The case of Judge John Hlophe, the champion of transformation and a revolutionary, is one hell of a mess that has left the judiciary at a crossroads. It is going to take men of fearless courage to rescue the situation and political correctness will have to fly out the window. The Judicial Services Commission has to once and for all rescue their good name or forever be regarded as a faction in the battle for the soul of the African National Congress (ANC).
It all started one balmy day when the Judge was accused of receiving kickbacks, sorry, a retainer, from Oasis. Oasis wanted to sue another judge for whatever reason and the rules required that they must first get permission from another judge, usually the judge president. Judge Hlophe, as the judge president, had to adjudicate this matter but did not recuse himself because of a conflict of interest because he was receiving a sizable chunk of money on a regular basis from this company. He allowed the company to sue the other judge. This matter was referred to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) on the basis of the transgression of a rule that require a judge to obtain written permission from a Minister of Justice before he can enter into any contract with members of the public to render a certain service and on a conflict of interest also issue. Impeachment was sought. It emerged during the hearing that there was no written permission from the Minister as required by the rules and in his defence Judge Hlophe alleged that he had obtained verbal permission from the Minister to render services to Oasis.
The unfortunate thing is that the Minister who gave the permission had long passed away and this allegation was difficult to prove. It also emerged that the transaction between Hlophe and Oasis was entered into at the time the said Minister was no longer the Minister of Justice. An important point to mention is that the said Minister was also a lawyer by profession and had been a successful one at that.The JSC ruled that there was nothing irregular that Judge Hlophe did and agreed with him that he got verbal permission from the Minister and therefore that he could not be impeached. The hearing was held in camera!
One of the principles law students are taught is one of the reasonable man test. The principle is taking everything into account what would a reasonable man have done. You have two lawyers, one is a judge of eminent repute and the other is a Minister of Justice. Would a reasonable man expect them just to have a verbal agreement about something that goes right into the heart of the administration of justice without reducing it to writing as required by the rules they ought to be aware of and they took an oath to uphold? What about the fact that the transaction was entered into long after the said Minister was no longer the Minister of Justice? Be that as it may it seems that the JSC failed to apply this basic principle in arriving at its decision.This decision was taken at a time when Judge Hlophe "exposed" the rampant racism prevalent on the Cape bench and this was seen as an attempt to deal with him once and for all. The champion of transformation won!
In scene two where the Judge is accused of improperly trying to influence the judges of the Constitutional Court (CC) and this is where things become messier. It becomes difficult to classify this as a plot by racists aimed at distabilising the revolution. But in a related matter the judges of the CC have already been called counter revolutionaries. Some role players in the legal profession chose to take sides and the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) as an example firmly take sides with Hlophe. Conspiracies are abound and in the process of trying to dispense with the matter speedily, the JSC messes up on another important principle: Hear the other side. They dismiss Hlophe’s request for a postponement because he is sick and he has a sick note to prove it. There are accusation and counter accusations between Hlophe and the JSC, the JSC members itself and the situation deteriorates further and a court of law intervenes.
Another mess is added in that while these shenanigans are going on elections for the new JSC are held and new members are elected to serve, some of whom have had an interest in the matter or have expressed an opinion on the matter and this brings in issues of conflict of interest. As an example Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza is a new member of the JSC and he represented Hlophe in this matter. Another new member of the JSC Advocate Andiswa Ndoni, as a representative of the BLA, went publicly to say that they supported Hlophe in his fight against the CC judges. More fuel into the fire, which I don’t think the JSC will come out of with flying colours.
Now they have decided to start the whole thing afresh and they want to hold the preliminary hearings in camera! Don't they learn!The JSC continues to stumble from one crisis to another because they consider of their making. Champion or no champion of transformation just apply the rules as they are supposed to be applied and stop looking over your back. Hold the inquiry in public and if the media distorts the information you can set the record straight on your website or the SABC!Save your reputation!!!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Everybody owns a piece of Michael Jackson
Death is something human beings will never get used to, unless of course it is the death of animals we eat on a daily basis. It is amazing how the death of somebody you’ve never met can profoundly affect you. I normally sleep with my radio on as it is the quickest way to get me to sleep. This morning at three o’clock, while in deep sleep, I was awoken by the news bulletin on Radio 2000 that Michael Jackson had died. I kid you not one second I was fully asleep and the other second I was wide awake contemplating what I just heard and it was sad news indeed.
