Madiba is no scapegoat

I HAVE something that is bothering me every time when there is a political or economic crisis in this country. Whenever we find ourselves in that situation, people point fingers at Nelson Mandela saying he is the one who sold us out to white people in this country. You will hear that accusation from the mostly communist and socialist organisations and I was surprised to hear that from his old comrade and friend President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Mugabe is also adding to the myth that Madiba is responsible for our woes. It is really unfair to Madiba and his family. Whatever happens in this country is because of the failure of the leadership of the ruling party. Madiba is just being used as a scapegoat.

During the build-up towards the Dakar negotiations between the ANC and the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (Idasa) in 1987, Madiba was still behind bars. It was Thabo Mbeki who led the ANC delegation and Frederick van Zyl Slabbert the Idasa delegation.

When Madiba came out of prison, he went straight to Zambia to hold talks with the leadership of the ANC in exile where they drew up a roadmap towards the start for the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa).

During the Codesa talks, questionable decisions were taken and a compromise was made at the expense of the poor people of this country. At all times, the ANC’s negotiating delegation took decisions that were binding on all.

It was not a one-man show as people purport it to be – as though it was Madiba who made the decisions unilaterally all the time. Committees were set up with their heads to deal with issues.

In future, people should get their facts straight before accusing Madiba or maybe they are trying to just to tarnish his good image and legacy. — Mazwandile aka Pepe Nkomombini, community activist