Congress of the People in the Mother City

Archive for April, 2009


To The Future

In News on April 30, 2009 at 12:36 pm

In the last election, our party, which could be described as still in its infancy, was hurried into adulthood to tackle the proverbial Goliath. Conservative estimates indicate that the ruling party spent 4067% (that’s right!) more than COPE in their election campaign. Regardless of the limited resources at our disposal, we campaigned with gusto, vigour, fearless determination and unwavering commitment. Our leadership was courageous. I was personally disappointed in the final outcome. This was more a reflection of my own expectations. I accept that such expectations may have been a touch too optimistic. Such is the power of hope!

More than 1.3 million South Africans voted for COPE. We will have 66 men and women who will represent COPE at both national and provincial levels. This is a big achievement! We must now focus on going forward and building on such a solid foundation. The rest of us must continue with the work of stabilising while building the organisation at the same time. The opportunists must be allowed to go back to wherever they came. We have an excellent opportunity ahead of us. While the ruling party will be too busy celebrating its victory, and fighting about who gets the biggest slice of the pie, we need to be steadfast in our resolve.

The next elections are around the corner. In 2011, there will be national local government elections. This presents another opportunity to tell the people of South Africa about our party as a viable alternative. We will agree with the ANC on certain issues, but that will not make us the same. We have to find innovative strategies to capture the imagination of our people. We fell short in this past election because we simply didn’t have enough time and resources. We have to cover the length and breadth of our nation. Our message needs to reach every city, every town, every village, every street, every man, every woman, and every child that is 13 years or older (a child who is 13 now will be 18 in 2014!).

One of the strategies on everyone’s mind is the concept of co-operation among smaller parties. This presents opportunities and pitfalls. The rationale for like minded parties to come together is there for all to see. It is how this task must be handled that presents a danger. The devil will be in the detail. Our party needs to have its own strategy on this matter, and should not be strung along on the basis of someone else’s strategy. Some have suggested a ‘convention’ of small parties to chart a way forward. While this is a seductive idea, we must be mindful that ‘group therapy’ on the way forward may not work. It may be more of a deep concealed hole that will trap us into a meaningless merry-go round. Even the smallest party composed of a woman and her dog will want to make their voice heard. The likely scenario is a compromise position that will leave our party weaker. Some are already asking about what ‘ideology’ will be embraced by the united front. Talk of ‘ideology’ is an attempt to hijack the concept for self interest. We all know which parties are big on ‘ideology’. We all know what ‘ideology’ has brought them. Nothing. We know that given a choice between adapting or dying, they will choose to die. We must not deny them this opportunity.

Our strategy must involve one on one discussion with each party to find common ground. We’ll be a party of cooperative democracy. This should enable us to have small short-term wins but bigger long term gains. Tackling this elephant at one go will be a big and amorphous task. But there’s a Russian proverb that says, when an earthenware pot collides with an iron one it is always the earthenware that breaks no matter how big. We must be a party built on non swerving good iron values against the goliaths of clay feet.

2011 is not as far as it might sound. We must always be wary of what happened to the Independent Democrats. One of the reasons they faired so poorly in these elections was their decision to go into a coalition with the ANC for the control of the Cape Metro after the previous local government elections. There was a huge uproar from their electorate, and they saved face by somersaulting into a coalition with the DA, but the damage was already done. Their voters were closer to the DA than to the ANC.

Non-racialism in politics is an ideal we should all strive for, but race will continue to play an important part in our politics for a foreseeable future. The reality is that the majority of all race groups vote along racial lines. This is an important lesson, for we cannot afford to alienate our supporters and voters for short term political expedience. This suggests that, we will fare worse in the future if we make the wrong turn at this cross road. The DA understands its position very well; it knows that it has almost hit a glass ceiling with these past elections. Hence it showed interesting in co-opting COPE into a coalition so as to use it as an opening into the black areas. A coalition with the DA would not have been a good idea. It’d have meant we opted for short-term gains at the expense of long term ones. We are a party of the future, and we must not allow our legacy to be tainted even before it begins. At all time we must respect the mandate of those who vote for us. We must never sell their votes to the highest bidder. Forward to the new agenda of change and hope!

