Dispatches independentTHE SUNDAY 17 JUNE 28 2015 The Focus on charter takes is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago

LL SOUTH Africans should eyes off political elite celebrate the 60th anni- versary of the Freedom Charter, adopted by the Congress of the People in KliptownA on June 26, 1955, with great WONDER whether the pride. It was not only a milestone in time has not come for the our own struggle against , ANC to consider the The emphasis in our time should be but a model for people around the question of convening a world who are struggling for liberation ‘I national convention, a from injustice and tyranny. congress of the people, on the country’s leadership and its The Freedom Charter not only laid representing all the people of this out a programme to eliminate colo- country irrespective of race or nialism and racism in , but colour to draw up a freedom charter priorities,writes Mcebisi Ndletyana also dealt with all the economic and for the democratic South Africa of social ills existing alongside apartheid. the future,” Zachariah Keodirelang It gave us a stunning vision of a totally Zwelinzima Vavi Matthews said on August 15, 1953. new kind of society, in which everyone A professor of anthropology at shared in the country’s wealth and people. At least 54.3 percent of South Fort Hare University, “ZK”, as he was was treated equally and fairly. Africans live in poverty and 14 million affectionately known, was speaking It was inevitably contentious. In their appraisal, “Reflections on That is why it is still so relevant 60 go to bed hungry every night. to the Cape ANC, as its president, at Officialdom denounced it as trea- the Freedom Charter”, Mandla years later.We have adopted a consti- Inequalities in income and wealth its annual conference in Cradock. sonous, while Africanists in the ANC Seleoane and Ben Mokoena are, in tution and many laws which reflect are still racialised. At least 56 percent There had been mention of a decried it as a betrayal of the strug- some ways, dismissive of its contem- clauses in the Freedom Charter and of whites earn more than R6 000 a need to call a “convention” to discuss gle for national liberation. porary relevance, while understand- give better guarantees of social justice, month, while 81 percent of Africans the thorny issues of the time, but Matthews, whose son Joe was ing the context that gave rise to it. human rights and equality than those earn less than R6 000 a month.The none championed the idea as ZK did. among those charged with treason They highlight the obvious points – of most other countries in the world. means of production remain concen- The ANC adopted the idea three alongside him, was bewildered by for instance, that education is not We have achieved the highest trated in white hands: almost all the months later at its national confer- the accusation. He was a law-abiding accessible to all and that wealth and expansion of social grants in the world top 20 paid directors in JSE-listed ence in Queenstown. man, whose name affirmed his deep land have not been restored to their and one of the best records for provid- companies are white males.This is far In mid-1954, following a request Christian faith. His grand-father, rightful owners. This is fair criti- ing the poor with houses, electricity, cry from what the drafters of the from the then-president of the ANC, Keodirelang, had adopted the names cism. running water and access to educa- Freedom Charter envisaged. , ZK drafted a memo- “Zachariah Matthews” after convert- It’s worth emphasising that a con- tion and health services. And there is no sign things are randum on the contents of such a ing to Christianity. ZK not only had textual understanding of the charter But we still have to ask whether we getting better, with unemployment at charter. his grandfather’s names, but fol- is a lot more helpful than a literal have built a society in which: an appalling 36.1 percent by the more A committee, the National Action lowed his Christian path. The char- interpretation. ● The people shall share in the realistic wider rate, including those Council, was set up to oversee prepa- ter’s assertion of equality, among Because it was adopted in 1955, it country’s wealth; who have given up looking for work. rations for the congress. It included other principles, was an affirmation goes without saying that some of the ● The national wealth of our coun- Economic growth in the first quar- members of the South African Indi- of his humanity. things it envisaged would be try, the heritage of South Africans, shall ter of 2015 crawled at a miserable an Congress, South African But the apartheid court latched unachievable 60 years later. The be restored to the people; 1.3 percent, so the prospect of any Coloured People’s Organisation and on to such words and phrases as world has changed and the dominant ● The mineral wealth shall be early relief for the unemployed is dim. the South African Congress of “action” and “going over into the economic thinking is different. transferred to the ownership of the The yawning gulf between the Democrats (for whites). offensive”, taking them as a call to Nationalising private capital would people as a whole; extreme poverty of the majority and However, ZK was not a member of violence. not be as easy today as it was in 1955. ● All other industry and trade shall the excessive wealth of the minority the committee, nor was he at the con- A gentle and a civilised man, ZK Recent revelations about the con- be controlled to assist the wellbeing of lies behind the mushrooming of often gress, held in on June 25 dismissed the charge of treason in a duct of private capital, however, the people; and violent service-delivery protests in the and 26, 1955. He was then acting prin- way only a professor could: “The underline the absolute importance of ● The doors of learning and in poorer communities.We are sitting cipal of Fort Hare University, a role only explanation I can find for this the role of the state in the economy. culture shall be opened for all. on a time bomb unless we get back to that left no time for activism. alarm over such innocent metaphor- An AU