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Volume 11, No. 7, 1 March 2012 |
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Red Alert Liberals as eternal political hypocrites |
Blade Nzimande, General Secretary
Liberalism in general and its different South African shades has only been consistent on one and only one thing, political hypocrisy. Otherwise how does explain the fact that the DA has come out with guns blazing against e-tolling in Gauteng (which the SACP incidentally also has problems with) whilst at the same time imposing its own toll gates on Chapman`s peak in Cape Town.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the media completely ignored the SACP Central Committee statement over the weekend when it pointed this out, since, for all intents and purposes, mainstream and commercial media in South Africa, with few exceptions, has become the mouthpiece of especially post 1994 (white) liberalism.
Liberalism and political hypocrisy have a long history in South Africa. The very same liberalism in our country had over decades prior to 1994 preached `freedom` whilst strenuously opposing one person one vote as the basis of genuine democracy in our country. Instead, whilst they pretended to oppose apartheid (but privately praying for the NP to win election after election), they only argued for a qualified franchise, that only educated blacks (`because they are civilized like us`), should be given a limited vote whilst not tampering with white minority rule and power.
For instance at the height of the struggles against the criminal apartheid regime, right into the negotiations of the early 1990s, the Democratic Party, the predecessor to the DA and many of its fellow travellers, never advanced a principled stance for majority rule based on one person one vote. Instead majority rule, as enshrined in our constitution today, was won by the liberation movement, using a combination of armed and mass struggles as well as the moral superiority of its struggle.
When Dr Pieter Mulder made extremely provocative statements about blacks and land ownership in our country, this has been met by a very loud silence from the liberals because Mulder has `spoken for us all`!! From the hordes of the mushrooming liberal NGOs, there are no talks or even whispers of going to the Equality Court or the Human Rights Commission, as ordinarily would have been the case had similar statements been made about whites. There are no parliamentary motions or call for special debates or `points of order` and warnings of unparliamentary language, had it been the other way round!
In true liberal fashion, especially after 1994, liberals have opportunistically cherry-picked on issues where they want to appear to be on the side of, or speaking for, the majority of the people our country. They seek alliances with the workers when they seek to capture the SABC (the `Save our SABC Coalition`). They would seek to build alliances with worker organizations on opposing the Protection of State Information Bill (POSIB) and `civil society` coalitions to oppose e- tolling in Gauteng, even in courts, if need be.
But we are yet to hear of `civil society` initiatives against abuse of farm workers, against labour brokers, or against retrenchments. There is no `right to know` campaign on why Nelson Chisale had to be thrown into a lion`s den by a white racist nor is there an outcry about threats to our constitution when judges, as public officials, resist to declare their interests and those of their spouses.
There is already an important lesson for the working class about all this, that we should be extremely vigilant about liberal fellow travellers posing as friends and allies of the working class. Liberals choose issues on which to try and fool the working class, often issues aimed at opposing government and the majoritarian character of our democracy. For instance when Cosatu embarks on actions against labour brokers, these liberal `friends` and `civil society combatants` will be conspicuous by their absence. Why? Because liberals are not against capitalism and the exploitation of the working class nor are they for the total emancipation of the black majority or the total eradication of the legacy of colonialism of a special type. Instead the very notion of `civil society` is used to hide elite class interests, and often racial ones as well, whilst pretending to be the greatest defenders of freedom (`Under Law`) and equality.
This is why liberals don`t want to support the campaign on deepening participatory democracy - participatory democracy is reduced to their donor funded organisations, pursuing sponsored views on issues such as the POSIB, the media appeals tribunal, and many others. The liberals are fundamentally opposed to the increased role of the state in the economy, because, whilst purporting to seek to speak on behalf of our people, they do not believe of a state that seeks to act to advance the interests of the majority. It is for this reason that liberals have sought to use the courts and all institutions supporting our democracy, to try and oppose, discredit and subvert all government decisions aimed at the thorough transformation of society. The liberals now are going to court to challenge the Languages Bill, yet have never raised their voices about the marginalisation of indigenous African languages. They oppose the National Health Insurance Scheme, and practically all that stands to benefit our people. That is why they have reduced our struggle to constitutional legalisms, devoid of any substantive economic and social transformation.
