COULD BIKO PLAN SAVE SOUTH AFRICA?

In today's South Africa, White people still hold over two-thirds of the country's wealth, despite making up less than 10 per cent of the population. The economic divide is as bad as it was during apartheid.

But this shouldn’t surprise you. Some fifty years ago, anti-apartheid icon Steve Biko warned the wealth-gap would remain unless racist economic structures are dismantled. His solution was simple, a combination of state and private enterprise.

He wanted the government to run strategic industries like mining and forestry and own land for the benefit of the people. That hasn’t happened. In fact, it’s estimated just 3,5000 individuals own 15 per cent of all wealth in South Africa.

Biko railed against racist policies from an early age, which saw him expelled from school. While at university he founded the South African Students Organisation (SASO) to represent the interests of Black students. And later he established the Black Consciousness Movement (BMC) to counter apartheid White propaganda which constantly told Blacks they were inferior.

In 1977 Biko was detained by the notorious ‘security’ branch of the apartheid police force. He suffered a brain haemorrhage after being beaten by officers. Instead of taking him to hospital, police transported him to a Pretoria prison. It was a journey of more than 700 kilometres that he endured chained in the back of a pickup truck. Within hours of his arrival, he died. He was just 30 years old.

Biko’s shocking death sparked outrage across South Africa and beyond. More than 20,000 people turned up for his funeral in his hometown of King Williams Town. The country was robbed of a future leader who would have played a key role in the post-apartheid South Africa.

He was born on December 18th 1946, and to mark his birthday we've decided to run this speech. He outlines his plans for a prosperous, fair, South Africa. Could this action plan work today?