panel headed by former pres- These surely have to be the corner- the principles of the Freedom Charter. Despite being absent from the ical expression is that, owing to our ident found that tril- stones of the society envisaged in the All this is made worse by the historic event at which the Freedom bilingualism in South Africa, we are lions of dollars have left the conti- Freedom Charter, but the sad reality is scourge of corruption and the looting Charter was adopted 60 years ago, ZK becoming less and less able to follow nent illegally. Africa has lost out in that in practice millions of South of public money by , had set in motion an idea that would the idiomatic English usage.” His investment and revenue. Africans are still denied, because the corrupt politicians and officials and have a catalytic effect on the way his- white accusers were just not learned A leak by a whistle-blower at the inequalities and injustices we inherit- even some union leaders, who exploit tory unfolded. men! Matthews and his fellow THE INSPIRATION: Professor ZK Matthews set in motion European bank, HSBC, claimed that ed from apartheid remain in place. the climate of “anything goes”to get The charter was essentially a accused were acquitted. 2 000 South African entities had off- Inequality has increased across the rich quick at the expense of the work- political document intended to To the self-defined “Africanist” the idea of calling ‘a congress of the people‘ in 1953. shore accounts, some to evade tax. In board.The Gini coefficient, which ers, consumers and the economy. mobilise multiracial opposition to faction in the ANC, the charter was 2007, the accounts held a combined measures income inequality, stands at We face the biggest crisis since the apartheid with the aim of shaping a further proof that the liberation “Without fear or favour we have flunkeys and functionaries of non- R20 billion. 0.65, the highest in the world. Statistics birth of democracy in 1994, epito- different future. movement had veered off the course energetically laboured to clear the African minorities.” It has also been reported that SA shows from 1994 to 2010 the share mised by the statement of the Minister This inspirational objective was of . The Afri- stinking mess left to us as a legacy by After failing to win the leadership more capital is leaving the country of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Police, Nathi Nhleko, on the exces- captured in ZK’s memorandum as canists found it particularly intoler- the opportunistic leadership that of the Transvaal ANC at the Novem- than is being invested internally. going to labour in wages, as opposed sive R246 million Nkandla spend. follows: “From such a congress able that it envisioned the granting served, loyally, interests other than ber 1958 conference, the Africanists The economy’s revival ultimately to capital in profits, fell 7 percent. The only way to fight back and ought to come a declaration which of ownership of land and citizenry those of Africa. We have relentlessly broke away to form the Pan African- rests with the state. A discussion of A PwC report, Executive Directors’ truly celebrate the Freedom Charter is will inspire all the peoples of South irrespective of descent. They said it waged a struggle to restore and ist Congress in 1959. the Freedom Charter is a satisfying Remuneration: Practices and Trends, to work together to put our dream Africa with the fresh hope for the would not achieve the freedom it pur- maintain the independence of the Today the arguments have custom. The emphasis now, however, July 2013, found the gap between the back on track and create a truly egali- future, which will turn the minds of ported to pursue, and promptly African National Congress, whose changed, but the contention remains. should be on the cohesiveness of the remuneration of the lowest-paid tarian, united, democratic, non-racial, the people away from the sterile and renamed it the “Kliptown Charter”. potential has been reduced by a The past 21 years of freedom, accord- political elite and whether it has its workers and chief executives of JSE- non-sexist and prosperous South negative struggles of the past and the In December 1955, The Africanist superfluous multiplicity of pacts ing to charterists, have shown South priorities straight. listed firms was more than 50 times. Africa.The mass march against corrup- present to a positive programme of described in an editorial the calami- with insignificant organisations. Africa is on course to realise the According to an Oxfam report, tion in Pretoria on August 19 must be freedom in our lifetime.” ty it thought had befallen the ANC: “We boldly championed the objectives of the charter. Critics say ■ Ndletyana is head of the politi- the two richest South Africans (Johann the first step in this pursuit. In other words, the charter was a “We emerged at a time when confu- course of the ANC men and women just the opposite, that the “Kliptown cal economy faculty at the Mapun- Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer) testimony of its time, but also artic- sion, worst confounded, reigned whose opinion… was being deliber- Charter” prefigured a betrayal of gubwe Institute for Strategic Reflec- owned wealth equal to the poorest 50 ■ Vavi is former general secretary ulated a vision of a different future. supreme in ANC ranks. ately stifled to placate lackeys, the revolution. tion (Mistra). percent of the country – 26.5 million of Cosatu. All roads led to Kliptown on day of the Freedom Charter