Liberalism, especially in the 1970s and 80s, argued very strongly for instance that apartheid was an aberration and distorted the otherwise rational capitalist market system, refusing to see the deep interconnectedness between the two, thus reinforcing the very conditions for the reproduction of the apartheid system. Apartheid was not a distortion of, or aberration from, the capitalist market, but was a brutal and particular form of colonial and bourgeois rule, which affected the lived experiences of the overwhelming majority of South Africans.
Perhaps liberalism is after all not a hypocrisy as such, but its very nature and character is elitist, and it will at all times act like this. South African (white) liberalism in particular evolved from a racialist form of accumulation of privileges, and it still largely displays similar features today. It is an expression of the coincidence of race and class in a patriarchal society.
It is therefore important for the working class to understand that it`s fate lies in its own hands, working in alliance with progressive forces in society. It is this understanding that would characterize the working class as a class for itself rather than a class in itself. It is only a politically conscious working class and the majority of our people that will expose the hypocrisy of liberalism, in all its manifestations.
The principal task of the working class is to lead and be at the head of the mobilization of the people as a whole, and intensify the ideological offensive against all forms of reactionary and regressive tendencies, including liberalism, workerism, populism and demagoguery. In so doing it should act as the glue to the unity of our Alliance! This is the true meaning of the working class as the principal motive force of the national democratic revolution. It is taking responsibility for the revolution!
Asikhulume!!
Celebrating the legacy of Sefako Mapogo Makgatho (1861 - 1951)
Speech delivered by Cde Thulas Nxesi to the Braam Fischer ANC Branch, Ferndale, 26 February 2012
Greetings comrades.
Introduction
Let me start by thanking you for inviting me to share in this important event with you. We are here to celebrate the centenary of the African National Congress - Africa`s oldest liberation movement; a movement with a heroic history of sacrifice and struggle in the pursuit of its goals of national liberation, democracy and freedom from oppression and exploitation. In 1994 our movement and our country achieved a massive qualitative leap forward with the establishment of political democracy.
But that was not the end of our struggle. Major issues remain unresolved. Foremost amongst these are the land question, and what the President has referred to as the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality - and this is as true today as it was when Sefako Mapogo Makgatho became the second President of the ANC - although at the time it was still known as the South African Native National Congress. President Makgatho served from 1917 to 1924 and followed after the first president, John Langalibalele Dube who served from 1912 to 1917.
We are here to celebrate the centenary of the ANC, and we have said that in the second month of the centenary we will focus on the life of SM Makgatho. You will know that the President of the ANC, Comrade Jacob Zuma, has already delivered a speech on this topic on Thursday - so I am following in his footsteps.
I think I have to briefly mention the unfortunate and chaotic scenes which accompanied the president`s lecture. A small aggrieved group sought to elevate their own interests above those of the movement. What should have been a solemn and serious event - honouring Makgatho`s memory, a time of pride and recognition for the family, and a learning experience for younger cadres - was turned into a mockery by this small faction that has tried to bully its way to political influence - picking up lucrative tenders along the way.
Comrades we need to be very clear that there is all the difference in the world between robust political debate and what is frankly indiscipline bordering on criminal activity.
As a movement which has been described as a `broad church` - we will always have our political differences and debates - and that is good. It makes us stronger. I would go as far as to say that we must always defend the right and space for robust political debate within the movement. But when we see actions like this - disrupting the president and leaders of the ANC, ridiculing comrades, storming of platforms, bullying and dishonest tactics to win positions, then we have to draw a line. And when we know that these factional activities are driven by the selfish motives of tenderpreneurs, then we have to take very stern action to restore discipline.
We owe it to those who went before - like Comrade Makgatho - who struggled in difficult conditions to establish the ANC - and we owe it to our people - the majority of whom still live in poverty and look to this ANC to provide a better life for all. We dare not fail them.
Biographical details
Let me start with some brief biographical details of this great patriot. Mr Sefako Mapogo Makgatho was born at Mphatlhele, in Pietersburg district in Transvaal (now Limpopo province) in 1861. He was the son of Chief Kgorutlhe Josiah Makgatho of the Makgatho chieftaincy at Mphatlhele.
President Makgatho began his education first in Pretoria where he completed his primary education. He then went to study abroad at a college in Ealing, Middlesex, in England where he studied theology and education. At the time of the Scramble for Africa in1885 - when the colonial powers were dividing up Africa between themselves, Makgatho returned to Pretoria and started his career as a teacher at the Kilnerton Training Institute, which was a Methodist School for African children near Johannesburg.