The Burden of Freedom

In Editorials on April 29, 2009 at 11:29 am

If the history of the world, or nations, is the development of the Idea of Freedom, as Hegel claimed, then the recent South African election suggests that the country is in political regression. When you study the voting patterns closely you’re left with the conclusion that South African voters have relapsed to pre-1994 voting tendencies, by voting more according to race and ethnicity. Never you mind the negligible black pockets who voted the predominantly white liberal Democratic Alliance (DA), for reasons mostly to do with antipathy towards the ANC than choice. If ever it was in any doubt, it is clear now that the experience of apartheid left the South African nation traumatized, resentful and distrustful towards each other.

There is also, in the recent South African voting pattern, a clear revolt against reason and open society for radical collectivism. Racial nationalism, which appeals to tribal instinct, passion and prejudice, is still a driving force for the majority of the South Africans. It is no coincidence that when a Zulu became the president of the ANC for its support to grow drastically in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where Zulus predominate. Meantime in the Eastern Cape, where the majority is Xhosa, the ANC support fell drastically. This might be in protest of the way the former president, Thabo Mbeki was recalled before the tenor of his presidency was over last year. Since Mbeki is Xhosa the argument still stands.

It’d seem the more the DA used apartheid tactics of “Swart Gevaar” on electioneering their support grow exponentially also. It can’t be a coincident that their growths was predominantly in white areas; and with VF they took the chunk of overseas voters, people who mostly left the country in fear of what is called the Zanufication [the spread of Mugabe political tactics, like confiscating white commercial farms] of the country. For those who had hoped South Africa was progressing towards a less racially, ethnically society the trends of our past elections were very disappointing indeed.

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How Fair is Freedom?

In Editorials on April 21, 2009 at 10:23 pm

I’ve heard an honour of travelling the length and breadth of our province (Western Cape) in the company of great men and women, most of whom like me they see in COPE a last beacon of hope for our people. Most of us, seeing the general anger of people against politicians, were concerned by what we see as the fire next time (James Baldwin) when the false promises of the Zuma Project become glaring; the social unrest that may occur in our country. Who’ll douse those flames when they flare?

Take the recent Karoo tour with the Western Cape Premier Candidate. As I was looking at the stabbing poverty of our people in towns like Beaufort West I felt like a phony, slamming it in and out of people’s difficult lives when a certain old lady, with disappointed eyes, took the premier candidate aside and said; “Boesak, I don’t want you to promise us anything; but I’m glad you came to see the kind of lives we are living.” Back on the air-conditioned car with dark windows I felt discouraged by the enormity of poverty and all. I looked back at the book I was reading, the lines I had underlined. At first they didn’t make much sense to me until later on:

One might almost imagine that there were no such thing as absolute truth, since a change of situation or temperament is capable of changing the whole force of an argument. We have been accustomed, even those of us who feel most, to look on the arguments for and against the system of slavery with the eyes of those who are at ease. We do not even know how fair is freedom, for we were always free. We shall never have all the materials for absolute truth on this subject, till we take into account, with our own views and reasonings, the views and reasonings of those who have bowed down to the yoke, and felt the iron enter into their souls. [Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dred: A Tale Of The Great Dismal Swamp (1856)]

I was listening to a political debate on the radio and felt we were busy arguing about who has done what, who can do what better than whom; meantime people are living hopelessly difficult lives. It’s not that our government does not have resources to ameliorate our people’s plight; it just that the money is in wrong hands of people who do not know how to spread it around and make people’s lives better. They’d rather it goes down back to the treasury than putting it to real use. Tell me then; how fair is freedom in that scenario? How can we leave with ourselves?

As I said, I felt discouraged. In my discouragement I put down my book, sent my vacant eyes to the naked poverty running on the township streets before turning to read Dr. Boesak’s, There’s never been a time like this speech: “Our hopes of yesterday are still there, but have become the disappointments of today. Our joys of yesterday in so many ways became the tears of today … We’re here to say we have a new vision in which we can believe in, we are here to say we’re chiselling a new road that everyone can walk, a new home that can be a home for everyone. We’re here to say it is not too late; we are here to say we’ll not be ruled by fear, we’ll not be prescribed by hopelessness, and that we’ll not be hopeless. South Africa is our country; South Africa is not bound to failure, we’ve a God given calling to fulfil, and the time to fulfil that calling is now.”

