POLITICS

Johann Rupert's call for Zuma to go dangerously arrogant - MKMVA

Kebby Maphatsoe says patience of our people towards white monopoly capital wearing thin

UMKHONTO WE SIZWE MILITARY VETERANS ASSOCIATION

PRESS STATEMENT

30 MARCH 2016

Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association wishes to state its concern on the arrogant utterances of Johan Rupert, a representative of white monopoly capital, to arrogate himself on the democratic choice of the members of the ANC, and indeed the people of South Africa. His call to the African National Congress to oust Cde President Jacob Zuma, without the due process of the law, and even the processes of the ANC, indeed shows that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The ANC as an organization has a constitution, its own principles and its own processes, which if necessary will be unfolded on any member of the movement if the need arises. The Republic has a constitution which directs and guides the laws of the country, and no one in our knowledge is above those laws, or can hold the constitution in contempt.

Perhaps Johan Rupert in his cocoon as one of the super-rich in our country does not know that, or he simply ignores that reality because of his preferential space as a very rich in a society in which the majority are poor

As MKMVA, we take serious exception to the dangerously arrogant call by Johan Rupert that the President of the ANC and of South Africa should be recalled disregarding the democratic and constitutional process that elected him in those positions of responsibility.

Mr Rupert we may draw is displaying the arrogance of white monopoly capital which has a malicious duality of racism. He declares positions that can only be understood within the context of the accumulation of his wealth, which was achieved within the environment of racist apartheid policies, which super exploited Africans, Coloureds and Indians.

These are policies which were formulated on the basis of brutal and violent colonialization of our country, and the conquest of our lands. They are policies upon which his empire spanning mining, manufacturing, agriculture, financial institutions and trade saw its success. Today he represents the richest family in our land primarily because of the super exploitation of the labour of our people, and the cronyism of apartheid.

That the Rembrandt group was favoured by apartheid, and that today his liquor empire owns 80% of the brands of brandy consumed in our country, says much not about his right to perceive himself as the spokesperson of our people and the structures of the ANC, but it is about his extremely oversized sense of self importance.

Today South Africa is faced with serious challenges of a shrinking economy, which spawns terrible poverty that is visited upon the majority of our people. We would have expected him to be outspoken about how white monopoly capital seeks to support the policies of the ANC led government to transform the economy and make it inclusive.

But from him and those who are rich like him, we only experience a sort of investment holiday and the rabid resistance to be part of those who are committed to transform, build and grow our economy together as South Africans. His utterances we view as unhelpful, arrogant and an expression of his sense superiority over us. He perhaps expresses the feeling of big capital that the current policies of the ANC must not be supported.

We may at this point explain that the patience of our people towards white monopoly capital, whose attitude and utterances as displayed by Mr Johan Rupert, is thinning. The masses of the impoverished of our society are not dumb, and they are awaking to the reality that even though we have political power, white monopoly capital still holds the key to our efforts at economic transformation.

The arrogance of Mr. Johann Rupert, can only send a clear message to the people of South Africa that white monopoly capital is not prepared to change, and that the policies of the ANC that were meant to cajole it to serve a patriotic purpose in our society have been rendered meaningless.

We further would like to raise a concern and caution those among us who knowingly and unknowingly, serve the purpose of white monopoly capital that the challenges of the ANC must be resolved within the ANC as the movement has structures and platforms for that purpose.

We want to express our grave disappointment at those amongst us who call themselves general, who call for the removal of the President using the mass media and attracting the favour of white monopoly capital. Notwithstanding our internal and structural challenges in the ANC, our organizational principles, our constitutional structures are still intact.

Statement issued by Kebby Maphatsoe, MKMVA National Chairperson, 30 March 2016