Kilnerton Training Institute is famous for providing education to some of South Africa`s leading women such as Miriam Makeba and Lilian Ngoyi. Makgatho taught here until 1906 when he, together with other teachers in the Transvaal, formed one of the first teachers unions.
Increasingly Makgatho was to devote his life to the political struggle against the increasing marginalisation of the African people, culminating in the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. As a result, in 1906 he formed one of the earliest Black political organisations, the African Political Union (APU), which later changed its name to the Transvaal Native Congress (TNC). Makgatho remained president of these organisation from 1906 until 1912. The TNC later joined the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) - later renamed the ANC - when it was formed in 1912 in Bloemfontein.
To promote unity in this new organisation, Makgatho encouraged his supporters from the TNC to vote for J L Dube to become the first president of the SANNC. As President of the largest branch, Makgatho was elected Vice - President of the SANNC. [We might note that from the beginning of the ANC, Makgatho placed unity above personal ambition.]
He took part in the deputation against the passage of the Native Land Act of 1913, which was sent to Britain to request intervention on behalf of African people. After the unsuccessful deputation, the SANNC needed a new leader. At first, the presidency of the organisation was offered to Solomon Thekisho Plaatjie, but owing to financial difficulties he requested that S M Makgatho be offered the opportunity to stand for the elections. In 1917, Makgatho won the elections and became the second president of the SANNC.
During his presidency the party confronted the Union government over the extension of passes to women in 1918, waged the famous women`s strike of 1919, and successfully challenged the Union government over the Transvaal Poll Tax in court. After the end of the First World War, delegates were again sent to Britain to resume their negotiations with the imperial government concerning the Native Land Act .
From 1930-1933 Makgatho served as National Treasurer of the ANC, and there are indications that he participated in the Transvaal Congress until the 1940s. Towards the end of his life, he resigned from active politics and became a preacher in the local Methodist Church. He later resigned from this church to start an independent African church.
Makgatho lived in Eastwood Township near Pretoria with his wife, Priscilla Kekana. He died in 1951 aged 90.
The significance of Makgatho
Let me say first of all that the research we did in preparing for this input provided very little information on the life of S M Makgatho - especially in his later years. It is clear to me that there are major gaps in our knowledge and understanding of our own movement. I would plead to our historians to adopt Makgatho as a research project so that we can get a fuller appreciation of the man and his contribution to the history of the liberation struggle in South Africa. Having said that, let me try and pick up on some themes which emerge from the history of Makgatho and his times.
Let me start by setting the historical scene for the turbulent years 1917 - 1924 during which Makgatho served as President of the ANC:
It was the end of the First World War 1914-1918 - with millions left dead - on the altar of imperialist rivalries. [Incidentally the ANC had supported the British and South African governments` position on the war - in the mistaken hope that they might secure concessions. This was not to be. It was later recognised to have been a wrong decision that was taken.]
1917 was also the year of the Russian Revolution - ushering in the world`s first socialist state which would also become the focus - and supporter - of anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggles during much of the 20th century.
In South Africa the 1913 Land Act had excluded Africans from 87% of the land. Henceforth the land question would be at the forefront of the demands of the national liberation movement - a struggle which continues to this day.
Long before the advent of Apartheid in 1948, the machinery and policies of racial segregation were being enacted with pass laws dictating where black people could live and work. This was to be enforced with guns and sjamboks. Makgatho led anti-pass campaigns, calling the pass `infernal` and `a badge of slavery`. He vigorously opposed the extension of passes to women. He led a campaigned against the Pretoria municipal by-laws which banned Africans from walking on the pavements which were reserved to whites. He also won the right for Africans to use first and second class facilities on South Africa Railways instead of being confined to goods trains.
Exclusion from the land and taxes forced many Africans into the towns and the mines. Urbanisation and industrialisation was leading to new kinds of struggles in the towns - as employers sought to exploit cheap black labour whilst dividing black and white workers. 1922 witnessed the Rand Revolt - an armed insurrection of white mine workers seeking to entrench the colour bar on the mines, whilst the period ended in 1924 with the election of the Pact government - an unholy alliance of white labour and Afrikaner nationalists. [Incidentally, the Communist Party was in the uncomfortable position of supporting the racist white mineworkers in 1922 - on the grounds that their strike nevertheless remained a class struggle against the mine owners who were the real enemy. Shortly thereafter the party re-orientated its policy: prioritising the struggles of black workers and the national liberation struggle.]
