Flip Buys | Chairperson: Solidarity Movement
Afrikaners are the only indigenous Western community in Africa, and they have named themselves (Afrikaners), their language (Afrikaans) and many of their institutions after the name of the continent.
As a community of 2,7 million people, Afrikaners have often been called the “white tribe of Africa”. Afrikaners want to make a lasting contribution to the well-being of South Africa and of all its people. For this reason, the Solidarity Movement is trying to create the conditions for Afrikaners to remain in South Africa, being sustainably free, safe and prosperous. The majority of Afrikaners are involved in the Solidarity Movement, a network of community organizations with more than 600 000 members. The Movement’s strategy is to provide services there where the state cannot, does not want to or should not provide services.
Most Afrikaners are Christians, subscribing to conservative values such as:
- A belief in the Rule of Law;
- A free market economy;
- Democracy and individual rights;
- Federalism;
- Good relations with black compatriots and African states;
- Maintaining strong ties with the West; and
- Preserving the Afrikaner’s language (Afrikaans) and culture.
The main challenges we are currently facing are:
- SA has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, namely 33%; (The reason for it lies in the ANC’s leftist policies in particular. The ANC is still formally in alliance with the South African Communist Party and with socialist trade unions.)
- The ANC-led government of national unity’s ties with states such as China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, as well as organizations such as Hamas, and the ANC’s increasingly dismissive attitude towards the West.
- State decay as illustrated by this map
- The ANC did not abolish the racial dispensation after 1994 but simply reversed it and put it under new management. Few people know that research by the Free Market Foundation (FMF) and the South Africa Institute of Race Relations found that 116 new racial laws have been passed since the ANC came into power 30 years ago
- Violent crime;
- Official policies such as expropriation without compensation which undermine economic confidence;
The Solidarity Movement is currently building the cultural infrastructure so that Afrikaners can stay on in South African and can make a sustainable contribution towards the well-being of the country and all its people.
State decay and racial legislation have forced Afrikaners to become more state-resistant and self-reliant. That is why the Movement has more than 20 self-help organizations providing services such as education, training, a proper “state of work” (job security), safety, municipal infrastructure, heritage conservation and the promotion of the Rule of Law. We also assist black communities with agricultural projects also for the sake of better food security.
Our current flagship project is a comprehensive project to build a university campus for our fast-growing Christian university, Akademia. We are also planning an independent Afrikaans schools’ network in response to the government’s policy to centralize control over schools even more.
This is but one example of the ANC government’s breach of the country’s Constitution and the historic 1994 Agreement.
The purpose of the Solidarity Movement’s international liaison is to create awareness about the state of affairs in South Africa and to garner support for our views and self-help projects.
