A TALK BY AZAPO PRESIDENT MOSIBUDI MANGENA PRESENTED AT AN AZAPO BANQUET HELD IN KIMBERLY: 26 OCTOBER 2002.

BLACK SOLIDARITY FOR A MORE EQUAL SOCIETY

Master of Ceremonies,

Distinguished Guests,

Comrades and Friends.

As a rule, struggles are waged by the oppressed, by those who are at the wrong end of an unequal equation. In this country, the struggle for freedom was waged by the Black majority. Of course some whites contributed, but the mainstay, the fulcrum and the thrust of that struggle were Black. So it is that the workers wage the struggle in the workplace because they are at the wrong end of an unequal relationship. So it is that women must initiate, prosecute and lead the struggle against gender inequality. Intellectually, politically and ideologically, men might understand and even support that struggle, but they can’t wage it.

In this country, one of the most brutal forms of oppression has given way to a democratic order that constitutionally and legally, declares us all equal, irrespective of our origin, colour or sex. So, indeed, no one harasses us any more for holding whatever political views and belonging to whatever political party. We are no longer detained, tortured and even murdered in the cells because we dared to pursue certain political beliefs.

The lofty principles and ideals enshrined in the constitution, fortified and elaborated upon by a progressive legal regime, give expression to a demonstrable democratic political arrangement on the ground. Our votes are equal and this manifests itself in the representation we have in legislative and governance structures and organs at all levels in our country.

Unfortunately, that’s where our equality ends. In all other spheres of our lives, other than politics, we remain grossly unequal. In fact, we are reputed to be among some of the most unequal societies in the world. This level of inequality is both unsustainable and dangerous, especially because it goes along racial lines. If you throw into this cocktail our history of dispossession, discrimination and oppression, then an explosive mix that can blow our society away stares you in the face.

The evidence is not far to get. It is everywhere. Contrast Galeshewe with the other suburbs of Kimberley. Behold the poverty, squalor, overcrowding and hunger in Galeshewe. Survey the wealth, comfort and sumptuous consumption elsewhere in Kimberley. It is the people of Galeshewe who pack buses and taxis like sardines each morning to report for work in the factories, supermarkets, cafes, banks, insurance companies, offices and even the kitchens of others in greater Kimberley. In the afternoon, the traffick goes in the opposite direction. It is never otherwise. Multiply Galeshewe and Kimberley by the number of cities, townships, dorpies and villages in the entire country, then you begin to have an idea of the scale of this phenomenon.

If this is too superficial, let us look at a few hard and cold facts:

· Whereas Blacks are the vast majority in this country, they own less than 2% of companies listed at the JSE.

· Only a tiny percentage of engineers and chartered accountants in this country are Black. This only serves to emphasize their tenuous connection with money, production, participation in business, and therefore an almost non-existent connection with wealth.

· 14.7 million Black people have no safe drinking water and are therefore vulnerable to cholera and other water-borne diseases. Of course it also means that while those in the suburbs take kitchen sinks, complete with taps, flushing toilets and bathrooms with proper baths for granted, these many millions of our compatriots cannot even dream about these things.

· 7.3 million Black people live in mikhukhu. And wherever you see a shack anywhere in our country, you know automatically who stays in it. You don’t have to ask.

· Malnutrition is so widespread among Black people, that on average, Black babies are born 200g lighter than white babies and 20% of Black children are physically and mentally stunted by the age of two years. This means that 20% of Black children will have a hard time at school because they were mentally stunted long before they could start with their formal education.

And with a 37% unemployment rate in our country, and the vast majority of these being Black, especially females, this means that they are likely to give birth to lighter babies, 20% of whom would probably be stunted by the age of two years, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty, under achievement and subservience to others. This certainly contributes immensely to the fact that whereas 47% of white youths between the ages of 18 and 24 are in universities and technikons, only 12 % of Black youths in the same age group have access to higher education.

In some poorer provinces, such as the Eastern Cape, 81 out of every 1000 Black babies die before they reach the age of one compared to only 11 out of every 1000 for whites, i.e. nationally.

These are horrible statistics by any account. Things get no better if we look at land ownership and related activities, as well as participation and control of all aspects and sectors of our economy.

It is obvious that Black people are at the wrong side of this ugly equation and if it is to be reshaped and made more equal, they are the people to drive that effort.

As a people, we have a proud history of struggle. Through organisation, mobilisation, solidarity, resilience, determination and courage, we did manage to overthrow the formidable white racist machinery that kept us under chains. That is a history, a legacy and a tradition that might stand us in good stead as we battle these wholly unacceptable statistics.

We will be able to tackle these inequalities if we avoid the pitfalls that crippled other recently decolonised countries, especially African ones. Most of them waged heroic struggles to overthrow the colonial yoke, but once they hoisted a new flag, sang a new national anthem and had a Black president, they considered the struggle to be complete. They demobilised their forces and pretended to be a normal society. As a result, the economic and social liberation of their people, which should form the content of political freedom, was to all intents and purposes, abandoned. In fact, in many instances, the standard of living of indigenous people declined after independence. Unemployment increased in tandem with the decreasing levels of social service delivery.

In this connection, we should also ask ourselves, in this country, whether we are still mobilised, whether our sinews are still as taut as they were in the pre-1994 era, now, as we pursue economic and social freedom. Whilst it is true that this is a new kind of battle requiring new strategies and tactics, but it is still a war that requires mobilisation, solidarity and determination.

The struggle against settler-colonialism and racial discrimination brought all classes in the Black community together. The Black petty bourgeoisie, with its education and skills, tended to be in the leadership of that struggle.

The political settlement in 1994 unshackled the Black petty bourgeoisie to play its classical vacillating role. Political freedom benefited this class more than any other. Members of this class are on the move. It is members of this class who, as a direct result of that settlement who occupy positions of authority and responsibility in government at all three levels, in legislatures and chambers, in statutory bodies and benefit from government policies on affirmative action, Black economic empowerment and Employment Equity Act. It is members of this class who are presidents, ministers, premiers, mayors, directors of departments, editors of newspapers, vice-chancellors of universities and technikons, directors of companies and diplomats.

Member of this classes are not on the wrong side of the inequality equation we are talking about, at least in as far as social conditions are concerned. Their income allows them to provide for their own housing, clean water, education for their children, medical care etc.

As a result, the Black petty bourgeoisie had tended to detach itself from the masses of the people since 1994. Members of this class tend to be pre-occupied with their own new-found freedom and possibilities at self-improvement and advancement.

It is a natural phenomenon that needs to be thoroughly tempered by constant political cultivation and teaching. We need to emphasise the fact that we are not yet a classical democracy and that we ought to be in a re-constructive mode. That implies that we must mobilise the talents and energies of all our people, regardless of class, political and religious affiliation to wage war against poverty and gross inequality in our country.

Broadly speaking, it is Black people who are at the wrong side of the socio-economic divide in our country. The solidarity of these Black people, which must transcend class, language and region, is essential for the massive effort we must make to change the equation. Failure to do so might have disastrous consequences for this young democracy.

I thank you.