Mutambara blasts Ramathuba

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara, has hit out at Limpopo province Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba for embarrassing a bed-ridden Zimbabwe patient, saying her actions were “a manifestation of ideological bankruptcy”.

In an interview with South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Friday, Prof Mutambara described Dr Ramathuba’s conduct as unintelligent and incompetent, “and a show of ahistorical nationalism.”

“She manifested the ideological bankruptcy, lack of Pan-African consciousness and absence of regional solidarity that characterises most of the leaders in charge of the African continent today.

“There is a dearth of leadership (in Ramathuba’s conduct). South Africa is a product of African solidarity and African sacrifice. South African leaders must not be ahistorical.

“Extreme (national) inward focus is un-African and, more importantly, un-strategic,” he said.

Prof Mutambara said Africans ought to treat each other with respect as being African comes first before one’s respective nationality.

“We are all Africans. In fact, you are an African FIRST, a citizen of SADC SECOND, and then a South African THIRD, a Nigerian THIRD, a Malawian THIRD, a Zimbabwean THIRD, etc.

“Put differently, the African continent is more important than the regional bloc. The regional bloc is more important than the country.

‘‘That is the consciousness which is missing among us as Africans.

“Africans must abandon irrational attachment to nation states which were never meant serve their interests in the first place,” he said.

Africa, said Prof Mutambara, must be united and be mindful of the importance of regional sovereignty and unity over national sovereignty as regional prosperity leads to national prosperity.

“These national borders are not ours. They were constructed in a meaningless and disruptive manner. Africans must not have any attachment or commitment to these borders.

“Numbers and economies of scale do matter under globalisation. SADC is a building block, it is just a means to an end towards total continental integration; a peaceful, democratic, united and prosperous Africa 1,3 billion Africans with a collective GDP of US$2,5 trillion.

“That is the collective and single economy — a colossus of an entity — that Africans must aspire to.”

Dr Ramathuba sparked controversy last week after she was recorded on video, ranting at the bed-ridden Zimbabwean patient for seeking medical attention in Limpopo province.