Man Oh Man – Ayabonga Cawe

Queenstown-born economist, cultural enthusiast and passionate broadcaster Ayabonga Cawe on advocating for change and refusing to settle for anything but inner peace

You hold a Master’s in Economics, yet here you are making big moves in the media. How did you get here?

My transition from economics to media didn’t happen overnight. I wrote for a digital title, Aliyana Magazine, for some time before moving on to the Daily Maverick in 2015. This was a few years after I had completed my studies, and working as the Economic Justice Programme Manager for Oxfam South Africa.

Briefly tell us about your move to Power FM.

I had just started my own business when Power FM’s chairperson, Given Mkhari, called asking if I’d ever considered radio. Luckily, I wasn’t tied down by a nine-to-five. Radio allowed me to use the insights I’d gathered to influence public discourse at a systemic level, as well as touch on different topics daily. Given that I obtained my master’s degree at 23, there was some form of expectation about where I’d end up. My dad didn’t quite understand why I’d been to school for so long only to end up working in radio [chuckles]. I think my folks had hoped I’d end up working for a bank or something.

What epiphany do you swear by?

We don’t live one-dimensional lives and this is a reality, and mantra, that I hold dear. Everything I do – be it film, photography, consulting as an economist or a broadcaster – is driven by an understanding that we experience life in multidimensional ways. I’m proud of how I use creativity as a lens in everything I do.

How was your upbringing?

I was raised by two teachers who were also active community members. From very early on in my life, I learned from their actions, and not necessarily what they said to me. One of the most important lessons I learnt was that you have to contribute to society in one form or another.

Was your love of isiXhosa drilled into you from home?

I’m very intentional in all I do. I don’t speak isiXhosa just on Heritage Month

or because I’m being Afrocentric; it is who I am. It’s our task to create our languages into languages of commerce, industry and technology. Language carries power. If I can think and articulate myself in the language of my birth, it allows me to do it much better in other languages.

How has being authentic served you?

You don’t have to leave parts of yourself at the door to be able to feel you can contribute. I walk into rooms with my unkempt hair, and see some people being uneasy at its sight. I’ve assigned myself the task, not only as an economist but as a cultural worker, to say it’s okay to be yourself in any space you walk into.

What’s the significance behind your opening line on

Metro FM Talk with Ayabonga Cawe? ‘Le mida isahlukanisayo yeyakutshanje iAfrika kuba kaloku singama Afrika thina’. Simply put, it means these borders we’ve built around tribes and nations are a very new phenomenon in the continent. Probably just over a century old. Before that, and to this day, migration has been a key part of African life. For instance, I’m from the Xesibe nation, in the east of the Eastern Cape, but I grew up in a traditionally Thembu area. Our people come from eMbo, which is now in Kenya, but we also have strong KhoiSan roots, so all of this tribal purist nonsense is very ahistorical. We’ve got to affirm that every day and hope whoever listens ask themselves questions. I want to make my platform a place to build positivity and a strong sense of justice and call out BS where necessary. If not, I would have wasted all the sacrifices the people where I come from have made, so that I could stand on their shoulders and see a bit further. If I can’t see a little further, then why am I here?

You’ve expressed how we don’t talk about institutional racism enough. Tell us more.

We think racism is someone calling us the K-word, but no. It’s me flying a drone over Alexandra and seeing the most pervasive kind of racism because it’s difficult to change. The fact that we’re packed in densely populated areas, like sardines, and must get on trains and buses to get to work far from where we live, is unacceptable. We need to break both generational and intergenerational poverty. It’s easier to focus on the micro-levels of racism rather than the systemic and economic kind – which is in my opinion the biggest.

What inspired your move from Power FM to Metro FM?

It was mostly about the reach I’d have, but I was also becoming wary of being branded as a business journalist. I think I’m very interested in business, investments and markets, but I’m also interested in politics, organising, struggle, activism and culture too. So Metro FM Talk has given me that opportunity. I’d like to put my time, attention and energy where my mouth is and make a contribution to national discourse.

What are some of the insights you walked away with from the Bro-Code Roundtable you held on your show?

That wasn’t a new conversation by black men around gender-based violence. I just think we haven’t had the balls in the past to call each other out, and confront the fact that in many instances we’re violent to the women in our lives.

What do you look forward to doing more of ?

I’d like to do a PhD and teach a bit more. I also look forward to fine-tuning my skills in broadcasting. But most importantly, I want to continue finding my inner peace and contribute to raising the consciousness of our people. ■