QUO VADIS AZAPO?

AZAPO’ s performance in the local government elections 2000 has been very encouraging. These were the first local government elections in which AZAPO was taking part and AZAPO went into them with very little resources to mount an effective campaign resulting in poor visibility, no posters, stickers, T-shirts or advertisements in newspapers and on radio. To make matters worse, there was a low turn-out of particularly Black people – worst among those below the age of forty (40).

In spite of all these negative factors, AZAPO registered an improvement of 63% on its performance in the national elections of 1999. This is particularly exciting when one considers that it is less than two years since those national elections. AZAPO registered in only twenty-six (26) municipalities out of two hundred and forty-three (243) countrywide, amounting to only ten percent (10%) of municipalities. AZAPO won a ward (Bekkersdal) and twenty-two seats on the proportional party lists.

This improvement was made possible by hard work on the part of some comrades though they had no resources; the search for an alternative by an electorate disappointed by a lack of delivery; and the honesty, sincerity and clarity of AZAPO’ s message. This shows clearly that if comrades are prepared to work hard and talk to people about AZAPO, the lack of resources will remain an inconvenience but it will not be an absolute deterrent.

It means that AZAPO comrades must show their real commitment by building branches now so that by the time next elections come, denial of publicity by capitalist-owned and government-controlled media must be ineffectual because they only succeed if AZAPO depends on them to convey its message. If AZAPO has branches in communities, these will ensure that AZAPO’ s message is known even if it is muzzled by the powers-that-be.

PROPHETS OF DOOM

As soon as the results of the elections became known a deafening chorus arose from the media declaring AZAPO’ s performance as "pathetic like in the 1999 elections" and suggesting that AZAPO is a dying organisation. What is worse, these are calls from some Black journalists.

The results however, show that not only is AZAPO alive and well, but that is growing. Obviously these are lessons to be learnt and many things could have been done much better but there is no logical basis for anyone to be calling for AZAPO’ s funeral.

When the capitalist who own newspapers display an enthusiasm to pronounce the death of AZAPO, AZAPO understands because these calls are based on a fear of AZAPO and a wish that is self-serving because they know that should AZAPO come to power, their Apartheid-bequethed-legacy, which is continuing and flourishing in the "new South Africa" would come to a dead-end. Therefore they must present this negative image of AZAPO so as to discourage and confuse the members and supporters of AZAPO and thus ensure that their free licence to continue to exploit Black people is safe.

They are not the only ones. The entire capitalist establishment sees AZAPO’ s socialist agenda as a threat to their African paradise – and rightly so. Evidence of this abounds. For example, a company making money among the AZANIANS finds nothing wrong in splashing five million rands to let an individual in the ruling party have a year-long birthday party whereas they cannot give AZAPO one million to enable her to conduct a decent election campaign.

We also saw how, as it became clear that the ruling party’s support is waning, companies like Anglo-Gold actually went out to campaign for it. How else can one explain the timing of the opening of the R 30 million clinic in Lusikisiki to be done a week before the elections and significantly be opened by Jacob Zuma? Clearly the idea is to show it up as "delivery" by the ruling party and to give the people of Lusikisiki the false hope that their dire situation is being addressed and will generally improve. AZAPO knows that this is a lie because the continued marginalisation of Black people is inherent in the economic policy of GEAR.

However, AZAPO finds it distressing when some Black journalist make themselves guilty of so much gullibility that they just join this chorus without analysing the facts before them. This is disconcerting because AZAPO expects them to form the vanguard of the norms and values needed to ensure a vibrant democracy, which task they cannot perform without a critical, analytical mind which always seeks to look beyond the obvious and to expose the web of lies and deceit that Black people are flooded with every day.

The truth is that, far from reflecting "the will of the people" as the ruling party has rushed to claim, the results show the will of capital, both local and international, who control money; and this should worry every Black person, including journalists, because the implication is that even "democracy" has been turned into a commodity to be bought with money. It should worry Black people because they are the ones who do not have money. Now if democracy is bought with money, it means that Black people will never have democracy. Simply put’ it means that the gains of 1994 have been effectively reversed and Black people are exactly where they were under Apartheid.

AZAPO expects Black journalists to tell the truth to the masses and make them aware that we are being driven into a capitalist dictatorship where democracy will just be a meaningless word and government itself will be no more than a puppet of big business – as it is increasingly appearing to be.

AZAPO wishes all Black people a consciousness and an appreciation of themselves as owners of their country Azania and a confidence that they can manage and run it themselves.

May the spirits of our martyrs Stephen Bantu Biko, Onkgopotse Abram Tiro and many others revive in us a pride and self-confidence that our ancestors would not have given us this country if they knew that we cannot run it.

AZAPO is perturbed by mindset that says Black people must always bend over backwards to ensure that White people do not leave the country even when they want to do so because it is believed that without them, there will be a shortage of skills to run this country.

AZAPO remembers the plundering of the resources of our country under colonisation and Apartheid. AZAPO knows that Black people continue to be assaulted and insulted by White people. AZAPO has observed how disloyal and even contemptuous White people continue to be, as exemplified by their dis-investment of moneys they made in the country, to invest it in Europe or America where their real loyalties are; and by how unprepared they are to even talk about reparations to address the legacy of Apartheid against Black people, well-knowing how brutally they oppressed Black people under the cover of Apartheid. And AZAPO wonders if these are the skills we need.

AZAPO believes that it is an insult to our God who put us on this rich country, to allow foreigners to come from Europe and America and where-ever else, and come and dictate to us how to run our country or how to trade with the rest of the world. If we continue to do so we should not be surprised that we are living in stark poverty whilst foreigners are enjoying the wealth of our country.

AZANIA is the only country we have and if we are afraid to take charge of it because of a perceived lack of skills or experience, we shall forever be ruled by foreigners because no nation will ever give us its country so we can gain experience by running it. We should avoid ever having our president called "Black president of a White country".