about South Africa.

And not just diamonds,

South Africa is the world's largest

producer of gold, chrome, manganese,

platinum, and is also

the world's 5th largest diamond producer,

yet the people there are poor.

Why so?

If you search about South Africa

on Google,

you will see such beautiful views,

but this is just for show.

From within, South Africa is full of

racism, inequality, poverty,

unemployment, and all such problems.

Let us understand about the economy

of South Africa.

Chapter One: History of 

South Africa.

The history of South Africa

is quite interesting because

this country was colonized

not just once but twice.

Why and how?

Let us understand.

The British were colonizers.

They colonized many countries like India,

but other countries of Europe

were also as cruel as the British.

The Spanish, the French, the Portuguese,

all these countries would capture

another country

and plunder their natural resources,

and then leave them poor.

This formula was invented

by the whole of Europe

and mastered by the British,

but the wounds of colonization

still hurt the whole world.

South Africa is a living example of this.

In the 17th century, Dutch ships traveled

from the Netherlands to South Africa.

Their target was also to reach India.

The name of this company was also

Dutch East India Company.

In 1647, one of their ships was destroyed

near the coast of South Africa.

Its sailors were left with no option

other than farming

on the peak of South Africa.

After some time

these sailors were rescued.

They reported that

India is difficult to find

but South Africa is a good resting spot.

There is a lot of area here

where farming can be done,

so we can do farming here

for the coming journey.

This sinking boat of Dutch sailors

was sure to sink South Africa

in the times to come.

Employees of the Dutch East India Company

started farming on South African land.

They also started a trading outpost

in the Cape Town area

so that they could trade

with passing ships.

Look at the South African cricket team,

don't their names seem strange?

Van der Dussen, Du Plessis, De Kock,

all these names highlight

their Dutch history.

In fact, many cricketers playing

from the Netherlands today were also born

in South Africa.

The Netherlands and South Africa have

a special connection.

The Netherlands changed

the demography of South Africa.

Today, people from Madagascar,

East Africa, and even Indonesia

are seen here because Dutch traders

brought them as slaves to South Africa.

The employees of

the Dutch East India Company

started settling in South Africa

after their contracts ended.

They were given the name Vrijburghers.

Vrijburghers means free citizens.

This was the first colonization

of South Africa.

Now coming to the second colonization.

The British occupied South Africa in 1806.

Here there were not only African tribals

but also Free Burghers

who were against the British,

they also wanted to run away from

the atrocities of the British.

Then they slowly started moving

towards the North.

The British fought several wars

against the local tribes and the Dutch,

and eventually, they gained control

over the entire South Africa.

South Africa was then known

as the Cape Colony.

Chapter 2: A Diamond's 

Curse.

European countries had no interest

in South Africa at all.

They wanted to trade with India.

South Africa was just a resting stop,

but in 1867 diamonds were found there

and the fortune of this country changed.

There was a revolution in South Africa

which is also called

the Mineral Revolution,

and this Mineral Revolution transformed

South Africa from an agrarian tribal area

to an industrialized nation.

They needed strong and powerful slaves

of good build to work in the mines.

When diamonds were found

for the first time in a town named

Kimberley,

prospectors started coming there

in great numbers.

Everyone wanted to try their luck.

When people found surface diamonds,

they had to dig deeper,

and for deeper excavation

they needed machines.

Steam powered machines,

and more advanced technology,

all this was not available

with the normal labor,

and then South Africa's mining industry

began to be controlled

by a few corporations.

Whoever had money, bought big machines

and started controlling the mines.

Big companies started acquiring

small mines.

You must've heard the name of the company,

DeBeers,

or must have seen their ads at least.

A diamond is forever.

DeBeers bought all the mines

in the Kimberley area.

In fact, when DeBeers founder Cecil Rhodes

died in 1902, DeBeers controlled

90% of the world's diamond supply.

These companies would pay very low wages

to laborers to increase their profits.

Machine operators got higher salaries

and ordinary laborers got lower salaries.

In fact, DeBeers began to feel that

their laborers were smuggling diamonds

into the black market,

so they set up strip clubs.

No, these are not the strip clubs

you are thinking of.

In these strip clubs,

laborers were stripped and searched

to check whether they had stolen diamonds,

and the company itself

would provide accommodation.

Basically, from then onwards segregation

i.e. discrimination had started.

At the same time, the number of workers

working in these mines was increasing,

and hence the demand for infrastructure,

food, and all these things

was also increasing.

But some mines were on people's farms,

and mining companies had bought

the farms of many people,

so there were food shortages.

To sort out the food shortages,

different capitalists bought farms

and commercialized farming.

Farmers started growing cash crops

such as sugarcane, coffee,

tobacco, and cotton.

During this time, the local population

started having wars with the British,

and after these wars,

the British started bringing their laws

to their Cape Colony.

Finally, after many protests,

South Africa became

the Union of South Africa in 1910.

After this, the Natives Act of 1913

was passed in which it was written

that the local black population

could not own land there.

Racial segregation was properly legalized

in 1948.

People were classified into 3 categories,

whites, blacks,

Indians and colored people.

This is called apartheid.

Whites had all the rights,

they owned most of the properties,

lived in good areas,

and got all the facilities.

At this point, I have something vital

to discuss with you,

and that is the White Man's Burden,

which means that white people have

a God-given duty.

They believe that God has made them

superior to other people,

and this is seen

in the case of South Africa as well.

