**** *HAMBA KAHLE MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU*
*03 June 2011* The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has learnt with shock on the untimely departure of Mama Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu. Mama Sisulu died soon after an uphill battle and campaign for her organisation, the African National Congress (ANC), during the feisty contested local government elections. Wherever she is in the nooks and crannies of the universe, she would be glad that her organisation was retained to power by the overwhelming majority of our people, particularly by the workers and the poor. But she would bemoan in her silent sleep on the unprecedented high numbers of voters that abstained, particularly from the core constituency areas of the ANC-led Alliance. As she joins the immortal living in the land of the departed she would have decried the opulence displayed by some of our leaders on the face of the poor communities of Makhaza, Diepsloot, Machibisa and Nkowankowa who are still patiently waiting for basic services. She would be at pains on the sexist, demagogic and demeaning language couched in revolutionary language as used by some of the youth leaders during the electioneering campaign. As we bid Mama Sisulu farewell we should renew the revolutionary values and traditions of the ANC-led Alliance as espoused by her generation. A generation that did not regard its fellow comrades such Joe Slovo, Yusuf Dadoo, Alex la Guma, Bram Fischer, Esther Bersel, Ruth First as minorities, but as equal comrades and beings of an ideal and future South Africa as envisaged in the Freedom Charter that ‘South Africa belongs to all that live on it’. A generation that knew that a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa will be made possible if we alter and change the colonial character of our economy as guided by the Freedom Charter. Mama Sisulu’s death should serve as a call to the ANC-led Alliance to use its parliamentary power and majority to abolish private property and restore the wealth of our country beneath the soil to the hands of the people as a whole informed by the Freedom Charter. As long as the wealth of our country is concentrated in the hands of the few whites males, we will be plunging ourselves into a deeper crisis which might trigger another ‘1976 June 16’. This is the befitting tribute our movement can honour Mama Sisulu for her dedication, sacrifices and commitments to the struggle of the oppressed. We send our sincere and profound condolences to her family, friends and her organisations, the ANC and the ANCYL. Issued: Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary Contact: *Castro Ngobese, NUMSA National Spokesperson – 073 299 1595* -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
