New dawn beckons for BC
by Moffet Mofokeng

THE AZANIAN People’s Organisation (Azapo) might emerge stronger in the 2009 elections if its planned unification with the Black People’s Convention (BPC) and the Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa) is realised. This sentiment was echoed by the presidents of the three organisations and delegates who attended Azapo’s biannual congress in central Pretoria this weekend.

BPC president Nkosi Molala said the three united organisations could provide an alternative for South Africans who were battling with poverty, unemployment and crime. Sopa president Lybon Mabasa said history would judge the groups harshly if they ignored the yearnings of the black consciousness masses to unite.

Azapo president Mosibudi Mangena, at whose invitation Molala and Mabasa attended the Azapo congress, said harsh lessons had been learned from the divisions that severely weakened the voice of black consciousness.

While the leaders concerned themselves with the details of the planned merger, delegates created a vibrant mood at a packed George Bou auditorium yesterday.

Clad in the gold and black colours of Azapo, they braved the chilly weather, dancing to struggle songs in praise of Mangena and Azapo. For many of them this was the much-awaited rebirth of black consciousness. It was a new dawn. Wiping his glistening forehead after a vigorous dance, Maphelo Malgas, a delegate from Durban, said he was invigorated by the spirit and comradely
atmosphere of congress. “It is vibrant; we are looking forward to unity and victory,” he said.

Jabu Rakwena, a delegate from Witbank, said with unity would come challenges to grow Azapo. The most important thing to emerge from this conference, he said, was consensus on a unity that would position Azapo as an authentic black alternative for millions of people disillusioned by the complacency of the ANC.

“The greatest challenge going forward is to inculcate confidence in ordinary members of society in Azapo, especially among those who are not members,” he said. “You see, even the ANC as a dominant political player has no more than 500 000 registered members. People vote for it because they have confidence in it. So as Azapo, what we need now after unity is to instil that
confidence. We have the right credentials. We have the right leadership, the right name. What we need is visibility.”

But for pensioner Mammusi Mohlala of Sekhukhune, one thing is paramount: whatever else unity means in political terms, please do not change the name. “If you take away the name Azapo, we are gone,” she said. At the centre of the hall attention fell squarely on a group of women in
Tsonga traditional garb from Tshamahansi, near Mokopane. Emily Machabele, Flora Khubayi, Joyce Chaba, Shirley Mboweni and Mavis Lebese creatively adapted the popular Tsonga hip dance to struggle songs. It was a great spectacle to behold.

The day before, Molala had said without the three organisations working together “nothing is possible and with it (unity), everything is possible. “This is the only framework within which the yearnings of the poor can be made a reality,” he said to loud applause.

Molala’s assertion was supported by Mabasa, who like Molala also delivered a message of support. Mabasa said the unity of the three organisations was not about an individual leader but about the suffering of many black people. “The reason for us to unite is simply because it is willed by our people in this country. If we fail and disappoint them, they will judge us harshly,” he said.

“I think the struggle is not about Lybon being president, it’s not about comrade Mangena being president, it’s not about comrade Molala being president. It’s about being able to deliver to our people,” Mabasa said. Azapo, the BPC and Sopa are currently in negotiations to unite the three organisations under one party banner ahead of next year’s national elections. At the moment Azapo has one MP, Pandelani Nefolovhodwe, and Mangena is serving in cabinet at the invitation of President Thabo Mbeki. The Azapo congress was also attended by Saths Cooper, who was elected as the secretary of the BPC at its launch in 1972. In 1983 Cooper was Azapo’s vice-president. At some stage the late Steve Biko led the BPC.

In 1998 Mabasa formed Sopa as a result of infighting within Azapo. A year later Molala resurrected the BPC after a fallout with Azapo. Mangena said all three parties had “learnt that a house divided against itself is a weakened house”. “We have confirmed what we have known all along – that unity is a basic principle of struggle. We are confirming, through this unity process, that there is no wisdom in throwing your toys out of the cot at every sight of differences.

“We signal our resolve to build on points of agreement while grappling with minor differences of opinion. “Through this irreversible unity process we assert that we are not enemies. “The real enemies of our people are poverty, unemployment, landlessness, poor education and disease,” Mangena said. Molala said the “disintegration” of the three organisations had had a negative effect on their members, created enmity between comrades and was “painful”. “But it is also educative for those of us who remain students of the revolution,” he said.

“If our revolutionary goal is indeed the emancipation of black people and the freedom of our country, then all else must be subordinated to the unity of our organisations. In the course of doing so, however, we will encounter countless problems. We trust that Azapo will find positive ways of dealing with these problems should they arise.” Molala said the central focus of the unity discussions was to unite the organisations and not to worry about names. “As it relates to the name of the new organisation, the question to ask should not be ‘what is the name I like for the merged organisation’ but instead, the question to ask has to be ‘which name will promote the unity we want?’”

Mabasa, on the other hand, did not want to be drawn into the name issue. Instead he said Azapo was the leader of Sopa and BPC. Azapo, however, has put forward a strong argument to retain its name. Mangena said what was important after congress was next year’s elections. He said inequality was of concern to Azapo. “We feel there is a long way to go. We enjoy freedom nominally in that we have a right to vote, but the levels of inequality remain huge. Our view is that this is unsustainable. Our unity should address high food prices – this poverty trap – and tackle real issues affecting our people.”

Asked about the dominance of the ANC, Mangena said Azapo did not organise itself on the basis of other parties, big or small, because “that is to be short-sighted”. While some political observers had noted how the ANC had developed self-destructive tendencies, Mangena said Azapo would grow on its own strength and relevance, not on the ANC’s weaknesses. He noted that countries such as South Africa, which were dominated by one party, were unhealthy for democracy because this led to corruption and complacency, and the dominant party tended to take the nation’s voters for granted.