I am sure we all have a tale about how Michael Jackson’s music had an effect on us. I remember as a kid, not that I have matured that much, in Senior Primary (I don’t know what they call it these days) Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones worked some magic with the song “We are the world”. I had this friend who was hyperactive but couldn’t sing even one note correctly but he loved music. We had this little music group and I was sort of a leader and he approached me with lyrics of " We are the world " and the only way we could get them was if he became part of the group.
Being a spineless individual that I am I allowed him to join the group but other group members would have none of it and pulled out. Me and my friend practiced the song with the view of performing it at the year end function of the school that was to be held in a week or so. And being a feisty individual that he was he convinced me to let the organizers of the concert let us have a slot and boy what an embarrassment that was. Not that I am a good singer but man, I tried to compensate this guy’s lack of talent by trying to accommodate his note that were off the window but boy he would come back with another crap note. We ended up not finishing the song because I had to drag him from the stage and there went my attempt at being a singer.
As young ones we would imbibe ourselves with MJ’s music and we would choose the songs that talked to our souls. Thriller is a timeless classic. My favorite was from his Bad album was “Man in the mirror” amongst a whole lot of his good songs. We grew up on MJ and even through varsity years he was still king of the dance floor. In Black South Africa there is a new dance graze that will grip the whole townships for a year or so and we would dance to that with MJ’s songs. I remember one day spoiling a hectic party circle with “Remember the Time” playing. I got into the circle and just stood there and downed my beer and everybody hated me for that. And people remembered me as Moremogolo who can’t dance. Ja, those were the times.
Aah! And “Speechless”!!. There's a girl who used to leave me speechless and I would play her that song every time we met. And she truly left me speechless such that she never new that she truly left me speechless. Well, she probably knew but felt that at some point I will have to have a tongue. I wonder if I met her today I would still be speechless.
You are dead now MJ and you did what you did out of your profound love of music and humanity. Though they tried to call you many things your profound love of music and humanity will be there for generations to come. (This is really meant for those who are living)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
When modesty means creating one's own legacy
I was reading Nikiwe Bikitsha’s article in this weekend’s Mail & Guardian’s newspaper. My week is not complete without a copy of the M&G, there is some serious journalism going on there. Hers is one of the columns I like reading because I think she is seriously sexy upstairs. She was on about her family history and how her great grandfather was just great and what legacies he left. She ended up by saying she has been inspired to also leave a great legacy. Her great grandfather by the way assisted in ensuring that the missionaries succeed in “civilizing” this “Dark Continent”.
Coupled to her column was a whole section about the top 300 young South Africans and a Prince Mashele’s column about the youth of today and what they would answer in future if asked where were they when these top 300 young South Africans were rocking the boat. I must confess I did not read his article and don’t see the need to read it. I also passed a cursory glance at these top dogs to see if there’s somebody I know or to check that maybe my name might appear there (in my dreams of course). I most of the time read my M&G from cover to cover but I did not pay much attention to those 300 bright souls and their conquests…jealousy perhaps!!, and I will not pay any further attention to that section of the paper (more envy, maybe?).
But all this really gave me some existential moments. Why is recognition so important? Why do we have to concern ourselves with legacies when once you are dead you are dead? When Jesus wakes us all up from the dead what is going to happen to those who just were because they were? Why are we so obsessed with reward, be it now or in the afterlife? Why can’t we just be good beings just for its sake? Goodness is a good thing, right? You should not do good because you have been promised a reward, right? One should do good because it is a good thing, isn’t it?
But then there is this pervasive culture of wanting recognition for the good that one does, be it a blessing from god or the receipt of some medal or some bestowing of some honour or some legacy. This might not be a bad thing but in this now world material possession is the best form of recognition you can get. You have to be a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet before you can think about giving to the poor, and the poor and everybody else have to respect you. You have to be respected and respect is earned through having a name, like a Mandela, a Bikitsha and so on and your path to stardom will be easy. Some people earned recognition through their hard work and it has become important to jealously guard the name they have made for themselves and their offsprings should never let them down….legacy!! I should give Mr. Buffet some recognition because according to him any other Buffet or his relations must make their own names if they want to and he is not going to use his name or wealth to prop them up except for the bare minimum required of a parent.