N THIS weekend 60 struggles and the decolonisation of dom songs and danced. The occa- tions that constituted the Congress years ago, as ANC Asia and later Africa. It is for this sion was also marked by the award- Alliance at their respective confer- comrades we cheered reason that Professor ZK Matthews ing of the Order of Isitwalandwe to ences. A year later we were official- the headlines of our called for the drafting of the Free- Chief Albert Luthuli, Dr Yusuf ly informed that the Congress of the Oprogressive weekly dom Charter to define our new Dadoo and Father Trevor Huddle- People had been disbanded. paper, the New Age, democratic society. ston. We were told they did not want a when it announced, “All Roads Lead In the tradition of the congress The clauses of the Freedom repetition of what happened at the to Kliptown”. movement and its increased Charter were read out and people All-African Convention in the 1930s, Kliptown was the venue chosen reliance on popular mobilisation, it commented on them. On the second which transformed itself into a to launch the Freedom Charter in was decided that the process leading day, the police raided and circled the political organisation. 1955. June 26 was specifically chosen to the Freedom Charter should be venue. The names and documents of The Congress of the People and to coincide with the Stay Away people-driven. This resulted in the each delegate were seized by the the adoption of the Freedom Char- strike of 1950. establishment of an organ called the police. Since I had no permit, a com- ter was a historic event. For the first This strike was called by the Congress of the People (COP), rade gave me a false address in the time in South African history, peo- ANC alliance to protest the killing of which sought to involve the broad- Indian area of Joburg. ple of all national groups and all workers during the May Day demon- Ebrahim Ebrahim est section of our society in the cam- The police kept asking me for a classes expressed their views on strations and strikes organised by paign for the Freedom Charter. Transvaal document and I told them what a free democratic South Africa the SA Communist Party (SACP) to At the beginning the Liberal Par- I neglected to bring my documents should look like. protest the Suppression of Commu- the popularity and militancy of the ty of attended a meeting with me. Luckily I was allowed to The people rejected all forms of nism Act. But the road to Kliptown masses and their support for the of the congress but later withdrew leave and returned safely to Durban. racism and said South Africa began long before June 1955. It ANC. More than 8 000 volunteers because they were uncomfortable SHINING LIGHTS: Ebrahim Ebrahim, Reggie Vandeyar, The featured belonged to all those who lived in it. began with the adoption of the pro- defied unjust laws and were sent to with the mass-based character of Henry ‘Squire’ Makgothi and Vijay Padayachee. Behind prominently in the campaign and at Freedom and democratic values gramme of action in 1949 by the prison. the campaign. the Congress of the People. expressed in 1955 shaped the strate- ANC at its annual conference. The success of the campaign During that time I was an activist them are Justice and Vanessa September. The symbol of the Congress was gic outlook and vision of the ANC This was a critical moment since opened up a new and more militant in the Greyville area of Durban and a wheel with four spokes represent- and defined its non-racial struggle. it sought to change the method of phase in our struggle for liberation. belonged to a branch of the Natal vaal without acquiring a six-week stopped at the border, Middleton ing the four members of the alliance It was this commitment by the struggle of the ANC and transform This phase of the struggle required Indian Congress. permit. As an activist there was no would say I was his nephew as – the South African Indian Con- ANC that made our movement the organisation into a mass-based the movement to outline clearly the We formed a COP committee in way I would have been able to get a did not need a permit for gress, the Coloured People’s Con- recognised and supported by people militant movement. type of society it wished to create our area. I was fortunate to be elect- permit. inter-provincial travel. Fortunately gress, the Congress of Democrats in the country and all over the The ANC tested its strength in when taking power. ed by my branch to be a delegate to The chairman of our branch, for us we were not stopped. and the South African Congress of world. The struggle to create a bet- the successful strike of 1950. This Taking power meant the creation the Congress of the People in Klip- Comrade Ismail Gangat, was also Kliptown was buzzing with Trade Unions. The centre of the ter life for all, as envisioned in the enabled it to launch the Defiance of a new democratic order which town, where the final draft of the heading to the Congress. He planned excitement and expectation. Dele- wheel represented the ANC as the Freedom Charter, continues today. Campaign in 1952, together with the needed to be defined carefully in the Freedom Charter was to be adopted. to travel with a coloured comrade gates poured into an open ground leader of the alliance. South African Indian Congress. context of a changing world. As a person of Indian origin, I called Middleton. Ismail suggested I which was fenced to accommodate The Freedom Charter was subse- ■ Ebrahim is parliamentary The tested This was the era of anti-colonial could not travel to the then Trans- travel with him and if we were at least 3 000 people. We sang free- quently adopted by all the organisa- counsellor to President .

The police are worried about the things I There will never be an I am happy that for the first time We are going after (President Jacob) Zuma we are led by a blind person.That everywhere we find him.Unfortunately we don’t say.Why are they not making the people inch of racism that will who were in the house talk? I lost my s happen under my shows this country is moving get to meet him anywhere,we meet him in forward.These professors and son and all I want is for his killers to be e Parliament.But if I happen to meet him in a public watch. arrested.I have been threatened with t – Education doctor,they believe in Hlaudi. toilet,I’ll ask him “when are you going to pay back Make no mistake.– SABC chief death and they do not feel sorry for me. o MEC Panyaza Lesufi the money?”Everywhere we meet Zuma,he must operating officer, Hlaudi be asked the question when is he paying back the They (the police) must blame the u Motsoeneng money.Ultimately,this man must step down.Not witnesses and not me.– Father of slain Senzo Meyiwa, Sam Meyiwa

Q only that.He must be arrested and rot in jail.– EFF leader Julius Malema