African National Congress president Jacob Zuma on Sunday addressed supporters in Soweto, where he described ANC dissidents as ”political hypocrites”. Some of those attending the rally give their view on the political landscape in the country.
Bongo Magcai Bongo Magcai (36) was born in the ANC. When he was seven years of age his father went to jail for ANC-related activities; he then grew up and became part of Umkhonto weSizwe. ”I have sacrificed my bed for some of the well-known ANC members of today. As a young boy I used to distribute flyers about stayaways and other movements for the ANC, so I have always been a proud member of this party.”
This metro police officer believes that like any other home, the ANC has its problems. ”We have faced difficulties within the ANC but nothing that we as a family couldn’t sit down and talk about. I believe that the people who have left are cleansing the ANC of all the dirt that still remained. It is a lot like the sea — it removes all impurities and remains with the good. The bad apples will leave and the good and loyal will stay.”
Khumo Ndlovu Khumo Ndlovu (23) and her twin sister, Khumonyana, are from Dobsonville and have been active in the ANC since their high school days. ”I was a member of Congress of South African Students, which is where I learned a lot about democracy and about my rights as a young South African. The ANC is part of my history, my origin and my future, and I believe that in order to go forward I need to know where I am coming from,” she says.
Ndlovu, who works as an administrator for Luthuli House, the ANC’s headquarters, says that people need to understand that voting is policy making. ”If you vote for a particular party and you become a member of that party, you get to speak about your needs at branch level,” she says, adding that young people in particular need to take part in politics.
”We need good future leaders and those leaders will come from amongst us.”
Lorraine Pillay Lorraine Pillay (38), a widow from Centurion, says that working for a parastatal has re-politicised her. ”I have seen the weaknesses of the system and that made me realise that I have to be part of the system to correct the system,” she says. According to Pillay, the ANC’s number one value is democracy and all members live by that law. ”In Polokwane democracy spoke — it said Zuma should be president of the ANC and it is through such democracy that the ANC governs and we should all recognise it,” she says.
The ANC, to Pillay, represents a better life for all. ”This party has ensured that each and every South African experiences freedom each and everyday of their life. That, for me, is the one thing that the ANC has been able to achieve,” she says.
Nkosana Mandela Nkosana Mandela (32) is a Young Communist League member and says he is part of the ANC so that he can change things. ”Most of the youth in South Africa are not working and we want to be able to change that as ANC affiliates,” he says.
Mandela says that South Africa is going to be a classless society where everyone is equal.
”The splitting away of some members doesn’t affect us at all because we have capable intellectuals who are still part of us. It is their right to leave if they want to leave, but they must stop thinking that their leaving is a crisis to the rest of the party. We are not panicking,” he says.
Nthabiseng Sehloho Nthabiseng Sehloho (72) dragged her elderly and sickly body from Moletsane, about 5km from where the rally was held. She came to the rally because of her hope of getting an identity document. ”I have been attending every event hosted by the ANC in my neighbourhood because I am hoping to get an ID,” she says.
She has never voted and the last time she had an identity document was during the apartheid era when she had a dom pass, which was taken away from her when she was working as a domestic worker in the suburbs.
”I see that this ANC is doing things for people and I also want to benefit from the wonderful things that the others are getting, because when I go to the Department of Home Affairs no one wants to speak to me, so today [Sunday] I was hoping that Msholozi would help me with that,” she says.
”If I did have an ID I would vote for the ANC because until fairly recently, I had been able to find piece jobs and work freely without fearing anyone,” she says.
Themba Mabane Themba Mabane (30) has been a member of the ANC since he was 14 years old. This card-carrying member from Diepkloof says that he is happy to see the snakes within the ANC leave.
”There is no division within the ANC; the people who keep preaching the division are the ones who were not loyal partners of the movement in the first place,” he says. Under the leadership of the ANC, Mabane feels that young people are free to spread their wings.
”The ANC feeds the poor and it takes care of its young. Many young people have achieved things that they previously wouldn’t have achieved. The problem is that there is a perception that the ANC is for the wealthy and that perception is wrong, because the ANC does not discriminate in any way, especially not by class,” he says.