Do we really have to celebrate stupidity because some of the well known people, be it because of their money or because he happened to be at the right place at the right time were or are incredibly stupid. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see on one of these famous people/celebrities/trendsetters an epitaph that reads “herein lies an incredibly stupid person”. If truth be told this world has been led and continues to be led by incredibly stupid people. Now that would be a true testament to that person’s legacy and to us as a people, because sometimes our stupidity comes out through these leaders. Just look at the USA, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and Soviet Union for examples of stupid leaders who have left and will leave legacies behind.
Is it really necessary to teach our generation and those to come about heroes or should we just be teaching kids about the inherence of being good for its sake.
Coupled to her column was a whole section about the top 300 young South Africans and a Prince Mashele’s column about the youth of today and what they would answer in future if asked where were they when these top 300 young South Africans were rocking the boat. I must confess I did not read his article and don’t see the need to read it. I also passed a cursory glance at these top dogs to see if there’s somebody I know or to check that maybe my name might appear there (in my dreams of course). I most of the time read my M&G from cover to cover but I did not pay much attention to those 300 bright souls and their conquests…jealousy perhaps!!, and I will not pay any further attention to that section of the paper (more envy, maybe?).
But all this really gave me some existential moments. Why is recognition so important? Why do we have to concern ourselves with legacies when once you are dead you are dead? When Jesus wakes us all up from the dead what is going to happen to those who just were because they were? Why are we so obsessed with reward, be it now or in the afterlife? Why can’t we just be good beings just for its sake? Goodness is a good thing, right? You should not do good because you have been promised a reward, right? One should do good because it is a good thing, isn’t it?
But then there is this pervasive culture of wanting recognition for the good that one does, be it a blessing from god or the receipt of some medal or some bestowing of some honour or some legacy. This might not be a bad thing but in this now world material possession is the best form of recognition you can get. You have to be a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet before you can think about giving to the poor, and the poor and everybody else have to respect you. You have to be respected and respect is earned through having a name, like a Mandela, a Bikitsha and so on and your path to stardom will be easy. Some people earned recognition through their hard work and it has become important to jealously guard the name they have made for themselves and their offsprings should never let them down….legacy!! I should give Mr. Buffet some recognition because according to him any other Buffet or his relations must make their own names if they want to and he is not going to use his name or wealth to prop them up except for the bare minimum required of a parent.
Do we really have to celebrate stupidity because some of the well known people, be it because of their money or because he happened to be at the right place at the right time were or are incredibly stupid. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see on one of these famous people/celebrities/trendsetters an epitaph that reads “herein lies an incredibly stupid person”. If truth be told this world has been led and continues to be led by incredibly stupid people. Now that would be a true testament to that person’s legacy and to us as a people, because sometimes our stupidity comes out through these leaders. Just look at the USA, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and Soviet Union for examples of stupid leaders who have left and will leave legacies behind.
Is it really necessary to teach our generation and those to come about heroes or should we just be teaching kids about the inherence of being good for its sake.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fuck off, we are preparing for the World Cup
“The World Cup is going to bring so many things to the people of South Africa. In fact it has already done so by giving job opportunities to a lot of people since preparations began four years ago.” Joseph S Blatter, the FIFA president recently told a press conference and went on about how successful the Confederations Cup has been up to so far.
In the meantime the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup is well underway. Billions have been pumped into ensuring that everything runs smoothly and the Local Organising Committee and the government have ensured that all obstacles towards preparations are removed as soon as they occur. This involved ensuring that despite the tripling of the budgeted amount for the world cup, money would always be available. Where does all this money come from, after all poor people have over the past 15 years be told to be patient with service delivery because government can only do so much with a limited budget. Over the years some government departments have had to cut back seriously on the anticipated expenditure as there was not enough money in the fiscus.
There have been crippling strikes over the years where workers were trying to assert their muscle but they have been effectively told to fuck off over the years because there is no money. We know of the terrible conditions our public hospitals are under and recently doctors have taken matters into their own hands because they are tired of being shunted from pillar to post. And all of this is because they have been told time and time again that there is no money.
The SABC – I admire Dali Mpofu, that big shot lawyer who took the corporation from a profitable entity under Peter Matlhare and in a couple of years turned it into a huge deficit and he is seen as a hero in the corridors of power, even by the self same employees of the SABC who cannot get their promised bonuses as a result of their bosses messing up – has always relied on government for bail out after squandering money but this time it is proving difficult because the really is no money. The world cup budget has gobbled up everything.
