In an address to the people of Soweto, he said: "...much debate has been sparked off, by the ANC policies on the economy relating to nationalisation and the redistribution of wealth. We believe that apartheid has created a heinous system of exploitation, in which a racist minority monopolises economic wealth, while vast majorities of the black people are condemned to poverty..."
He further said: "South Africa is a wealthy country. It is the labour of black workers that has built these cities, roads and factories. They cannot be excluded from sharing this wealth. The ANC is just as committed to economic growth and productivity, as the present employer claim to be. Yet we are also committed to ensuring that a democratic government has the resources to address the inequalities caused by apartheid."
Today I ask: Is it not surprising that our African hero, Nelson Mandela, said these exact words back in 1990 after his release from prison, yet when Julius Malema and the ANCYL express similar sentiments they are demonised by all and sundry as purveyors of terror, disruption, hatred and madness?
Whereas such a state of affairs purely depict the nature of politics as they exist today, I fear that it will somehow rest upon our shoulders to explain to future generations, as to how we managed to allow others - in our lifetime - to misrepresent what Madiba stood for, and what the struggle and aspirations of the black majority were about.
He then added: "Let each one of you, and all of our people give the enemies of peace and liberty no space to take us back the dark hell of apartheid...I have spoken about freedom in my lifetime, your struggle, your commitment and your discipline, has released me to stand before you today".
It is a historical fact that the liberation movement's strength - during the period leading up to its unbanning, the release of political prisoners and the democratic elections - was the ability to mobilise the African majority into one united force. Such was the people's commitment to the ideals of the struggle that it was near impossible for "the enemies of peace and liberty" to find any space to plant seeds of division.
Ten years ago, Patrick Lekota, then a UDF leader, was at the forefront of a march against FW de Klerk and his parliament, and behind him was a sea of a committed black men and women, ready to face whatever onslaught the apartheid police and security forces had in store. Today, Patrick Lekota is leading an initiative (COPE) to mobilise the very same black majority against the very same liberation movement, which would have had (since it failed) the unfortunate effect of undermining the objectives of the liberation movement, thus giving space to "enemies of peace and liberty".
Are we to believe that in order to strengthen democracy and to avoid the route towards so-called "African dictatorship", a divided black majority is a necessity? Surely this is not a lesson we learnt from Madiba and it therefore begs a question: where did we learn it from?
The current discourse among commentators and analysts is one that reduces politics to issues of morality, which has the adverse effect of rendering political talk irrelevant, and thus depoliticising the masses of our people, particularly the black middle class. In pursuit of this cause, some among us have become self-styled moral police, or as Thabo Mbeki would say: "fishers of the immoral men".
Our ability to achieve the objectives of the liberation movement would only be determined by the extent which a resolute and vigilant people unite behind our current leadership (including Malema); lest we allow the "enemies of peace and liberty" the space they need to become our parachuted teachers. Our "struggle, [our] commitment and [our] discipline" are only keys that will release us from the chains of poverty.
Setumo Stone is a writer, social commentator and youth activist.
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