White people majorly owned

mining companies.

So basically the logic was that

you can take anything from non-whites.

After all their resources are not theirs,

they belong to you,

and you can become rich by using them.

There is no question of

right and wrong in this.

No matter how wrong it may seem,

it is the white man's burden

to improve the world

and do whatever is necessary for that.

This model is seen

in many other countries too,

but it went to an extreme level

in South Africa.

Due to racial segregation,

whites and non-whites

were treated differently.

They were allowed to live

in different areas.

White people lived in posh areas,

and everyone else lived in slums.

Many international sanctions were imposed

on South Africa to end this apartheid.

And finally in 1994,

they removed all the laws

of racial segregation.

Chapter 3: The post-

apartheid world.

The story of South Africa

is like a diamond.

A diamond seems very valuable,

but both coal and diamond

are made of carbon.

At least electricity is generated

by burning coal,

but what is the use of diamond,

what is the value of diamond?

Marketing of diamonds

is the value of a diamond.

There is no real use of diamonds

except for a few industries,

but the marketing of diamonds is so strong

that is why the price of diamonds

keeps increasing.

After the end of apartheid in 1994,

the African National Congress party

came to power.

People thought that this party

would change everything.

People with whom bad things happened

will now get justice.

Society will finally become more equal.

But just like South African cricket team

chokes in crucial moments,

this country South Africa

also chokes in crucial moments.

Today's South Africa is like a diamond

but this diamond does not shine.

Why?

Because South Africa is

as segregated today as it was before.

Their unemployment rate is around 35%,

and the youth unemployment rate

is around 60%.

Crime is rampant in the country,

so much so that every house has

an electric fence,

it is impossible to live without it.

There's still 12 hours of load shedding

in South Africa,

and it's worse, especially in rural areas.

The demand for power here is high

and the supply is very low.

At the same time,

due to the high crime rate,

there are thefts in power stations,

so their funds go towards rectifying

the deficiency.

Nelson Mandela is considered

the hero of South Africa.

He fought against apartheid.

But his party ANC

has become corrupt today.

It runs almost 700 state-owned companies,

and fills its pockets due to corruption.

Now you must be wondering

what is the relation of all this

with economics.

Come on, it's time for Economics 101.

Let me explain to you a concept

called budget.

It seems quite simple

but it has far-reaching impacts.

A budget means

a list of expenses and income.

Every entity, whether it is a person,

a company, or a country, has some income.

Money comes in from some sources,

and the same money is spent

at different places.

Some money is also invested

for future use.

Money is allocated for every work.

But when it comes to problems,

it is important to think about

why the problems are not being solved

despite paying money.

South Africa spends 5% of its budget

on economic infrastructure,

5% on police forces,

13% on basic education,

17% on various grants, child support,

and social security,

but the results are not visible.

This means that corrupt politicians

do embezzlement.

Chapter 4: Lessons for 

India.

All the problems of South Africa are

like a maze.

The majority of the black population

is poor because of old apartheid policies,

but the majority of business owners,

majority of land owners,

are all white people.

If poverty is to be reduced in the country

then basic facilities will have to be

provided to the people.

Clean drinking water,

good quality education,

uninterrupted power supply,

so that people can increase their skills

and take new jobs

or start some business themselves.

But in South Africa,

there are 12-12 hours of power cuts.

The power supply is so unreliable that

businesses are unable to operate properly.

As a result, the unemployment rate

in the country is high.

The crime rate is high

due to high unemployment.

When the African National Congress

was elected, they promised that

the rules of apartheid would be canceled,

there would be progress in South Africa,

and they would erase the impact

of the apartheid policy,

but they turned out to be corrupt.

They started filling their own pockets

with everything,

and the common people of the country

had to suffer the loss due to this.

This is a maze

and South Africa is stuck in it.

The tragic thing is that

many of these problems

are preventable problems.

According to a government report,

South Africa's demand was increasing

but their electricity surplus

was going to last only till the year 2007,

after which they would have to

increase power generation.

But there is no competition

in the electricity sector,

hence decisions were not taken

at the right time.

And earlier the country that used to

sell surplus power to other countries,

today the same country is bearing

load shedding for 12-12 hours.

Power demand is increasing in India too,

but every few months we read news

that there is a coal shortage.

We are taking big steps

in renewable energy,

but still, the majority is dependent

on coal.

Solar power produces

only 6% of electricity.

In fact, recently load shedding took place

in Pune during Diwali.

We need reforms in the electricity sector,

and that too urgently.

South Africa is a reminder to us that

while per capita GDP is important,

it can also be misleading.

The per capita GDP of South Africa

is 6,776 dollars

and that of India is 2,388 dollars.

But looking at these numbers,

it cannot be said that a common person

in South Africa is 3 times richer than us

because all the wealth is concentrated

in the hands of a few people.

South Africa is one of

the most unequal countries in the world.

The Gini coefficient measures inequality

in society

i.e. how much difference there is

between rich and poor.

The Gini coefficient of

South Africa is 0.6.

For context, India's is 0.35.

In this coefficient,

a value of 0 means a highly equal society

and 1 means a highly unequal society.

This means South Africa is

a very unequal society,

and this is reflected in

the rest of their indicators as well.

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When seen from a distance, it seems that

every country except India is perfect,

there are so many wonderful

scenes and views everywhere,

but the truth is that

no country is perfect,

it has to be made perfect.

And conveying this important thing

to you matters to me.

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