Defend, protect our hard won democracy!
One of the leading intellectuals of our times, Franz Fanon once opined thus: "Every generation, out of relative obscurity must discover its mission; fulfill it or betray it".
As we continue with the massive task of reconstructing and rebuilding our society, the critical question we need to ask is, who are the custodians and protectors of our struggle and, critically, who would be the heirs to our glorious democratic progress?
In class terms, the custodians of the revolution remain the working class; comprising the workers, the unemployed and the rural masses. It should be this core component of society that should claim the ownership of our democratic achievements.
This section of our society has been at the periphery of development for more than three and half centuries. The transformation agenda pursued by the National Liberation Movement - the ANC- responds to the plight of this very important section of the society. In this regard, it stands to reason, therefore, that the success of our struggle and our revolution can be measured by how does it qualitatively change the lives of this section of our society.
Therefore, this is the first section that is expected to defend and protect our hardwon democracy. It is expected that during elections they will constitute the frontline defense of the ANC in particular, and the progressive forces in general. Given the historic task that has been placed upon this current generation, voting in South Africa is still not a frilly exercise but remains a strategic point of advancing the revolution. The contestation during elections is primarily based on what each party would deliver for the people if given the opportunity to govern.
No one questions the hegemonic strength and support the ANC enjoys within the country but in particular in KwaZulu-Natal. All sectors respect and support the leadership role of the ANC as the movement and as government; yet there is still a lingering presence of the opposition in parliament.
The reality is that the support the opposition enjoys in the society is far lesser than their presence in the legislature. Critically, the noise that the opposition parties make in society is disproportionate to their electoral strength. This is as a result of less participation of many people who support the ANC in the electoral processes. Thus we call on all people to come in defense of the revolution by registering and voting for the ANC. Each vote counts and we all have to ensure that all people vote for the ANC.
Key among the crucial sectors is the youth. We have reached a historical point in our country's existence wherein we look to the youth of the country and redefine their role as protectors of the struggle. It is within this context that the youth must remain the main focal point within the broader developmental agenda of the country. The current national transformation programme must address the plight of the youth, especially the high unemployment rate.
Equally, they must take their rightful place in defending democracy. For them, they stand to benefit in the current transformation agenda but such an agenda must also create a brighter future. Young people are the ones who will consequently inherit any eventuality of this struggle. If the struggle succeeds, they will indeed enjoy the fruits but if fails, they will have to reshape and re- chart a new future for themselves. In this regard, they have a direct interest in the evolution of the struggle. Critically they have a duty to ensure that, twenty years after the dawn of freedom in South Africa, they man the forward trenches of the struggle and redefine the course of the struggle going forward.
In this regard, the ANC Youth League has appropriately and concisely defined the strategic task of the youth of the 21st century as"Economic Freedom in our life time". In essence, this is a call for the youth to take the struggle to its logical conclusion by ensuring through significant, organised and structured efforts that economic transformation moves beyond being an ideological concept to a realistic vision, where the economy will be transferred from the hands of the minority to the hands of the majority. This strategic vision is not only relevant but constitutes the key pillar of the second phase of the revolution.
As the titan of our movement, former ANC President O.R. Tambo, did in the 1980s, when he called on the youth to render South Africa ungovernable and the apartheid system unworkable, once again the youth must reclaim its space and defend the hard won gains of the revolution.
Propaganda campaign to delegitimize the ANC
While the ANC remains the undisputed repository of the aspirations and hopes of the people, the counter revolutionary forces are mounting a campaign whose aim is to delegitimize the ANC as the leader of society. This campaign manifests itself in many ways. It manifests itself in the misconception that young people who were born after 1994 are born frees, unencumbered by the historical baggage of apartheid. The fact is the legacy of apartheid is not an invention of the ANC. To posit that "born frees" are free is an misnomer when the challenges of apartheid are still very much a part of our existence.
In this regard, the collective consciousness of South Africans has been influenced by many falsehoods. While some are meant only to influence our thinking, we must ask ourselves how many of them properly educate and responsibly inform the broader population of our political evolution as a country, how many opinions correctly portray the rich history of our struggle, and to what extent does the dominant narrative of an ANC government which has lost its moral authority influence society and negates the achievements of the government of the day?
The ANC led government can boast of many achievements; we have provided livable decent houses, affordable clinics; access to free education, a modern up to date health care system, and many more.While we have provided the infrastructure for development, we have also ensured continued supported funding to safeguard these developments and guarantee sustained growth.
The continuation of all these programmes is highly dependent on who becomes government of the country after the 2014 general elections. Thus, voting becomes more important to all sectors of our society, especially the youth.
It is natural that during electoral contestations and the hustings all political organisations - in a struggle to win the hearts and minds of the people - render themselves as being capable to better fulfill the tasks of the incumbent government.
However, one need only to critically evaluate the policy propositions presented to the voting electorate by these political parties to discern the bogusness and emptiness of their purported ideals. What are the changes in policy they are proposing? What are the alternatives being offered? Are these options better? We need to separate quixotic promises with the sobering reality of governing in the context of the current balance of forces.
From this analysis, it soon becomes clear that no single political party contesting the forthcoming elections provides better opportunities or prospects to the voting public than the ANC. There are no policies provided by opposition parties that may either challenge or be substituted as a better or more improved alternative to what is currently being implemented by the ANC-led government!
The futuristic National Development Plan is a testimony to the fact that the ANC is visionary and very clear about the future. The strides made so far prove its commitment to deliver, including addressing internal weaknesses which hinder such delivery. Among these are corruption, nepotism and other inefficiencies that affect the delivery of services to the people. The ANC has proven to be the only organisation with the capacity for self-criticism and self-correction; hence it has made its tasks to deal with these challenges that are corroding our democratic values.
Those opposed to the cause of our struggle have always bombarded us with many ideas to try and dissuade us from defending our hard won democracy. They have embarked on an aggressive propaganda drive, telling in particular the youth not to vote ANC.
We should never abandon the struggle which our forebears waged under taxing and difficult conditions, resulting in many of them paying the ultimate price.
Young people in particular should respond to the call to safeguard the future. We call on all people, the youth in particular to defend, preserve and protect the struggle and legacy of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chief Albert Luthuli, Dorothy Nyembe, Monty Naicker, Andrew Zondo, Solomon Mahlangu and many others. If every generation, as Franz Fanon said has its mission, the current mission of this young generation is to defend the revolution.
The open voter registration and the Election Day constitute an opportune moment to express our commitment to defend our democracy. As the ANC we call on all young people of South Africa to defend, protect &own our democracy!!! Register now and vote ANC, it is cool!!!
Sihle Zikalala is the ANC provincial secretary in KwaZulu-Natal
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