Let me educate you not with anger, but with truth. You assume South Africans lack exposure. You assume we believe other African countries are poor and undeveloped. That is not the case. We know the reality. We know Nigeria has oil. We know Ghana has gold. We know Kenya has tech. We know Botswana has diamonds. We know Zambia has copper. We know Zimbabwe has platinum and lithium. We know the DRC sits on $24 trillion in minerals. We know Africa is rich.
But here is what you do not understand, wealth beneath the ground does not translate to prosperity above it. You can have all the minerals in the world but if your leaders steal, your constitutions hostile towards humans rights, if your institutions are corrupt, if your people are divided by tribe, if your healthcare collapses, if your schools crumble, if your youth flee then you are poor. Not in resources. In governance. In accountability. In dignity.
We do not look down on Africa. We look at the mirror Africa refuses to face. We see our own flaws corruption, unemployment, crime and we fight them. We protest. We vote. We demand better. That is what makes us different. We do not run. We stay. We build. We hold our leaders accountable, even when it hurts.
You say we lack exposure. But we see you. We see your leaders flying overseas to get treated, some in our country to get medical treatment, while your children starve. We see your ports exporting raw minerals while your people have no jobs. We are not blind. We are not ignorant. We are honest.
The difference between South Africa and many other African countries is not wealth. It is the willingness to confront failure. We own ours. You run from yours. That is not a lack of exposure. That is a lack of accountability. And until you fix that, no mineral, no resource, no tweet will save you. Go home. Fix your house. Then talk to us about exposure.
Africa’s strategic corridors depend on long-term choices, not just geopolitics. At the Investing in African @MiningIndaba 2026, Kumba Iron Ore CEO, Mpumi Zikalala, highlighted Africa’s mineral wealth, young population and chance to build resilient corridors through collaboration.
First borns are really experimental kids hey.
First day of Grade 1, my parents put me on scholar transport. I was the only child going to a different school in that taxi, even my uniform was different 😭
When all the kids got off at their school… I also got off. Loya malume driver wasn’t even paying attention.
I confidently walked into a classroom, sat down and minded my business.
Then one kid came to me and said, “Ask your mom to buy you the same uniform as ours.”
That’s when it hit me.
I looked around.
Wrong uniform.
Wrong school.
I was LOST 😭😭😭
A teacher eventually noticed me, recognized my uniform and asked questions. Luckily I knew my dad’s number. My mom had to come fetch me.
Fast forward to my little sister’s first day of school — they made sure to personally take her. My mom even took a day off from work and walked her all the way to her classroom.
First borns suffered so the others could be raised properly.
We were the experiment. 💀