Johannesburg - ANC national chairwoman Baleka Mbete has urged the party faithful to take the lead in a countrywide dialogue on racism, rather than allow anger to drain their energy.
She said while some people were still “deeply, very racist” two decades into democracy, the children of today “must move into the future not burdened by our baggage from the past”.
“Even you who are young people right now, ngomso (tomorrow) you will be a parent, a grandparent… what is the legacy we want to leave for those children?” Mbete asked during a rally marking the party’s 104th anniversary in the Boland town of Grabouw on Saturday.
Children were already going to school together without the colour of their skin being an issue and should not have to grow up “preoccupied with issues of racism”, Mbete said.
In a nod to the groundswell of anger over recent incidents of racism, she said it was only human to be angered, but “the instruction of the leadership of the ANC is that we must not allow ourselves to be burdened by racism”.
Allowing oneself to be angry was a waste of energy, she said. That distracted from the task at hand.
ANC branches should make sure their communities reflected progressive values, were vibrant and inclusive, with a democratic culture and respect for diversity.
“When you are busy being upset and angry, so much energy goes into that, you waste that energy, you divert energy from leading people.
“We must not take things personally,” Mbete said. “What we should do is to lead communities,” and remind people that the ANC had not fought for a racist future.
There should be a “sober discussion” on what future people wanted for the country, which would inform the promised national dialogue on the issue.
Referring to infighting and schisms in the Western Cape ANC, which might have left members demoralised, Mbete said the party could not afford to be demoralised.
“There’s too much work to do,” she said. ANC branches should ensure there were political education sessions in their communities at least once a month and take greater responsibility for ensuring there was a “fundamental restructuring” of the economy.
She slammed people who were trying to “hijack” the legitimate grievances of the #FeesMustFall campaign and confuse young people. Referring to accusations that President Jacob Zuma’s December cabinet reshuffle, which saw the country cycling through three finance ministers in four days, was to blame for the ailing economy, she said it was too big to be affected by “issues of reshuffles”.
Turning to the forthcoming local government elections, she repeated Zuma’s promise that communities would have the final say on who should be the ANC candidate to become their councillor.
“We want the community to tell the ANC its view on who must be a councillor,” Mbete said, adding they had to be an ANC member in good standing.
Branches also needed to make sure councillors, once elected, stayed in “dynamic contact” with the people, allowing them to raise issues and be informed of reasons for the delays in implementation of policy.
ANC branches should also lead discussions on the intended National Health Insurance scheme, which would mean receiving medical attention would not depend on whether or not a person had money.
But they should also encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles and not drink too much or abuse drugs.
Communities needed to stand up to people who set up shop near schools to sell drugs to children, Mbete said.
Political Bureau