{"id":100884,"date":"2025-09-26T14:39:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T12:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100884"},"modified":"2025-09-26T15:04:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T13:04:15","slug":"asri-report-helen-zille-the-mask-of-efficiency-and-the-cost-of-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/asri-report-helen-zille-the-mask-of-efficiency-and-the-cost-of-denial\/","title":{"rendered":"ASRI Report | Helen Zille, the Mask of Efficiency, and the Cost of Denial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n26 September 2025 | 14:53 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 ASRI Report | Dr Imraan Baccus – “Zille\u2019s \u2018efficiency\u2019 masks genocide denial & protects privilege.<\/p><\/div>\n

In this week\u2019s Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute\u2019s (ASRI Report)<\/em><\/a>, Senior Research Associate at ASRI and Political Analyst Dr Imraan Baccus weighed in on Helen Zille\u2019s controversial remarks and the wider implications of masking injustice under the language of efficiency.<\/p>\n

Dr Baccus described Zille\u2019s comments, particularly her dismissal of genocide as \u201ca big word\u201d and her claim that she has \u201cnever been to Gaza\u201d as profoundly unsettling. He compared such denial to refusing the reality of the Holocaust simply because one had not been to Europe. \u201cThe humanity of Palestinians means very little for people like Zille,\u201d<\/em> he argued, stressing that the bombing of hospitals, the starvation of civilians, and the destruction of universities cannot be written off as \u201ccollateral damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linking Zille\u2019s rhetoric to colonial patterns, Baccus explained that denial has long been a tool of empire. \u201cColonial powers historically justified their actions by portraying indigenous people as inferior, in this case, the Palestinians and by reframing violence and conquest as development or civilisation,\u201d<\/em> he said. In this framing, the responsibility for suffering is shifted onto the colonised.<\/p>\n

The conversation turned to the contested notion of \u201cefficiency,\u201d often invoked by political figures such as Adam Habib and Zille herself. Baccus acknowledged that efficiency is necessary, but asked pointedly: \u201cEfficiency for who?\u201d<\/em> He noted how in Cape Town, efficiency often serves the middle class, while townships remain excluded. \u201cCompetency and delivery are not neutral virtues,\u201d<\/em> he cautioned.<\/p>\n

When asked whether Zille would make a good mayor for Johannesburg, Baccus acknowledged the city\u2019s deep crisis of corruption and failing services. Yet he warned that efficiency cannot be divorced from ethics. \u201cA city can\u2019t be built on moral bankruptcy,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cYes, we need ethics to build a city and we need efficiency. Unfortunately, in our current state of politics, we don\u2019t have both in one party.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The danger, he explained, is that efficiency becomes a shield for privilege, while justice and transformation are sidelined. Reflecting on South Africa\u2019s own democratic transition, he reminded listeners that efficiency without justice leaves structural inequalities intact.<\/p>\n

\u201cBottom line, you can\u2019t separate efficiency from justice,\u201d<\/em> Dr Baccus concluded. \u201cEfficiency must be married to an ethical paradigm acceptable to those who are justice-loving and peace-loving. Otherwise, the price we pay is too high, the normalisation of genocide abroad and the protection of privilege at home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full ASRI Report<\/em><\/a> on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat and Dr Imraan Baccus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 26 September 2025 | 14:53 CAT In this week\u2019s Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute\u2019s (ASRI Report), Senior Research Associate at ASRI and Political Analyst Dr Imraan Baccus weighed in on Helen Zille\u2019s controversial remarks and the wider implications of masking injustice under the language of efficiency. Dr Baccus described Zille\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,5451,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-political","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ASRI-Report-3.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qfa","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 12:11:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}