Should We Really Lament the Demise of the Black South African in Retail?

The products and services that we need to function in our daily lives cost money, and only a select few have it in abudance. So, for us plebeians, the lower the cost, the more appealing the product or service becomes. It's the law of demand! But, laws are meant to be broken, aren't they? It's not an anomaly for the law of demand to be absent in certain situations even for us plebeians, hence behavioural economics has been getting so much attention.

Here in South Africa, the foreigner has taken over what is otherwise locally known as the "spaza shop", which are just small retailers located in rural areas. One doesn't even walk for 5 minutes to get to the nearest one because they are at every corner. As for the black South African man, he has paled into insignificance as a result. But, as black South Africans, should we really lament the demise of the black man in the spaza shop?

South Africa transitioned into democracy in 1994, previously under the white-dominated apartheid regime, and is now known, or at least locally, as "The Rainbow Nation"; so one would expect it to be a land full of opportunity for the citizens. While it is for some, there's still so much left to be desired. Operation Dudula, "dudula" being a Zulu (one of the 11 official languages in the country) word meaning to "drive back", is a movement led by 33-year old Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini that has risen to prominence since its inception in June of 2021. On some podcast, Dlamini articulated his views on why strict border controls are very important, even going on to say that when the borders are being undermined, the constitution, and therefore democracy, is automatically undermined. It's worth noting that he has openly admitted not to be affiliated with any political party, but Operation Dudula is instead here to work for the people of South Africa as they believe that our leaders aren't doing their job. Their target is undocumented foreigners involved in drug deals, those alleged to be illegally occupying government property, and more  recently those who have taken over spaza shops. They aren't against immigration, they against it done without proper documentation.

What if, however, the demise of the local black man was the result of the foreign man being more competitive? Strict border controls are undeniably important, but how far can they go as to giving us the justice we believe we deserve if we aren't competitive? Amartya Sen, a nobel laureate in economics, once said "a book is of little value to an illiterate person." Such guts of Operation Dudula are admirable, because there are countless undocumented foreigners everywhere in the country. Something just had to be done about this! But, why didn't the local black man seize such opportunity the whole time? Because, it wasn't like this two decades ago, you would see a foreigner once in a blue moon.

Operation Dudula is very popular amongst the youth right now, because what has been happening in the country isn't the wonderland that the late great Nelson Mandela envisioned. Bravo Operation Dudula, bravo! But, let us have strict boarder controls so that the fruits of the land are reserved for the black South African man while also learning how to be competent so that we make optimal use of it, so that we all flourish.