MURRAY WILLIAMS : Tutu calls for wealth tax for whites - Cape Argus | IOL.co.za

21.8.11

Tutu calls for wealth tax for whites - Cape Argus | IOL.co.za




The book, The Humanist Imperative in South Africa, contains 26 essays by leading academics and public figures and is edited by Professor John de Gruchy.

As guest of honour, Tutu recounted the myriad ways apartheid had dehumanised South Africans.

“Apartheid damaged us all; not a single one of us has escaped.”

In a break from his prepared speech, Tutu said a “wealth tax” had been suggested during the TRC process, and had enjoyed support at the time.

Moments earlier, he had told the whites in the conference room: “You all benefited from apartheid. Your children went to fancy schools, you lived in posh suburbs.”

He stressed, however, that this did not mean all whites had supported apartheid.

Speaking to the Cape Argus after his speech, Tutu expanded on his wealth tax call.

“There were many in the white community who were ready for this (at the time of the TRC process).

“It could be quite piffling, maybe 1 percent of their stock exchange holdings. It’s nothing. But it could have helped... maybe building new homes, and that would have been an extraordinary symbol of their readiness.”

Asked whether he was again calling for a “wealth tax”, Tutu said: “That’s what I’m saying.”

He then laughed: “What were you doing in there (the conference centre)? Were you listening?”

Tutu did not say how he wished the tax to be implemented, but said he hoped whites themselves would “agitate” for it to be imposed upon them.

Throughout his speech, Tutu cited numerous examples of what he saw as apartheid’s impact, which had fundamentally been an “erosion of self-esteem” and the advent of “self-hate”. He blamed South Africa’s high crime rate on this, saying: “Thus we must not be surprised at the staggering statistics of violent crime, murder, rape.

Labels: Africa, Apartheid, Racism, south africa