Meanwhile, black workers were already organising. The `bucket strike` of 1918 was supported by the ANC. In 1919 the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) was formed - largely mobilising the rural poor, but also attracting support from black urban workers. This movement preceded the formation of black industrial unions in the late 1920s - led by the Communist Party - which in many ways were the forebears of the current COSATU.
This then was the complex world in which Makgatho operated and sought to steer a path for the fledgling ANC against overwhelming odds. I believe that there are indications that he - together with the leadership of the ANC at the time - was highly successful. Certainly, he was perceived to be an astute and effective leader. The polite lobbying and delegations to Britain proved to be a fruitless exercise. The evidence is clear that the tactics of struggle were changing during Makgatho`s presidency.
Listen to President Makgatho`s own words when addressing the Eighth Annual Congress of the ANC on the 6th May 1919:
".. at Bloemfontein, last July, the Johannesburg branch of the Transvaal Native Congress brought to the Executive Committee a resolution demanding the abolition of the pass law, so that Natives must work unshackled by contract passes. The resolution was duly sent to the government and the matter was discussed at various interviews between the Transvaal Congress leaders and the government officers, and also with the Prime Minister and other ministers at different times; the reply in each instance being that the matter will be attended to.
Eventually, in March of this year, the Johannesburg Branch, followed by the Benoni and other Witwatersrand branches, decided to throw away their passes and secure the government`s attention to our grievances by courting arrest. Thousands of men and women have been arrested and sentenced to fines and various terms of imprisonment with hard labour, and, refusing to pay fines, they nearly all elected to go to gaol. They were driven like cattle, trampled by mounted policemen under their horses` hoofs, shot at by White volunteers, and some men and women are in their graves as a result of their refusal to buy any more passes."
The transition from lobby group to mass campaigning organisation is clear.
By 1919, the tactic of sending a delegation to England to represent African interests was already the subject of debate within the movement. Makgatho defended the decision - but not in the blind belief that their prayers would be answered. Rather he argued that in the negotiations following World War One, it was important for African voices to be heard. This is what he said to the 1919 Annual Conference of the ANC:
"Today we are informed that we are represented at the Peace Conference by Generals Smuts and Botha. Did any of the two generals ever inform any Native that they were going to represent him? I read that General Botha, on leaving Cape Town in a Japanese ship, told some Europeans that he was going to represent the two great races. So, where do we come in? And what do our two generals know about the abomination of the pass laws or the atrocities or the Native Lands Act, enacted by them? What do they know about our starving widows and dependants whose breadwinners fell during the Great War in German West and East Africa, on the ocean, in France and other battlefronts?
"Chiefs, ladies and gentlemen, if we send no representatives to the seat of the Empire now, our families will only have ourselves to thank; so let us do our best at this moment, so that when the hard time comes and the threatened class laws are enacted, posterity may not charge us with inattention."
It is also significant that it was during Makgatho`s presidency that the SANNC changed its name to the African National Congress. Let us reflect on the significance of this change. The term `Native` was the term used by the coloniser to designate the indigenous people. In dropping the term `native` and adopting the title of African National Congress, Makgatho and his generation were rejecting the terminology of the colonialists and turning their backs against the tactics of polite lobbying. The movement was also affirming its identity as African and increasingly identifying with the rest of the continent - particularly Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana , and the struggle against national oppression of people everywhere.
Urbanisation
Makgatho came to politics - like so many of the first generation of black politicians - in response to the land question and the imminent threat of the 1913 Land Act. Let me quote from his presidential address to the ANC on the 6th May 1919: "We ask for no special favours from the Government. This is the land of our fathers."
But even as he fought the colonial government to retain the land, it is clear that Makgatho was already grappling with the new challenges of the urban environment such as unemployment. In 1917 he helped organise a wage strike, and in 1919 he negotiated with the Pretoria authorities for trading rights for Indians.
