Small turnout to honour Castro
TRIBUTES to the late Fidel Castro were mixed with criticism of the current South African government during a memorial service for the Cuban revolutionary in Kwazakhele last night.
Fewer than 100 people attended the event hosted by the SA Communist Party in the Kwazakhele High School hall.
Of the eight or more Cuban doctors expected to attend the memorial service, only two arrived.
Doctors Felipe Tapanei and Valentina Estrada joined delegates from the SACP, ANC and Young Communist League on the stage, listening to the tributes to Castro.
SACP district secretary Mthiwabo Ndube shared some of Castro’s background with the scant crowd, and said while the SACP regarded Castro as one of its role models, the organisation should not ignore its mistakes or those of its allies.
“We must not be blind to the mistakes of the ANC or the SACP. We will kill these organisations if we do not work to fix them. We must build a strong SACP and build good alliances,” Ndube said.
“We have weak leadership on all levels in this country, and we cannot afford to have weak leaders.”
Earlier, Young Communist League of SA regional leader Chumani Mfana said he did not want to mourn Castro but rather wanted to celebrate the struggle he fought until his last breath.
Mfana agreed with Ndube, drawing a contrast between Castro and the ruling party, and criticising the “weak political leadership”.
“But we must not gloss over the problems,” he said.
“Each person here is responsible for contributing to our movement, and must decide whether their contribution will be positive or negative. We must face these problems and deal with them accordingly.”