After the loss of Kgalema Motlanthe on his bid for ANC presidency, the news spread like wildfire that he will resign as the country's Deputy President. This prompted ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu to verify such rumours with the Deputy President and his response was "where do they (journalists) get such horror stories?'.
There has been quite a marathon of odd statements in reaction to president Zuma's re-election to the helm of the ANC in Mangaung. One article that tops them all was penned by Dr Mamphela Ramphele in the "Sunday Independent" of 23 December entitled, "Zuma's ANC threatens Madiba's ideals". Before Ramphele's piece there was a statement by Helen Zille; watering down the re-election of President Jacob Zuma saying "Zuma win is not good for SA". Ironically the statement contains some quivering congratulations that say "while personal congratulations to the winner of an election are always in order, the re-election of Jacob Zuma as President of the ANC is not good news for South Africa".
But if you thought that was self-contradictory and absurd enough, wait until you hear the statement by Reverend Meshoe entitled; "Zuma's re-election is both good and bad news for SA". Then this one by General Bantu Holomisa takes the trophy; ‘Cyril must build his own base, because the Zuma camp wants Nkosazana Zuma as president". Need I say more? I guess its befitting to exclaim "all hail the General!" After all this is the man who established a "permanent base" in the UDM by being the Alpha and Omega of its leadership so far.
But the General would do well not to go on dishing out advice even where they were not sought after. Did the General hear Ramaphosa saying he aspires for the top job in the ANC?
However, I have taken keen interest in Dr Ramphele's article as it represents all the annoyance, perplexity and disgusts that have accompanied the Zuma victory in the opposition and elite circles. The elite in South Africa still cannot fathom how a man from humble rural beginnings of Nkandla, with lack of formal education has out-manoeuvred all the sophisticated opponents to be at helm of South Africa's governing party twice?
Somewhat a suffocating discourse is emerging that the current ANC betrays Mandela's legacy. This was all fine if it came from Helen Zille who in anyway has no link with Mandela's name; but for a person who serves in the board of the Nelson Mandela Foundation like Dr Mamphele Ramphele to lead such a distortion; it's treacherous to say the least.
In his biography "Long Walk to Freedom" Mandela explains how he escaped the privileges of being a member of the aba-Thembu Royal Kraal to seek personal freedom in the golden City, Johannesburg. He left Qunu as a royal prince and went on to assume a humble role of being a security officer at the mine. What this would translate into eventually is that Mandela rather than seeking the comfort of his "aristocratic background" he instead chose to identify with the struggle for the poor and marginalised.
This is in sharp contrast to the discourse that Dr Mamphele and her ilk are pushing. Dr Mamphele and her fellow travellers have opted to "stay at the peak of the mountain and condemn the ANC's efforts in redressing the imbalances of the past". Their movement is an anti-thesis of Mandela's legacy. This is because Mandela later had to leave a flourishing legal firm that he had built together with Oliver Tambo and chose to dedicate his life to the liberation struggle.
Dr Ramphele quotes De Doorns as an example of how the poor and workers are forsaken in South Africa. The question is that what has she done in her personal capacity or as a leader of the so-called "Movement for Social Change" to go and listen to the plight of those workers?
What has Dr Ramphele done so far as her contribution to grooming future leaders? One would have thought that she would use her rich background that includes being a Managing Director at the World Bank to promote positive stories about South Africa but instead she has chosen to oppose every perspective that comes from the ANC including pouring scorn at its democratic elective processes.
SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande remarked at the closing of the ANC Conference that there is a new definition of being an intellectual in South Africa. He rightfully captured it by saying the "new intellectual" in SA must first and foremost attack the governing party, i.e. the ANC. He asserted that media heroes are all those who have made it their "past time to attack, ridicule or sought to present themselves as being above the ANC".
All people who have witnessed South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy have a duty to narrate the truth about their heroes and heroines. This must be done in the interest of shielding future generations from malicious distortion of the struggle history and mischief.
I suppose by now the Deputy President has got his answer as to who are South Africa's "champion peddlers" of horror stories?
Walter Mothapo is a member of the PEC of the SACP in the Limpopo Province. He writes in his personal capacity!
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