What has become of Hani’s dream for a free SA?
Last Wednesday marked 31 years since the callous assassination of Chris Thembisile Hani, then general secretary of the South African Communist Party and leading national executive committee member of the ANC. Questions still linger over the masterminds and forces behind this cold-blooded assassination, which robbed South Africa of a possibility of freedom under Hani’s leadership.
This commemoration coincides with the 30th anniversary of the democratic breakthrough, which saw the defeat of apartheid as millions of South Africans voted to remove the system of oppression, giving dignity to the majority who were denied basic human rights over centuries of colonial and apartheid rule. As we remember
Chris Hani, we also reflect on the coming general election.
For Hani, the democratic transition was fundamental in establishing the basis for pursuing socialism — a system of political, economic and social transformation ending oppression and exploitation. Hani simplified what socialism meant for him and the future South Africa he envisaged through his Triple H campaign — addressing health, housing and hunger.
Hani also envisioned a democratic future of progressive ideas and values, including the elimination of discrimination by race, class, gender and sexual orientation. For Hani, South Africa was to become an independent nation state, a nation of citizens, not subjects. Hani, though a trained combatant, a general and commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe, believed in civilian rule, a citizens’government.
As we approach the May 29 elections, one of the concerning observations over the 30 years of democracy has been a gradual shift towards the right in our politics and economy. We observe the waning of progressive ideas, replaced by conservative, traditionalist and even militarist and quasi-fascist politics. Among the plethora of political parties contesting the elections are variants of right-wing politics, which propose that giving market forces free rein will create jobs and grow the economy.
Here we are made to believe that retracting workers’ rights and undoing the national minimum wage would open the floodgates of employment for the majority of unemployed South Africans. In essence, giving private companies more rights to hire and fire workers would create jobs. This lot also argue that the solution to service delivery deficiencies and corruption is through privatisation of those services.
Other groups represent the politics of personalities, where a party’s entire existence hangs on the life of the charismatic leader. The cult of personality pervades many of the political projects claiming to be alternatives to the governing party. There is also a concerning regression to narrow identity and ethnic mobilisation playing out in the political landscape, with some parties based on anti-foreigner mantras and others representing ethnic and regionalist politics, as exemplified by the new MK party.
Furthermore, there is a growing tendency towards traditionalist politics, undermining the very foundations of South Africa as a democratic republic. These are the regressive politics of monarchism, as witnessed in the election manifestos of the IFP and MK party, who both argue for a return of the land to “Amakhosi”, as if that represents a return of the land to the people.
Reflecting on the legacy of comrade Chris Hani, we should ponder the meaning of freedom for all. We should reflect on the politics of liberation, which Hani lived and died for.
A question we must ask ourselves is this: What do the politics of liberation look like in 2024? We should also ask: What would a progressive government for all South Africans, especially the workers and the poor, look like? Lastly, we should ask: What does a South African national project, national cohesion, look like? I believe these questions will enable us as a people to unclutter all the noise and enable sober choices at the ballot box in the elections.