Lehlohonolo Kennedy Mahlatsi
Johannesburg - Nelson Mandela was one of the most outstanding revolutionaries the world has ever produced. He demonstrated his leadership qualities whenever material conditions dictated.
In the early 1940s, together with young comrades like Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and many others, the ANC was transformed into a truly nationalist revolutionary movement.
As a Volunteer-in-Chief, he played a key role in the epoch-making Congress of the People, which adopted the Freedom Charter in 1955. When the people’s army Umkhonto weSizwe was established in 1961, Mandela and Joe Slovo became co-commanders to spearhead one of the important pillars of our struggle. He was instrumental in the peaceful transition and negotiated settlement to end white minority rule.
His life taught us to be resilient in the face of adversity and keep going. He taught us even when we experience a failure, we must admit it, reflect on it, and learn from it.
Nelson Mandela and his generation have displayed great valour and exemplary conduct.
They were always the first to face hardships and the last to claim rewards and have been credited with great achievements. They were imbued with revolutionary virtues and fear neither difficulties, hardships nor failures; they neither wavered nor stepped back.
For the sake of the interests of the party, the revolution, the nation and humankind, they never hesitated to sacrifice their own interests and if need be, even their own lives. This is a very clear and lofty expression of revolutionary morality.
In his address to the 49th Conference of the ANC in 1991, Mandela emphasised the importance of internal democracy to sustain the momentum hitherto practised in the movement.
He said: “Comrades are bound to differ on numerous issues that come before the Executive. Differences of opinion among comrades, honestly held and expressed in a disciplined manner within the structures of the organisation, should be encouraged rather than discouraged.
They are healthy. They lead to vigorous debate and to an examination of problems from all angles. Unfortunately, some comrades do not always welcome opposition, even from their comrades and tend to side-line, and even slander, comrades who have independent views.”
Much has been said about the problems of factionalism, gate-keeping, patronage and other foreign tendencies, which have bedevilled the ANC, and their contribution to the dismal performance of the movement at the election polls.
This includes the assessment that besides good comrades, there are still elements whose morality and quality are low. They are burdened with individualism and always think of their own interests first.
Their motto is not “each for all” but “all for me.” Because of their individualism, they flinch from hardships and difficulties and sink into corruption, deprivation, waste and luxury. They crave fame and profits, positions and power. They are proud and conceited, look down on the collective, hold the masses in contempt, act arbitrarily and tyrannically.
People with revolutionary virtues, like Madiba, remain simple, modest, and ready to face more hardships, even when meeting with favourable conditions and winning successes.
Mandela taught us that healthy competition between individuals to be elected to different posts is a natural part of any democratic organisation. But when personal competition starts to absorb all one`s energies, when political programmes are forgotten, and when solid grass-roots work is neglected, then matters become very serious.
He warned against malfeasance and corruption in his January 8, 1997 statement when he observed:
“The ANC has long traditions of placing the organisation above individuals. We have proud traditions of collective leadership and of mutual respect for each other. We have survived, and we have defeated apartheid because we have always tried to build the collective, to empower each other.
“We have worked hard to help each of our cadres to develop his or her strengths, building a collective understanding and a collective solution to each other`s limitations. We must reaffirm these traditions.
“The tens of thousands of cadres we have developed in decades of struggle are our most precious asset as a movement. We cannot squander this resource in individualism, mindless careerism, and petty rivalries.”
Mandela taught us that to transform the old society into a new one - i.e. revolution - is a very glorious but also an extremely heavy task, a complex, protracted and hard struggle. Madiba had a solid foundation of revolutionary morality, which prepared him to fulfil his glorious revolutionary task.
A devastating state of the ANC and dismal performance of the state is an insult to the living memory of Madiba. This includes a leadership crisis in both the movement and the state.
Our country’s economy is gradually melting down, and there are no signs of an early recovery. Municipalities and State Owned Entities (SOEs) have virtually collapsed, and the government is unable to tackle challenges facing our people.
Our people are still living under the most appalling conditions, and many are not coping with the high cost of living. The crisis of electricity, and many basic services, which appear to be deliberate and triggered by unscrupulous tenderpreneurs and incompetent bureaucrats, are not able to find a lasting solution.
The former President of Cuba, El Commandant Fidel Castro Ruz, uttered: “If one wanted an example of an absolutely upright man, that man, that example would be Mandela. If one wanted an example of an unshakably firm, courageous, heroic, calm, intelligent, and capable man, that example and that man would be Mandela. I did not just reach this conclusion after having met him in person, after having had the privilege of talking with him, after having had the great honour of receiving him in our country. I have thought (about) this for many years. I identified him as one of the most extraordinary symbols of this era.”
Madiba epitomised revolutionary morality. His spirit lives on.
He put the interests of the Party and the struggling masses before and above his own interests. He served the people wholeheartedly and selflessly with greatest distinctions.
He defended and upheld the Constitution of our country.
Madiba is sorely missed.
Dr Lehlohonolo Kennedy Mahlatsi is a member of the Free State SACP PEC. He writes in a personal capacity.