Hard working civil servants, even those lazy ones, have had to wait for performance bonuses to be paid to them because there was no money. There has been a lot of uncertainty over the budgets the departments would get because there were other priorities. Within the social development sector NGO and CBO that provide a vital service to the community and rely on government for funding have had to wait for up to 6 months for their grants to be paid and they were given all manner of reasons for the delay.
Negotiations over the Occupation Specific Dispensation has been dragging on for long because if truth be told these striking doctors are viewed not as a priority and as a nuisance because there are important matters of the world cup to attend to. The government is still trying to check where it can get the money to shut up these ungrateful loudmouths.
Our government has shown that where there is a will there is a way. Against all odds preparations for the 2010 preparations are way ahead of schedule and its like there is no recession or global financial crisis. In the meantime everything has taken the back seat and the poor and everybody else will just have to wait for 2010 to pass. In a period of less than 4 years insurmountable problems have been overcome and we have shown the skeptical world that Africa can do it. Contrast this with the track record of our democratic government over the past 15 years. The poor have been told over and over that they have to be patient because apartheid cannot be undone in 15 years.
It has been announced that doctors will get up to 53% pay hikes with effect from July but nothing has been said about the poor conditions our state hospitals are in or the doctors have to work under. I hope that they will take the strike to another level and ensure that they work under conducive circumstances. They should wring out of government and undertaking that coupled with salary increases the government will ensure that the state hospitals are well equipped.
In the meantime the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup is well underway. Billions have been pumped into ensuring that everything runs smoothly and the Local Organising Committee and the government have ensured that all obstacles towards preparations are removed as soon as they occur. This involved ensuring that despite the tripling of the budgeted amount for the world cup, money would always be available. Where does all this money come from, after all poor people have over the past 15 years be told to be patient with service delivery because government can only do so much with a limited budget. Over the years some government departments have had to cut back seriously on the anticipated expenditure as there was not enough money in the fiscus.
There have been crippling strikes over the years where workers were trying to assert their muscle but they have been effectively told to fuck off over the years because there is no money. We know of the terrible conditions our public hospitals are under and recently doctors have taken matters into their own hands because they are tired of being shunted from pillar to post. And all of this is because they have been told time and time again that there is no money.
The SABC – I admire Dali Mpofu, that big shot lawyer who took the corporation from a profitable entity under Peter Matlhare and in a couple of years turned it into a huge deficit and he is seen as a hero in the corridors of power, even by the self same employees of the SABC who cannot get their promised bonuses as a result of their bosses messing up – has always relied on government for bail out after squandering money but this time it is proving difficult because the really is no money. The world cup budget has gobbled up everything.
Hard working civil servants, even those lazy ones, have had to wait for performance bonuses to be paid to them because there was no money. There has been a lot of uncertainty over the budgets the departments would get because there were other priorities. Within the social development sector NGO and CBO that provide a vital service to the community and rely on government for funding have had to wait for up to 6 months for their grants to be paid and they were given all manner of reasons for the delay.
Negotiations over the Occupation Specific Dispensation has been dragging on for long because if truth be told these striking doctors are viewed not as a priority and as a nuisance because there are important matters of the world cup to attend to. The government is still trying to check where it can get the money to shut up these ungrateful loudmouths.
Our government has shown that where there is a will there is a way. Against all odds preparations for the 2010 preparations are way ahead of schedule and its like there is no recession or global financial crisis. In the meantime everything has taken the back seat and the poor and everybody else will just have to wait for 2010 to pass. In a period of less than 4 years insurmountable problems have been overcome and we have shown the skeptical world that Africa can do it. Contrast this with the track record of our democratic government over the past 15 years. The poor have been told over and over that they have to be patient because apartheid cannot be undone in 15 years.
It has been announced that doctors will get up to 53% pay hikes with effect from July but nothing has been said about the poor conditions our state hospitals are in or the doctors have to work under. I hope that they will take the strike to another level and ensure that they work under conducive circumstances. They should wring out of government and undertaking that coupled with salary increases the government will ensure that the state hospitals are well equipped.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A very happy belated birthday
It was my birthday on Tuesday and I got a belated present in the form of Barcelona thrashing and outclassing Manchester United. Barca dished out football that was out of this world and for the first time the Man U players never knew what hit them and they panicked, the manager panicked and Barca dished out precision football.
