The ANC must not be marginalised or join its detractors when they need to defend the interest of the revolution, writes Thami ka Plaatjie.
It is not meet, Sir King, to leave thee thus, aidless, alone and smitten through the helm. A little thing may harm a wounded man.” Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Morte d’Arthur, address the defining moment in the life of a king wounded in battle and abandoned by his trusted soldiers.
Only the trusted Bedevere stands guard till the last moment. If we can extend the metaphor, all kings and their kingdoms will come under siege, but soldiers must stand guard and defend the kingdom.
The public protector’s report cast serious aspersions on many people and asks the president to institute a commission of inquiry to probe these allegations.
The opening lines are instructive and positions her office and many others as entrusted with the keeping of the constitutional promise. That promise was made by the ANC’s Freedom Charter.
Oliver Tambo faced the mutiny of soldiers called mkatashiyo and, through the Morogoro conference, provided a rejoinder that salvaged the movement.
We knew the regime would try to recover its power and pre-ordained position of influence, and we needed to be vigilant. We have abandoned the post in a hurry to administer an untransformed state and benefit from its alms.
The Morogoro conference argued: “In our country it is inconceivable for freedom without the return of the wealth of the land to the people as a whole. It is therefore a fundamental feature of our strategy that victory must embrace more than formal political democracy.”
The obsession with defending formal democracy at the expense of returning the people’s looted resources is a tragedy with no response.
In fact, we are hell-bent on making oppression efficient with checks and balances that, in future, make the transfer of power to our people moot.
Effective governance must be the cornerstone of a revolutionary party, ensuring the masses see real freedom and development, otherwise sideshows and personal scandals become the national agenda.
People like Chris Hani were jailed in that mutiny, but a candid process of atonement and revitalisation healed the rift and refocused the movement on its mission.
A similar candid process must be held by the ANC currently, not only to respond to clamouring noises from the opposition, but to give our people hope in their movement.
Tambo’s strength was how he reacted to the challenges that faced him with the view of salvaging the organisation.
He was aware that the future rested on the thorough application of reason and on a knee-jerk reaction to headlines. That our land is still in the hands of whites is not in dispute.
The stakes are high where the gains of more than 100 years of struggle are at risk of being reversed.
All liberation movements, in their lifetimes, will face defining moments that will cast a dark shadow on their futures, and Zanu-PF is no exception.
The failure to craft a recovery plan after the poor performance in the local government elections is an indictment on the ANC.
History is littered with political skeletons who failed to map a recovery path during challenges. Clement Kadalie’s Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) fell apart in the early 1930s because of internal wrangling and factionalism.
The liberation was fought on all fronts, and weakening the ANC’s intellectual base is a regrettable shortcoming.
The Chinese Book of Han, written in the year 111, invented a saying that is still the Communist Party’s rallying cry: “Seek knowledge through facts.”
This stance has helped to revitalise the Communist Party. The ANC’s strength throughout history has been the ability to reinvent itself and remain responsive to our country’s people through a continuous evaluation of facts and prescribing solutions.
The liquidation of the working class’s fighting capacity by emasculating Cosatu is a worrying fact for which we’ll be punished. The public spat by alliance members is counter-revolutionary and self-seeking.
We once argued the sacrosanctity of our people’s unity. When the centre fails to hold, we will invite frequent visits by the self-styled leaders of our people like the DA, professing to uphold Nelson Mandela’s ideals.
Vibrant public vigilance must be commended but must be led by the ANC and its activists.
The ANC must not be marginalised or join its detractors when they need to defend the interest of the revolution.
That is, unless we submit to the notion that we have decimated the internal vibrant discourse such that the only salvation for the people can be found in the ranks of the loquacious opposition. If this is the case, then the people’s noble struggle will have been subverted and auctioned to those whose fundamental interest is to sustain the status quo of white domination. Overthrowing white domination with all its trappings will be lost under the guise of administrative and personality fights. The wailing noises of the opposition are predictable as they are intended to protect white interests.
At best, we risk being sidetracked from addressing our people’s plight, and will have ourselves to blame.
South Africa has been experiencing disturbing headlines that have catapulted it into a state of national frenzy. As an activist nation we rise, at the slightest provocation, when we sense the erosion of some hard-won struggles - crying foul and hurling all forms of epithets.
The danger is not that we are sliding into some choreographed path but that the ANC has itself abandoned its historic mission to lead society in spite of itself. The loss of that high moral ground is as fatal as it is painful.
* Ka Plaatjie is head of ANC Research and adviser to Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
The Sunday Independent