Even as the ANC was still engaged in polite lobbying of the colonial masters in London during this period, I believe that we also see the beginnings of the future direction of the ANC in the actions of Makgatho: hence the use of protests and strike tactics to further the interests of women and workers, and a willingness to form alliances with non-African groups
This quality in Makgatho was picked up by R V Selope Thema - who was General Secretary of the ANC during much of Makgatho`s presidency. He provides an account of Makgatho in 1924 addressing a group of African Associations on the issue of the colour bar - White labour replacing Africans. It is a long excerpt from Selope Thema:
"The meeting which was fairly well attended was presided over by Mr. S. M. Makgatho, President of the Transvaal Native Congress [He was until the end of the year President-General of the ANC national body]. In introducing the subject Mr. Makgatho said: He was pleased to see the representatives of the various associations for it showed him that the spirit of co-operation and unity was working among the Bantu people.
They had been called to discuss a question which cut at the root of the life of the people. The expulsion of the Natives from employment was a serious matter which required serious consideration, and which could not be tackled by one Association working independently, as it would ultimately create acute unemployment among our people. The consequences of this unemployment must be disastrous and ruinous.
The Natives have been rendered landless and their expulsion from employment in the industrial centres would spell national disaster. `They` (the Natives), he declared, `did not come into industrial centres of their own free-will; they were compelled to do so by the white people themselves who needed their services.
The Conference will remember that not long ago there was a universal cry among the European community about the laziness of the Native people. And to cure this laziness stringent laws were made to force our people to leave their `kraals` and come into the industrial centres. In the first place they were squeezed out of the land, then a heavy tax of 2 Pounds was imposed upon them, and then came the Native Land Act whose cruel operation rendered thousands of our people in all the Provinces of the Union homeless and landless, thus augmenting the influx of Natives into the urban areas.
Now that our `kraal` life has been practically destroyed by the white man`s own action, we are told to go back to the ruins of this life, there to make a fresh start - and we had spent our energies in the development of the industries of this country. It is alleged that we are a danger to civilisation, a civilisation which, mind you, we have helped to build on this Southern end of the African Continent.` They would remember that the race had sacrificed, and is sacrificing, precious blood in the mines for the upkeep and maintenance of European civilisation in this country.
It was unjust and cruel, therefore, that without making any provision on the land for the Native people, the Government and some of the employers of labour should embark upon this iniquitous policy. Today there were hundreds of men out of work who would not, therefore, be in a position to pay Government taxes which were due, to say nothing about procuring the necessaries of life for themselves and those who were dependent upon them. These men were being arrested and convicted for failing to pay taxes and for vagrancy in spite of the fact that they had been thrown out of work.
Beyond saying that justice would be done to Natives the Government was doing nothing to relieve this situation. Mr. Makgatho concluded his remarks by appealing for united action" ("Native Unemployment", By A Wayfarer [R. V. Selope Thema], Umteteli wa Bantu, September 27, 1924).
This was the beginning of a new direction for the ANC. What fascinated Selope Thema about Makgatho`s presentation is that it articulated a view that was central to his own thinking at this time: that for African people there is no turning away from modernity back into tradition. Selope Thema wrote on this issue in his classic essays of the 1920s in Umteteli wa Bantu.
Teacher unionism
When Comrade Staff Sithole invited me to participate in this event and to speak on President Makgatho it was on the basis that he was one of the founders of teacher unionism in South Africa - and that I too had played a role in the teacher union movement. It is necessary therefore that I speak on this theme - if only briefly. Although Makgatho was a teacher for many years, he seems to have left teaching shortly after the formation of the union he helped to establish. In 1904, he was a founder member of the NTNTA (Northern Transvaal Native Teachers Association) which was formally launched in Pietersburg in 1906.
It is suggested that - whilst studying in England - Makgatho may have been inspired by the British union leader - Kier Hardie - who went on to form the British Labour party in 1906.
Although Makgatho`s involvement with teacher unionism seems to have reduced thereafter, the development of teacher unionism in subsequent years remains of interest. Just in brief:
Also in 1906 a Southern Transvaal Native Teachers Association was launched.
The two organisations united in 1919 to form the Transvaal Native Teachers Association (TNTA).
The TNTA changed its name to TATA (Transvaal African Teachers Association) in 1923. The ANC website describes TATA as "a trade union for African teachers and an instrument for the transformation of `Native education` into a non-racial system of universal education for all of South Africa`s children."
Also in 1923, Makgatho assisted in establishing TATA`s official journal - The Good Shepherd - with the mission of fighting for equal educational opportunities for Africans in South Africa.