I think it is only fitting for purists to watch that game over and over again and being a fanatic that I am I will ensure that there is a second, maybe third viewing. I will watch it as if I do not know the score.
Football is such a simple art and Barcelona showed how that can be done. You just need a ball, brains, composure and self belief and each and every Barca player had loads of that.
If only our stars from here could learn!!!
I think it is only fitting for purists to watch that game over and over again and being a fanatic that I am I will ensure that there is a second, maybe third viewing. I will watch it as if I do not know the score.
Football is such a simple art and Barcelona showed how that can be done. You just need a ball, brains, composure and self belief and each and every Barca player had loads of that.
If only our stars from here could learn!!!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Bling, god and the Black sisters
Religion is a very important cultural practice the world over and many people do not feel complete without acknowledging their god or giving him some sacrifice. Christianity is big business and this is evident in South Africa where there is a mushrooming of charismatic churches all over. In the not so distant past we used to talk about priests but now pastor is the in word. Pastor Macaulay, Pastor Zuma, Pastor Niehaus and Pastor whoever wakes up and finds that he has been inspired to open a church.
Women have always been the devout types that have kept churches going for ages. Men have always been on the sidelines and their involvement has always been in pursuance of some material benefit, be it a powerful position in the church or getting a beautiful woman he has been eyeing for some time.
Young and upwardly mobile sisters are very religious in a new kind of way. Out is the traditional way of worshipping and in is the style where god is hip and happening and is rewarding the sisters abundantly. Traditional churches are losing membership as fast as you can say hi because they were caught napping…and there is a lot of skeletons in their closets. And it is fashionable nowadays to punctuate every conversation with praise to the lord or a need to acknowledge him. Worshipping god in this new kind of way is like newly found success. It is like it’s a new consciousness.
As I said earlier on you will invariably find men as leaders in these churches, no matter how few they are, and women will be the followers. I find this disempowering to women and perpetuating the practice that man shall always lead and women will follow and this permeates society as a whole. I suppose it is an old age practice that keeps reinventing itself. The old apostolic churches are gone and now it’s your chick, charismatic churches where bling is the thing. But there is one constant, the few men that are there are occupying leadership positions or are fighting for those positions and women are taking one side or another in these fights.
Am I bonkers to see this ‘new found’ spirituality in women just as an illusion that helps keeps them subjugated. It is like a makeover where after some time the impurities that you were trying to hide always have a way of showing. That is why the church will always keep reinventing itself in order to be palatable to new ways of life, while keeping their most important constituency, women, firmly in their place – at the bottom of the heap.
Honestly, this new fad of our Black sisters needing to acknowledge god for their fortunes makes me sad and mad. It is like emulating the tannies in the apartheid days who were devout church members but had racism inscribed in their every bone. But then again us black brothers are just like the ooms that used to oil the apartheid wheels. Where there used to be blacks and whites, it is now reach and poor. We have opened a little crack where a few of us can creep in.
Women have always been the devout types that have kept churches going for ages. Men have always been on the sidelines and their involvement has always been in pursuance of some material benefit, be it a powerful position in the church or getting a beautiful woman he has been eyeing for some time.
Young and upwardly mobile sisters are very religious in a new kind of way. Out is the traditional way of worshipping and in is the style where god is hip and happening and is rewarding the sisters abundantly. Traditional churches are losing membership as fast as you can say hi because they were caught napping…and there is a lot of skeletons in their closets. And it is fashionable nowadays to punctuate every conversation with praise to the lord or a need to acknowledge him. Worshipping god in this new kind of way is like newly found success. It is like it’s a new consciousness.
As I said earlier on you will invariably find men as leaders in these churches, no matter how few they are, and women will be the followers. I find this disempowering to women and perpetuating the practice that man shall always lead and women will follow and this permeates society as a whole. I suppose it is an old age practice that keeps reinventing itself. The old apostolic churches are gone and now it’s your chick, charismatic churches where bling is the thing. But there is one constant, the few men that are there are occupying leadership positions or are fighting for those positions and women are taking one side or another in these fights.
