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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.
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