Good morning, Comrades. I am honoured to deliver opening remarks even though both the Programme and Comrade David Makhura now refer to an opening address. I believe this raises the problem of vocabulary and language – words must always carry their day to day meaning. We must say what we mean and mean what we say. There must be no room for using words that are subject to multiplicity of interpretation which leaves us susceptible to the inelegant claim that we have been misunderstood or quoted out of context.
Generally, there are words that are commonly used interchangeably even in official documents such as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which refers to the democratic state and/or Republic and/or Co-operative Government and/or the President and the National Executive and/or the Cabinet, and/or Public Administration, thus, causing a confusion in the details and moving away from much needed clarity in discourse.
This is not helped by the fact that in the African National Congress (ANC) we habitually refer to member and cadre interchangeably, as well as organisation and movement as synonyms.
Thanks to Comrade Govan Mbeki who explained the distinction between supporters and members by lucidly pointing to the fact that generally, supporters have rights but no duties or tasks. Whereas members have rights and duties or tasks.
Additionally, a movement consists of members or people who have rights but no tasks, for instance, members of the Christian movement all enjoy the right to act or pronounce in its name without any obligations, duties and tasks.
Another example in one’s observation at an ANC January 8th rally, is that attendees are forever moving from one side of the venue to the other throughout the proceedings simply because they may not know why they are there, and they may not listen to the message since there is a lack of duty to report back to anyone. But members enjoy rights and equally have duties and obligations.
However, if you are a member of an organisation and you regularly fail to perform organisational tasks and you are forever offering flimsy excuses for your non-performance you would not only be reformed or even ex-communicated or have your membership terminated but would actually earn yourself the sobriquet or the nickname of being called a windbag. A bag of wind is a dead weight in any organisation. Here is what O.R. Tambo says on language:
“First of all, we have to build concepts and attitudes, we have to evolve and protect an outlook, we have to destroy archaic ideas and notions and replace them with revolutionary ideas. We do all this through the medium of language as well as by our actions. But in our actions we are carrying out decisions and pursuing goals which have first been conceived in our minds and expressed in words, in language.”
– O.R. Tambo, 1970.
Enough said about language and vocabulary.
My remarks this morning is based on three sources: Moses Kotane; Govan Mbeki and Agostinho Neto. First, Comrade Moses Kotane in the mid 1950’s taught us that “people form organisations for a purpose”. He then advised members of the SACP who were in other organisations to remain loyal to those organisations, accept to be led and refrain from striving to take over the leadership of such organisations.
He emphasised that at some point a united front of such organisations may become necessary, and that if such organisations are all led by communists, the broad representivity of that front would be undermined in practical terms.
Second, Comrade Govan Mbeki penned a series of articles in 1980/1 in anticipation of the release of the cohort of political prisoners who had been sentenced to 5 years prison terms in 1976 and were therefore due for release in 1981/2.[1]
His central message was “go to the masses of the oppressed and exploited peoples of our land. Work among them, work with them to prepare the way for a take-over of power. Go organise. Identify the problem and its cause. There is no room for haphazard and half-hearted measures. The task has to be tackled seriously and systematically.”[2] The task to build a good organisation is the key to success.
Additionally, he explained “what is the purpose of an organisation, that is; the cause justifying its existence. An organisation arises when there is an urge, a burning desire, to solve a problem boils down to a desire to achieve something.”[3]
Third, in Angola Dr Agostinho Neto always stressed that the MPLA exists to “solve the problems of the people “[résoudre les problèmes du peuple].[4] This became the watchword and rallying cry for the MPLA.
Approximately 20 years after the liberation, two prominent leaders of the MPLA, namely; Lúcio Lara (who acted as the interim leader of Angola when Agostinho Neto died); and Paulo Jorge (who had served as the Governor of the Benguela State and Deputy Minister of International Relations) expressed concern about the MPLA’s deviation from its purpose.
First, Lúcio Lara said:
“I do not have illusions about many things anymore. In the Angolan struggle perhaps we didn’t have philosophers or sociologists, but we had those words of Neto’s,
“The most important thing is to solve the people’s problems”.
Once in the Council of Ministers I heard someone say that we should stop using this phrase. I thought then maybe he was right because no one spoke out against him.
In my opinion this was when the Party (MPLA) began to collapse. The leaders felt they all had the right to be rich. That was the beginning of the destruction of our life.”[5]
And then, Paulo Jorge pointed to the Government decree of 1992 which allowed ministers to become businessmen. And he captured the effects of the decree as follows:
“(T)hat brought a change in mentality – moral values disappeared, replaced by material values.”[6]
He further stated that the MPLA lost the ability to hear the cries of the people. He described this inability as the death of dignity.
Subsequently Victoria Brittain used these same words as the title for her book on Angola’s Civil War.[7]
It is instructive that all three sources emphasise the centrality of the people in the programmes of organisations. We learn that deviation from the objective and purpose occurs when the leaders of an organisation substitute themselves for the general membership and the people.
Coming back closer to home, Rule 7 of the ANC Constitution describes the National Elective Conference as a structure. In fact, Conference is the highest decision-making structure of the ANC. Conference by definition is a gathering or assembly of all members.
However, due to the constraints of size of venue and other logistical challenges, ordinarily not all members can come together under one roof. Hence members delegate their right of attendance and participation to others who are elected in quorating meetings of the branch. Those who are so elected to represent the general members who are unable to attend conference are called delegates.
In preparation for the National Elective Conference, a branch must first hold a series of meetings [quorate or non-quorate] to discuss all the items that form part of the Conference programme. Once such discussions are exhausted, the members must then convene a quorating branch general members’ meeting to elect from among themselves, those who are clearest on the matters serving at Conference.
Such delegates will know why they are at Conference and will be known to the leadership presiding over Conference.
Remember that it is not only wrong but dangerous as well for the leadership to preside over a conference attended by people who do not know why they are delegates and who are unknown to those presiding.
This understanding must be transmitted to the youth, including those in the ANC Youth League structures. In this regard, giving a voice to our youth and taking time to mentor, to listen and to take heed of what those voices are articulating, is what the leadership needs to understand and take to heart sooner rather than later.
Often these days many young professionals tend to preface their views with a disclaimer, like; “I am not a politician and will never dabble in politics”. The irony is lost on them that such a disclaimer is itself a profound political statement because politics cuts across all facets of life.
By and large, these politics of anti-politics are based on illiteracy and ignorance.
Bertolt Brecht sums this illiteracy as follows:
“The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. Hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life.
He doesn’t seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depends on political decisions.
He even prides himself on his political ignorance.
Sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn’t know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations.”
I thank you for your attention.
[1] The Prison Writings of Govan Mbeki, Learning from Robben Island, p. 66. “Good Organisation: The Key to Success”.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Victoria Brittain, “Death of Dignity. Angola’s Civil War”
[5]Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