Am I bonkers to see this ‘new found’ spirituality in women just as an illusion that helps keeps them subjugated. It is like a makeover where after some time the impurities that you were trying to hide always have a way of showing. That is why the church will always keep reinventing itself in order to be palatable to new ways of life, while keeping their most important constituency, women, firmly in their place – at the bottom of the heap.
Honestly, this new fad of our Black sisters needing to acknowledge god for their fortunes makes me sad and mad. It is like emulating the tannies in the apartheid days who were devout church members but had racism inscribed in their every bone. But then again us black brothers are just like the ooms that used to oil the apartheid wheels. Where there used to be blacks and whites, it is now reach and poor. We have opened a little crack where a few of us can creep in.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
"Leadership is action, not position" - A call to the PAC and BC formations
“This is one country where it would be possible to create a capitalist black society, if whites were intelligent, if the nationalists were intelligent. And that capitalist black society, black middle class, would be very effective….South Africa could succeed in putting to the world a pretty convincing, integrated picture, with still 70 percent of the population being underdogs.”
(Steve Biko, 1972)[1]
I think it is a moot point that today South Africa has put across a pretty convincing, integrated picture, with 70% of the population still living in abject poverty. The difference is that the nationalists did not have to raise any finger or be intelligent for that matter, they just had to give power to the ANC, or chaterists as Biko and his colleagues would call the ANC.
The ANC came into power with an overwhelming majority in 1994 and in 2004 they received a two-thirds majority and with the 2009 elections one has for all intents and purposes seen the demise of the two liberation movements, the PAC and AZAPO together with all their splinter groups that could challenge the moral authority of the ANC. What happened, besides the fact that we know that the nationalists were brutal in crushing these nascent movements? What happened to that alternative view that got South Africa reinvigorated and changed how the struggle was viewed?
The formation of both the PAC and Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) resulted in a fundamental shift in the fight for liberation in this country. Both these organizations had visionary leaders and philosophers in Robert Sobukwe and Bantu Biko respectively. Both died at a critical time in the history of their organizations and the history of the struggle. With both their death there was stagnation in the philosophies and the policies they were espousing. In my view the politics of expediency took over and replaced what had been noble intentions. The leaders who remained panicked and totally lost the plot. This is evident in the result of this year’s elections. Whatever support these organizations have was based on their history as liberation movements. Going forward they had no alternative to offer from the ANC. Why, when it was clear to them from the beginning that the ANC would never bring true liberation to the majority of South Africans?
It is clear that although the ANC has tried to relegate the contribution of these organization and their two leaders to the footnotes of history, they have failed because of the forcefulness of their ideas. The ideals that these organizations were founded on are very much alive today and need much more forceful articulation. It is however clear that these organizations are not equipped to articulate such ideals. If not them who will then? There needs to be a serious introspection by these organizations and their leaders and it needs to start from the beginning. The introspection needs to first acknowledge that the leadership of these organizations post Sobukwe and Biko dismally failed to carry forward their ideals. They will be forgiven because the apartheid government was brutal in dealing with their leadership in particular and membership in general.
It is Frantz Fanon who said “ It so happens that the unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of people, their laziness, and let it be said, their cowardice at the decisive moment of the struggle will give rise to tragic mishaps”.
This is so true of the Black society in South Africa today. Taken with the quotation from Biko above one can see that there is a total lack of intellectual discourse on whether what we have is what the struggle for liberation sought out to achieve. When Mandela came out of prison in 1990 the first thing he said was to shout “nationalization” and two days down the line he changed his tune without any consequence. Mbeki is lazily dismissed as an intellectual president who was out of touch with the masses, just as the BCM was dismissed as a group of intellectuals who have no touch with reality. Looks like in South Africa intellectualism is frowned upon and this has its roots in the liberation struggle. Anyway I digress.
These organizations needs to go back to the starting blocks and examine their decline, right from the moment their influential leaders died. They need to intellectualize influences that were brought to bear on them by events outside their organizations like the fall of communism, the relevance of Marxism, the formation of the UDF and the role the ANC played in their demise. Importantly these constant fights for leadership positions need to be critically examined. A lot of historical texts that are outside the mainstream by leaders past and present need to be revisited and the history of the liberation movements needs to be properly contextualized.