Out of interest, let me share some highlights of TATA`s subsequent history. Let me first issue a disclaimer - these comments are based on unverified information picked up from an internet search - and my plea is that proper thorough research still needs to be done:
In the 1940s TATA led major struggles of teachers for better salaries and conditions culminating in a strike and march of 12,000 teachers, parents and children through central Johannesburg on May 6th 1944. The crowd was addressed by Dr Xuma, President of the ANC.
This was also a period of growing influence of young radicals - such as Zeke Mphalele and Zeph Mothopeng - within TATA. By 1951, the radicals, based in Orlando, had taken the leadership of TATA, and were committed to fighting Bantu Education.
Tensions between the radicals and the traditionalists led to a split in TATA - which only reunited in 1957 under the name TUATA (Transvaal United African Teachers Association.) According to historian J Hyslop, TUATA become largely non-political in the 1960s - concentrating on choir competitions. Indeed their offices were destroyed during the 1976 student uprising.
TUATA is the forerunner of the modern-day PEU (Professional Educators Union) - a small independent union largely based in Limpopo and Gauteng.
It is interesting to note that the same tensions which emerged in the 1950s between `radical unionists` and `conservative professionals` probably prevented TUATA/PEU from embracing the teacher unity process in the late 1980s which led to the formation of SADTU. It would be interesting to speculate where Makgatho would have stood on this debate.
Journalist and Preacher
We have mentioned Makgatho`s role in founding the teachers` journal, The Good Shepherd, in 1923. In fact his involvement in political journalism goes back even further. During the years 1912 to 1914, he ran the Native Advocate with Alfred Mangua and AK Soga as editor. Also in 1912, with Seme, Makgatho launched the journal of the SANNC: Abantu Batho.
One is struck by the versatility of Makgatho - educator, journalist, political leader, and priest. Indeed, Makgatho was described as an influential Methodist lay preacher from 1887 to 1930. In his remarkable portrait of New African political leaders and intellectuals, Professor Z. K. Matthews memorialized Makgatho in the following terms:
"The educated man in African society must of necessity be able to serve his people in many different capacities. If he tries to do what happens in European society, namely, to specialise in one particular job and stick to his last, he is despised by his people for hiding his light under a bushel. So the man who has been trained as a teacher has also to become a preacher.
When people have grievances of one kind or another, whether against a local authority or against the government, they do not have much sympathy with the educated man who regards that as none of his business. They expect him to put his talents at their disposal and to assist them in dealing with the matters which require redress. This was much more the case in earlier days when educated people were few and far between.
Thus we find that African leaders of days gone by showed competence in many different directions at one and the same time. They were versatile and were always available when their services were required by other people. Among the most versatile men of his day and generation was SM Makgatho. .
The writer has vivid recollections of attending a moving service at which tributes were paid to this versatile African. Enthusiastic and warm-hearted references were made to his fearlessness, his devotion to progress among his people and his willingness to spend himself in their service. All an interested observer could do was to express the wish that more would follow in his footsteps." ("Late S. M. Makgatho: . . . Great teacher-politician", Imvo Zabantsundu, October 28, 1961).
Perhaps there is no better way to pay tribute to this extraordinary political leader than to take note of this homage to him by President Nelson Mandela in his autobiography Long Walk To Freedom (1995). I quote from Madiba`s book:
"The struggle, I was learning, was all-consuming. A man involved in the struggle was a man without a home life. It was in the midst of the Day of Protest that my second son, Makgatho Lewanika, was born. I was with Evelyn (Mandela`s first wife) at the hospital when he came into the world, but it was only a brief respite from my activities. He was named for Sefako Mapogo Makgatho, the second president of the ANC, from 1917 until 1924, and Lewanika, a leading chief in Zambia. Makgatho, the son of a Pedi chief, had led volunteers to defy the colour bar that did not permit Africans to walk on the sidewalks of Pretoria, and his name for me was an emblem of indomitability and courage" (p. 119).
Comrades, President Makgatho belonged to a generation which knew and practiced the principles of democracy:
Consultation
Participation
Mandating and accountability of leadership
Constructive criticism of comrades
And rigorous self-introspection and reflection
And above all, discipline.
That is why we cannot compromise with the hooligan element that recently disrupted the President of the ANC as he delivered his lecture on the life of President Makgatho. Comrades we are going to have to be very hard in enforcing discipline. If we want the ANC to survive, if we want to bring the organisation back to the values of our forefathers, we will need to take the necessary action. Let us not be found wanting by the generations still to come.
I thank you
