The diatribe Kader Asmal metes out at the leadership of the ANC is nothing more than hot air from a disgruntled individual who refuses to come to terms with reality. Heaping insults at our leaders and desperately trying to project the ANC as a conglomeration of imbeciles will not catapult Asmal back to centre stage of public life, as he seems to hope with his ramblings.

The evolution of the ANC was a necessary condition of history, which evolution cleansed the ANC of arrogant and aloof leaders who believed they had the licence to think for the rank and file. Throughout its history, the ANC has gone through similar transformation and renewal, regurgitating those who undermined its very value system in its name.

Asmal wants us to believe he is the messiah endowed with the power to salvage us from the big bad ANC, forgetting his very role in shifting the ANC away from its base and values. It is a sad day when those relegated to the rubbish bin of history want to make a comeback through populist tendencies that they decried yesteryear, and rumblings of a raving lunatic.

It has never been part of our struggle or culture to seek liberation by the media, whom ironically Asmal calls upon to investigate the "dank, dark, dangerous areas of South African life." Our people have always understood their power to hold to account their political leadership and the power of the vote in keeping in check those that do not represent their aspirations. Asmal and his ilk, having realised this choose to conveniently ignore the masses of our people and sound the clarion call to their darlings, the media establishment.

The ANC collective elected in Polokwane led by President Zuma, Deputy President Motlanthe and Secretary-General Mantashe have no illusions about the magnitude of the work at hand in the pursuit of a truly emancipated society. We have made an unequivocal commitment, which we intend to see through, that we will eradicate the "dank, dark, dangerous areas of South Africa."

The bitterness that comes through Asmal's statements is astounding and betrays a bitter old man struggling to make peace with the realities of the day. He is not shy about singling out individuals for his venom in the hope that his disciples will take up arms and march to his imaginary war. I have never harboured ambitions of becoming the next Secretary-General of the ANC, and the ANC has pronounced itself on succession matters and I am part of that collective.

If Asmal is truly an "ANC person" then he surely understands the injunctions that enjoin all disciplined members of the ANC, being to respect and abide by the decisions of its structures, and the NEC has laid this matter to rest. There may have been a time when Asmal spoke with distinction and authority on ANC matters, but he has become a latter day Don Quixote whose ravings do nothing for our movement and our country, but rather make us wander if he is really not doing others' bidding.

If we are to fight the scourge of crime in a decisive manner, we need to stop pussy-footing and act decisively. If that means taking a hard look at how the police operate and transforming the same into a fierce force that instils fear in the hearts of criminals, that is what we will do. Our call for the transformation of the police from a service that is perpetually apologetic to a mean police force whose military-style operations and efficiency results in safer communities, must never be misconstrued to mean returning to the days of apartheid.

This does not mean police officers will be above the law or they will acquire a licence to become gun-toting vigilantes who have no regard for the citizens' rights. This is a deliberate fabrication by those who are dismayed at the single-mindedness and determination of this administration to make a better life for all a living reality.

On the eve of the 2009 elections they peddled doomsday tales, suggesting that the country will be on fire once Jacob Zuma became President. They are now at pains to sustain their doomsday theory in the face of rising public confidence in the President's commitment to addressing service delivery challenges, and improving people's lives.

Statement issued by Fikile Mbalula, deputy minister of police

Source: The Wild Frontier, The Times

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