Strini Moodley, one of the founders of the BCM, had these profound words to say “You see, the ANC had a program, together with the SACP, that there is a two stage revolution. The first stage is to capture capitalism, and the next stage is then to transform it. Now that’s bullshit argument. It defies logic. Because once you’re involved in state power without changing the economy, you’re fucked. Because now you’ve become part of the program.” (2005).
The existence of the PAC and BC formations is very important but it will take leadership to recognize that they have been barking up the wrong tree.
[1] Quoted from “Biko Lives: Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko” A. Mngxitama, A. Alexander and N.C. Gibson, eds, 2008
(Steve Biko, 1972)[1]
I think it is a moot point that today South Africa has put across a pretty convincing, integrated picture, with 70% of the population still living in abject poverty. The difference is that the nationalists did not have to raise any finger or be intelligent for that matter, they just had to give power to the ANC, or chaterists as Biko and his colleagues would call the ANC.
The ANC came into power with an overwhelming majority in 1994 and in 2004 they received a two-thirds majority and with the 2009 elections one has for all intents and purposes seen the demise of the two liberation movements, the PAC and AZAPO together with all their splinter groups that could challenge the moral authority of the ANC. What happened, besides the fact that we know that the nationalists were brutal in crushing these nascent movements? What happened to that alternative view that got South Africa reinvigorated and changed how the struggle was viewed?
The formation of both the PAC and Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) resulted in a fundamental shift in the fight for liberation in this country. Both these organizations had visionary leaders and philosophers in Robert Sobukwe and Bantu Biko respectively. Both died at a critical time in the history of their organizations and the history of the struggle. With both their death there was stagnation in the philosophies and the policies they were espousing. In my view the politics of expediency took over and replaced what had been noble intentions. The leaders who remained panicked and totally lost the plot. This is evident in the result of this year’s elections. Whatever support these organizations have was based on their history as liberation movements. Going forward they had no alternative to offer from the ANC. Why, when it was clear to them from the beginning that the ANC would never bring true liberation to the majority of South Africans?
It is clear that although the ANC has tried to relegate the contribution of these organization and their two leaders to the footnotes of history, they have failed because of the forcefulness of their ideas. The ideals that these organizations were founded on are very much alive today and need much more forceful articulation. It is however clear that these organizations are not equipped to articulate such ideals. If not them who will then? There needs to be a serious introspection by these organizations and their leaders and it needs to start from the beginning. The introspection needs to first acknowledge that the leadership of these organizations post Sobukwe and Biko dismally failed to carry forward their ideals. They will be forgiven because the apartheid government was brutal in dealing with their leadership in particular and membership in general.
It is Frantz Fanon who said “ It so happens that the unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of people, their laziness, and let it be said, their cowardice at the decisive moment of the struggle will give rise to tragic mishaps”.
This is so true of the Black society in South Africa today. Taken with the quotation from Biko above one can see that there is a total lack of intellectual discourse on whether what we have is what the struggle for liberation sought out to achieve. When Mandela came out of prison in 1990 the first thing he said was to shout “nationalization” and two days down the line he changed his tune without any consequence. Mbeki is lazily dismissed as an intellectual president who was out of touch with the masses, just as the BCM was dismissed as a group of intellectuals who have no touch with reality. Looks like in South Africa intellectualism is frowned upon and this has its roots in the liberation struggle. Anyway I digress.
These organizations needs to go back to the starting blocks and examine their decline, right from the moment their influential leaders died. They need to intellectualize influences that were brought to bear on them by events outside their organizations like the fall of communism, the relevance of Marxism, the formation of the UDF and the role the ANC played in their demise. Importantly these constant fights for leadership positions need to be critically examined. A lot of historical texts that are outside the mainstream by leaders past and present need to be revisited and the history of the liberation movements needs to be properly contextualized.
Strini Moodley, one of the founders of the BCM, had these profound words to say “You see, the ANC had a program, together with the SACP, that there is a two stage revolution. The first stage is to capture capitalism, and the next stage is then to transform it. Now that’s bullshit argument. It defies logic. Because once you’re involved in state power without changing the economy, you’re fucked. Because now you’ve become part of the program.” (2005).
The existence of the PAC and BC formations is very important but it will take leadership to recognize that they have been barking up the wrong tree.
[1] Quoted from “Biko Lives: Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko” A. Mngxitama, A. Alexander and N.C. Gibson, eds, 2008
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