Mngxitama ’ s cop-out
IT IS irrelevant to ask which political leadership or government Andile Mngxitama (“ANC leaders have bought themselves out of blackness”, July 10) is trying to discredit.
This self-styled populist revolutionary knows how to whip up the emotions of the majority. There is very little substance to what he says except that whites have stolen the land from Africans and need to return it.
Mngxitama dismissed the recent Social Cohesion Summit in Kliptown, Soweto, as another talkshop and evidence that the ANC leadership has undressed its blackness.
He was billed to be a panellist in a commission, but instead of making a positive contribu- tion, he chose to cop out.
What is Mngxitama and other pseudo-radicals, who live privileged lives, doing to contributing to building a nonracial, egalitarian, just and democratic society? Cheap radical politics, which neither deliver bread nor peace to the majority, belong to the 1960s.
The summit was aimed at not only translating the ideals and values of our Constitution into a practical reality, but to rally all our people – irrespective of class, politics, background, religion, culture or race – round the pursuit of creating a caring and proud society.
There is an urgency to address economic inequality, land dispossession, prejudice, lack of meaningful cooperation and solidarity among citizens.
The event was brutal in its honesty and openness and spelt out practical steps to encourage citizens to take their own future into their hands.
Its aim was not only to demand that leaders are accountable, but it sought to mobilise citizens to be active and responsible agents.
Everything that happens – especially the perpetuation of economic inequality and other social ills – is a result of what we do and say or not do and say. It is time all sectors of our society worked together to make our dreams come true.