Bring back the humble servants of the people

Dear

Oreaders, n Monday, 18 July we celebrated the birthday of the founding father of our modern democracy, Nelson Mandela – a much-loved statesman, a man of integrity and principle who was part of a cohort of ANC leaders who fought for, and sacrificed their lives for, a democratic South Africa in which all would be equal before the law.

I was one of the thousands who stood on Cape Town’s Grand Parade on 11 February 1990, waiting for Mandela to be released from Victor Verster Prison.

I remember feelings of fear, disbelief and awe as people jostled to get a glimpse of a hero who had been in prison for 27 years. I was a part of the teeming mass as this elderly and imposing statesman spoke with such humility as he stood on the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall, saying: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”

Unbelievable, right? A politician. An ANC politician who spoke about being a servant of the people. That was 32 years ago. Like everyone in that crowd, I was full of hope that the days of darkness and death, and despair of being arrested, detained, beaten, segregated, sabotaged and denied opportunities to live our lives to their fullest potential were soon coming to an end. We did not dream that the ANC that Mandela, Tambo and other leaders of his generation led would lay waste to every iota of faith that all of us standing on that Grand Parade had in 1990. Today there are no heroes, just crass politicians interested in their own pockets.

Next week the ANC will be hosting its policy conference – its discussion of supposedly big ideas to steer our country’s future. The problem with a party that has had its hand on the levers – or should we say in the tills

– of power for 27 years is that it has run out of ideas; it is adrift on the Titanic of ideologies based on the Cold War era of the 1950s that ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

As Rebecca Davis writes in our lead story, even former president Thabo Mbeki said at the memorial service for ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte on 21 July that the party he once led “has no national plan to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment, inequality”. Read Davis’s analysis of the policy documents to get an insight into the ANC’s vision for SA – and let me know whether you think there are any ideas we could build a future on. Better still, read the story and let me know your ideas of policies better suited to address SA’s challenges by writing to heather@dailymaverick.co.za

Yours in defence of truth, Heather