Derek Hanekom, chairperson of the ANC's National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) announced on 2 May 2012, that the NDC has suspended the hearing involving Ben Turok and Gloria Borman, following their representatives asking for a further meeting with the chief national presenter on the charges against them.

In the Cape Times of 24 April 2012 (see here), it was reported that the ANC Veterans' League president Sandi Sijake said that "To institute disciplinary action against Comrade Ben is to say: ‘I'm going to discipline my father.' He (Turok) was together with Nelson Mandela, with Oliver Tambo, with Walter Sisulu. That is very, very insulting. 

"I am 100 percent sure they can't say that to Nelson Mandela. They find it easier to speak to a white person (like that), but not an African.."

Now, normally, being a disciplined cadre of this glorious movement, I would not comment on the words of a veteran. Our veterans are revered, and treated as being men and women of distinction and merit, who have earned their right to air their views on all issues involving the ANC and society in general. But I do find these remarks by comrade Sijake to be just a bit ingenious and even mischievous. In my humble opinion, it is quite a perversion of cadreship.

At this juncture, I think I need to remind comrade Sijake of the ANC declaration of membership, which reads:

"I, ..............., solemnly declare that I will abide by the aims and objectives of the African National Congress as set out in the Constitution, the Freedom Charter and other duly adopted policy positions, that I am joining the organisation voluntarily and without motives of material advantage or personal gain, that I agree to respect the Constitution and the structures and to work as a loyal member of the organisation, that I will place my energies and skills at the disposal of the organisation and carry out tasks given to me, that I will work towards making the ANC an even more effective instrument of liberation in the hands of the people, and that I will defend the unity and integrity of the organisation and its principles, and combat any tendency towards disruption and factionalism."

Comrade Sijake also calls Comrade Borman "an outstanding member" of the ANC. Well, at the second juncture, I feel the urge to remind comrade Sijake of our current system of governance; also known as the party representation system. In any general election, people of South Africa are given the opportunity to vote for the party of their choice, as determined by the Independent Electoral Act.

Once voting had been concluded, the IEC would tally the votes, and using systems provided for in the said Act, declare a party to have been the winner of the elections. Such a party would then, in terms of a predetermined list, decides who would represent it in various structures, including Parliament. Such members would than constitute the caucus of a party in Parliament.

Comrades Ben Turok and Gloria Borman, as the other 262 ANC MPs in Parliament, did not stand in an open election to occupy the seats they do now. It was given to them by the ANC, which won the 2009 general elections (national). But that seat has got conditions of occupation (my own term!), one of which is that such an occupant (MP) has to always articulate the views and policies of the ANC, i.e. be "an outstanding member" of the ANC. Any outstanding member of the ANC, tasked with this immense responsibility would undoubtedly always strive to be a sterling example of ANC cadreship, in this case meaning that such an MP should always vote the party line.

Comrade Sijake's words about Comrade Turok being charged because he is white really makes my blood boil. And to reason that he should not be charged because he has been with Mandela, Tambo and Sisulu, really comrade Sijake, is that the best you could come up with? I agree that a child should always look up to his father for an example, but if the father misbehaves, is it not also the responsibility of the child to show the father the error of his ways?

And should certain people be forgiven for their wrongdoings simply because "they had been there"? Should certain credentials, like being a struggle veteran, give people automatic immunity even if they transgress the rules of the very organisation they are supposed to represent? I think not. Comrade Sijake should always remember that, for many generations, the ANC has always proclaimed that no person is ever bigger than the ANC. I am sure that, should u-Tata say something to hurt the ANC; his age, image and place in the movement would be mitigating circumstances, not the fact that he is Nelson Mandela, that he happens to be an African.

Comrades Turok and Borman had been charged because they brought the ANC into disrepute, not because they happen to be Caucasian. I am still upset because they broke with the party line, but what further infuriated me was the fact that both chose, of their own volition, to also speak to the media about that. Very few people would have been aware of them not voting on the Bill, but unlike other MPs, they chose to inform the whole world and his cousin, why they could not vote on the Bill.

These members had ample opportunity to air their view on many occasions when this very same Bill was under discussion during the normal Thursday meeting of ANC Caucus. They, as MPs, also had the opportunity to address the ANC study group on their "concerns", or even the NA Ad Hoc Committee. This just begs the question: is this very public forum called Parliament, a big enough scene for these "comrades", and "outstanding members of the ANC"?

If our veterans say something, we as young lions take heed. We try to take each and every opportunity to lap up the wisdom of our veterans. But if a veteran choose to undermine the very same principles they are supposed to exude, they tend to make themselves seem irrelevant. And I am sure that Comrade Sijake has a lot to teach our younger generations. So I would caution him, in a very respectful manner, not to become an empty voice of unreason.

MOEGAMAT SHAREEF BLANKENBERG

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