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Shell Operating Like A Colonial Charter Company.

Writer's picture: rutendo matinyararerutendo matinyarare

The man wearing a red and yellow Shell uniform in the picture is #NkosikhoMbele. A brilliant brand ambassador and petrol attendant for #ShellSouthAfrica who has just generated hundreds of millions of rands of free PR publicity, affinity and goodwill for Shell this week.


This is after he gave a stranded woman R100 out of his own pocket to pore enough petrol to get home after she forgot her wallet at home.


His kind gesture soon went viral on social media, giving Shell priceless free publicity and emotional equity.


Something that most marketing and brand executives across the world work a whole lifetime to achieve but never succeed to achieve.


On such a great campaign, the idi@t in the white shirt, who they say is the Chairman/CEO of Shell SA or something like that, decides to ride the wave of Mr Mbele’s good work in a cheap PR stance.


Buoyed by Nkosikhos initiative, he records a live telephonic conversation [pictured below] with Nkosikho, congratulating him for his creativity and informing him that Shell has decided to reward his effort by donating R500 000 to a charity of Nkosikho’s choice.


Now, for those of you who understand South Africa and the peanuts petrol attendants earn. You will understand the bitter taste and insult such a donation leaves.


Petrol attendants are some of the lowest paid workers in the country, with wages well below living wage and just slightly above the poverty line.


They are more in need of charity themselves because of the low wages that they are paid by these very profitable colonial charter oil companies that enslave them.


As a result of these low wages, Nkosikho lives in Khayelitsha, a very poverty stricken, backward, shack and crime ridden, apartheid style township that is hidden away from public view by a wall along the N2 in Cape Town.


This is why a multi-billion dollar global company like Shell rewarding this poor employee with a donation to his favored charity when he is in need of charity himself. Especially after he has just generated hundreds of millions of rands of free publicity for Shell, is an insult and tantamount to exploitation and appropriation of his wonderful initiative and contribution to Shell.


In fact, instead of rewarding Nkosikho, in many ways they have punished him by taking his hard earned performance bonus and given it to a faceless charity for Shell to earn a tax break and score social responsibility points for their annual report off his effort.


But ask yourself if the idi@t in a white shirt or any of Shell’s other executives give their performance bonuses to charity to gain the company a tax break?😡


So what in the world made Shell executives think that rewarding Mr Mbele by giving his performance bonus to a charity for them to get Shell a tax break would be ok?


Is it maybe the same as how slave owners just also kind of selfishly assumed that it was ok for them to keep the earnings of their slaves’ labor perpetually?🤷🏾‍♂️


Nevertheless, it’s good that this has happened in the public glare because it has exposed what we keep saying is happening in corporate South Africa daily.


It’s an exploitative [colonial/apartheid era] culture where meritocracy, reward and empowerment of black ideas and excellence is non-existent because black effort is still seen as open for exploitation for white unjust enrichment [without compensation], as we see here with Shell.


Compouding the scourge are heartless, self centered black executives who have become the quintessential colonial administrators and slave drivers. Taking credit for the ideas and effort of junior staff members to make money and advance their careers. All in the while advocating in exco meetings for companies not to overspend by rewarding lower ranking blacks for their contributions.


It reminds me of the infamous story of Vodacom and Makathe. The culture of black intellectual exploitation must end by us boycotting unethical brands and crucifying black executives who are enemies of black empowerment like this ......... in a white shirt.


By Rutendo Bereza Matinyarare


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