What is happening to former colonies in Africa? By Merelize van der Merwe (a black African living in South Africa)
White colonials built roads, bridges, railroads, schools, farms, and modern cities. When Black Africans took over everything begin to decline. Why?
The truth is- there's no word for maintenance in most African languages.
Not because the people are incapable, but because they were never taught the concept.
Not taught to maintain roads, businesses, relationships, or values.
If something breaks, it’s discarded, blamed, or left to rot.
Never fixed. Never preserved. Never owned. And now, South Africa is breaking.
Major international companies are pulling out:
Shell, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Rolex, TotalEnergies, AngloGold Ashanti,
even BP’s aviation fuel division—
all leaving behind a trail of economic opportunity and jobs. Why?
Because there’s no stability.
No long-term vision.
No culture of keeping things working—of pride in what we have. And without maintenance, nothing lasts.
Just look at the numbers. South Africa Stats
confirmed:
523 businesses liquidated so far. 112 shut down in April 2023 alone. 99 did it voluntarily, because they’d rather close shop than keep bleeding. 13 were forced to shut down. Africa is not just losing companies. They are losing trust.
Jobs.
Skills.
Hope. White farmer's land is being confiscated, and in some case - murdered.
What happened to white people in Rhodesia when the name was changed to Zimbabwe?
Although a significant number of Rhodesians remained, many of them emigrated in the early-1980s,
both in fear for their lives and an uncertain future. Political unrest
and the seizure of many White-owned commercial farms resulted in a
further exodus of Rhodesians commencing in 1999. Rhodesian farms produced enough food that they were known as the "breadbasket" of Africa. Today, Zimbabwe is a poor country and must import food.
Seven of the eight poorest countries in the world are in Africa. Until black government leaders know the value of maintaining what the white man built,
we'll keep watching it all fall apart. Not because Africans couldn't do better— but because they never learned how to keep it better.
Editorial Note: In America, Black Democrat run cities are not maintained. It's not because Black Democrats don't know the meaning of the word maintenance... they just don't care.
