M'afrika Mduduzi Sibeko
The republic of South Africa is often described in glorious terms in
international forums for a variety of reasons. The core issues that negatively
affect the lives of its citizens are mostly ignored in the very same circles,
and when a social implosion occurs the analysts look askance at each other and
make ridiculous observations. Let's face it, the views and opinions of the
majority are marginalised at these forums, and even the decision making process
in government belongs to a coterie of conflicted personalities. The majority
of those who should benefit from an efficient state are not taken seriously.
Like subliminal racism, the unequal treatment of citizens has become a norm and
it is accepted as natural. This should not go on forever.
The president who is leading a state delegation in Brussels is yesterday
reported to have conveyed a sincere message of condolences to the families of
bereaved victims of the suicide car bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan, after a suicide
bomber took them to be foreigners who denigrate the Muslim faith in the light
of popular Arab protests against a propaganda documentary made in the US.
This presidential message could be well and good. Look closely and you will
notice that the eight victims are white South African working for a private
airline in Afghanistan. Contrast this with his attitude back home. Last month
mineworkers were mowed down like flies in Marikana in a process that had been
brewing up for four months at least in the dispute on wage increment between
the workers and Lonmin management. In full view of the media, the killers of
the workers were the state police. These killers are equally underpaid,
ill-equipped and ill-trained personnel, largely Black, and led by a Black woman
national police commissioner who encouraged the killers to do so more often in
the future, and that they should not be sorry for what they did.
I believe the difference between the two unfortunate incidents where loss of
life occurred is the colonial mentality of the leadership that hold power of
the state. Over a period of more than two thousand years, African people have
been subjected to slavery and massive exploitation of the resources - they are
treated as lesser beings by the imperialists and their local running dogs. I
guess the process of resolving settler-colonialism makes it even more complex,
with citizens expressing differing sets of needs and expectations from the
state. The aggrieved group (the Marikana mineworkers, for example) continues
to be treated like beasts of burden, they live in squalid conditions, get slave
wage, etc., and are killed at will by their own elected government. Colonial
mentality is a trained conditioning of the mind and body. In the story, the
archer in a circus was aggrieved by the tyranny and dictatorial behavior of the
leading man in the performance. The archer planned to accidentally shoot him
with his arrow during performance. This never happened despite several genuine
attempts. The archer was steeped into the habit of shooting the apple on top
of the leading man's head. Just like colonial mentality - Ba khonza abelungu.
This puts into question the value of each citizen in South Africa. The state
perpetuates inequality - the government steals from the coffers of the state
and do so with impunity. The services they offer to the rich and the poor are
not the same, and this is deliberate. The justice system favors the rich and
famous. You have to be well-off to can afford to pay for superior legal
service in the courts where justice is supposed to be seen to be done. I
believe the false justifications for Chapter Nine organisations in the
constitution is meant to be a sop to calm down the exploited majority. The
political parties in parliament are on a gravy train - each one of the various
leaders is advancing his or her interest against the collective national
interest. Even the erstwhile revolutionaries are comfortable with fighting for
a position on the mountain top in their organisations. This established
paradigm must change. The Marikana mountain top is the forum of the majority.
Citizens of the state must be treated like decent human beings - all of them.
You, Comrade Mduduzi, have often advised us to have a global view on the
running of the state. Ethics and good governing principles. International laws
of competition and the globalisation of economies, human rights issues in the
international context, and the importance of an open policy and modernisation.
Like Mangaliso Sobukwe, who led a paradigm shift away from cap in hand
deputations to plead for change, I believe the revolution will come like waves,
one after the other, to cleanse society of its wrongs. The revolution will come
from below - from the heat of the struggle conducted by the Azanian masses. We
will win.
Jaki
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