Change of heart needed in ANC
“THE age of foolishness” – all of us know these words from Charles Dickens’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities.
To actually live during such times is, however, a painful experience in South Africa.
Members of the ruling party have often succumbed to the natural temptation of labelling critics as enemies of progress.
The response has always sought to justify the self-serving view which suggests that critics are either racist or agents advancing regime change.
I could not but notice that the entire focus of the ANC elective conference was yet again about positions. Polokwane was no different by all accounts and marked the beginning of a chapter that was to be very dangerous for this historic organisation.
Again, the central objective is not about the re-establishment of an ANC which will gain momentum with the masses it represents.
I have never been a card-carrying member of the ANC, but have always been a rank and file activist, seeking instead to advance its cause by offering my legal knowledge.
Like many within its ranks, I fear this renowned movement has lost its sense of direction and may be heading towards its demise. This should be cautioning many to start preparing for a future steered by another political party.
This may be an opportunity to remind our leaders that the people they liberated refuse to be captured by their own liberators.
The Through the Eye of a Needle document says of the broad requirements of leadership: “A leader should lead by example. He should be above reproach in his political and social conduct . . . Through force of example, he should act as a role model to ANC members and non-members alike.
“Leading a life that reflects commitment to the strategic goals of the national democratic revolution (NDR) includes not only being free of corrupt practices; it also means actively fighting against corruption”.
In the 2012 Oliver Tambo Lecture, Thabo Mbeki said what distinguished Tambo were:
ý An unwavering commitment to serve the people of South Africa with no expectation of any personal benefit: this affirmed a value system at the centre of which was respect for the fundamental principle and practice that leaders were there to serve the people;
ý A sustained determination to conduct himself in his personal life so that at all times he would never betray the ethical standards which the masses he represented and led viewed as fundamental to their definition of themselves.
I have quoted these extracts to suggest that unless leaders of the ANC act as role models, conduct themselves in a manner that does not betray the masses, seek places of wisdom and understanding, then it shall be they will lose the 2019 elections! Sibabalwe Savuya Matshikiza, Grahamstown