A letter to O.R. Tambo

Dear Mdala

Having observed the developments in our country we thought it proper to petition you and other esteemed elders in the yond for advice on how to process and understand the developments in our body politic, especially within the African National Congress. In the difficult conversations we have as friends, about leadership and the state of our country and other related matters, we always ask the question, ngubani onokusinika umkhomba ndlela kule ngxuba kaxaka sikuyo?

By accident of birth we never had the privilege and honour to interact directly with you. However, from what we hear from your fellow comrades as well as reading archived documents and watching footage of the liberation struggle, there is no disputing that you are the man who always rose above everything else, provided leadership and gave direction.

In our zeal to understand the current dynamics we had to go back to the basics and search our archives for the theory of our revolution as well as the trajectory which we ought to follow. In this regard we were moved by this excerpt:

"In our country - more than in any other part of the oppressed world - it is inconceivable for liberation to have meaning without a return of the wealth of the land to the people as a whole. It is therefore a fundamental feature of our strategy that victory must embrace more than formal political democracy. To allow the existing economic forces to retain their interests intact is to feed the root of racial supremacy and does not represent even the shadow of liberation. Our drive towards national emancipation is therefore in a very real way bound up with economic emancipation.....The correction of these centuries-old economic injustices lies at the very core of our national aspirations... In our land this cannot be tackled unless the basic wealth and the basic resources are at the disposal of the people as a whole and are not manipulated by sections or individuals be they White or Black". Strategy and tactics 1969

Dear Mdala, we quote these passages at length because we suspect that the African National Congress has reached the proverbial cross-roads. This obtains both at the level of what constitutes the current task of this phase of our revolution as well as character of the leadership that should drive our revolution.

In addition, the document buttresses the need of what Dr Frances Cress-Welsing calls "Analytical (Ideological) Commitment in dealing with race, racism, and socio-economic injustice. In her 1979 paper entitled "Black Fear and the Failure of Black Analytical (Ideological) Commitment Cress-Welsing argues that the lack of commitment and failure by Blacks to analyze the problem of white supremacy (Racism) comprehensively will lead to collective Black floundering and an ideological vacuum and disorientation. She further argues that "All that remains is for Blacks to escalate tragically their activity of powerless arguing and squabbling amongst themselves and compete with one another for white supremacy jobs and grant crumbs. Or, Blacks can pretend, as a diversionary thought strategy that the "real" struggle exists between imagined Black "classes" or between Black males and females. Every energy and psychological effort is expended, at both the individual and collective levels, to "black out" and avoid focusing on the true problem of White/Black confrontation - white supremacy (Racism). All Blacks realize, consciously and/or unconsciously, that to engage in such realistic focus can mean certain death at the hands of white supremists".

The recent Marikana massacre, and other related strikes in various mines in South Africa, best illustrates the challenges of addressing race, racism, economic wealth and privilege, and injustice for the black majority, be it the miners digging the minerals or the poor communities. Granted, there are Black beneficiaries who are shareholders and/or holding executive positions with handsome financial packages.

Tragically, the economic wealth of our country still remains in the hands of the few (read white) and now joined by an elite group of Black middle class drawn mainly from the ranks of the leadership of our movement who benefit and prosper from BBEEE deals and tenders to the exclusion of the majority. We know the strategic view, as outlined in both the Freedom Charter and Ready to Govern document that we need to de-racialise the economy and allow the transfer to the majority of our people. One would have thought that by "majority" we did not mean those close to political power and privilege but rather our poverty-stricken communities who have been economically marginalized and displaced for centuries.

A warrior and author Lawrence of Arabia captures our feelings when he writes in Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A triumph "The morning freshness of the world-to-be intoxicated us. We were wrought up with ideas inexpressible and vaporous, but to be fought for. We lived many lives in those whirling campaigns, never sparing ourselves: yet when we achieved and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to remake in the likeness of the former world they knew....We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thanked us and made their peace". Could it be that the dawn of democracy and all that it promised means nothing more than replacing the "White bass" with a "Black bass" while the majority of South Africans still languish in poverty?

We worry President General when we see the amount of bickering, squabbling amongst our leaders. They get razor sharp when they ambush each other in political debate. They have double the zeal when they deal with one of our own and yet that commitment fizzles in the air when it's about confronting the strategic tasks of our revolution like the economic question. Then you hear all sorts of excuses and our comrades become self-appointed spokes-persons of capital.

 As we approach the all-important ANC conference taking place in Mangaung in two months time all we hear about is leadership contestation. Week in week out we hear of those advancing President Zuma to remain president and those who want change and positioning Deputy President Mothlante to take over the reins.

Aside from the fact that both these leaders are serving in the same leadership collective and therefore if there is any culpability they should therefore bear equal responsibility, there is no cogent analysis that is advanced on why this one and not the other. In fact the ever pertinent question asked on the street is whether you are for Zuma or Mothlante as though leadership contestation in the ANC is somewhat- a beauty pageant.

Again it would be interesting to understand what, if anything, sets these two leaders apart from one another from a class perspective. This is important because the socio-economic indicators, the still racialised economic participation in South Africa, as well as the widening gap between the haves and have not's dictates that Mangaung should rather be about a solid ideological shift and a revolutionary program that will ensure true economic emancipation and therefore genuine liberation for our people. Critically for us, Mangaung confronts the movement with the biggest threat and opportunity, post 1994. The ANC will either choose to remain stagnant and feast on its past glories or re-evaluate its Analytical (Ideological) Commitment towards the people and for the benefit of the people (emphasis).

We call upon you and the Elders to allow your collective spirits to descend on those who should lead. Remind them what the African National Congress stands for and guide them on how to be ethical and compassionate leaders of the people.

Unathi Bongco is an Advocate in Pretoria and Mthetho Tshemese a Clinical Psychologist in Umthatha

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