I recalled that I still had my hopes and beliefs to give the people, and wrote it on my knee that I’ll never allow my leaders to forget this. I whispered in my heart for theirs to hear that the Congress of the People (COPE) will not only be a movement for the new era, with a commitment to putting its ear on the ground and basing its actions on the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, but it’ll be the vehicle of deliverance for their hopes. I said, yes COPE is a party that subscribe to democratic values while being sensitive to individual and minority rights, but it must be more; it must be the party of the people by the people through the people. COPE needs to enshrine as one of its founding principle that everyone has a right to decent life, liberty, prosperity, property, free speech, freedom of worship and assembly, and equality before the law. And COPE must believe these rights to be fundamental. That they are not subjected to a vote, or depend on the outcome of electioneering and populism.

Having seen how easy it is to manipulate governing laws to suite the capricious and arbitrary power of the day, I recalled my enthusiasm and hopes at the Sandton Convention that historic November day. When we said we’ll no longer trust even in legislation if the the values and ideals espoused by it is not robustly followed, or does not become part of the very fabric of political process. When we saw the crossroad moment of the devaluation of our institutions of our freedom and civil liberty, for the promotion of the ascendency to power of one man, and defence of his criminal allegation, we said not in our name.

“I’m telling you now; you’re part of this moment, part of this tidal wave of the future. You are part of this vision for hope we are offering the peoples of South Africa, a home where everyone is welcome, but we will go out and challenge this country, we will pick its people up; we will hold our hopes high, and let me tell you,: There was never a time like this.” COPE’s work has just only begun. Sometimes when an idea arrives at an opportune time, and finds right leadership, of progressive spirit, it acquires a force of inevitability. COPE is an idea whose time has come, hence, as Reverend Boesak would say: COPE is on the Roll.


If none honest, none wise, then all fools

In Editorials on April 15, 2009 at 7:30 am

After reading the open letter of Fikile Mbalula to the former president Thabo Mbeki, and upon hearing that the former president was not prepared to justify it with a response, we thought we’d stoop to the level of Mr Mbalula by answering it, imagining ourselves as the former president.

Mr. Fikile Mbalula

I’m certain you are aware that the use of the word cde denotes similar views and attitude between people of related spirit. Since in your letter you make it clear that you and I don’t share anything similar, perhaps it’d be proper if you should desist from calling me cde. I doubt if you hold me Dear also,  so perhaps Mister would suffice between us, thus if you still regard me with minimum hour.

I’ve read your open letter, dated 2009/04/14 in a PDF file, which you’ve addressed to me. I had no way of verifying it until you appeared on TV news admitting to authoring the missal, saying I’m a liability to the ANC who allows himself to be used for tactics of undermining the organisation. It is regrettably you first chose to go public about issues you clearly wished to address to me. I’m not in a position to speak on behalf of the Congress of the People about why they choose to invoke my name in their freedom songs. The simple explanation would be to flatter myself into thinking that they regard me as the small part of bringing their democratic freedom, like other South African of the calibre of Steve Biko, Terror Lekota, and the rest. You chose to hold a different view, which you’re entitled to.

You insinuate that I was authoritarian as a leader without giving much support to your allegation. You say I “chose to run both the organisation and the country with cabal which sought to commandeer everyone along your thinking and vision, which at times ran contrary to what the ANC stood for.” Until you give me some substance you leave me no choice but to conclude that you’re one of those who’ve recycled this attitude from other sources of sensationalist nature and little analytic powers, who make fiction of history according to their prejudices and condescending conspiring tendencies of acknowledging no right thinking except it worships in their kraal. Since I’m currently in a process of writing my memoirs I shall not prostitute my muse beyond this point.

The best way to judge my legacy is definitely not through ANC politics where I’ve heard to fight one battle over another since I became its prominent member. Since you give me the invidious honour of having divided and turned the ANC against itself, the exercise is not desirable either. We might argue until cows come home, worse still, you know very little of what has gone on within the ANC since I’ve become a part of it. Your knowledge of its politics is probably limited to rosy part of post 1992 era when your likes came howling about one thing or the other without proper understanding of real roots. I’m not trying to boast, but am just writing ad ostentationem only, to show where I’ve been with some of the comrades you now call your respected leaders, whom I’ve carried on my back, as others have carried me before during our times of struggle.

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Where’s the Vision?

In Editorials on April 9, 2009 at 10:26 am

I’ve been looking through South Africa’s major political party manifestoes to see if we can expect any radical changes or inspiring vision. I was a little disappointed. The African National Congress (ANC) does not promise much beyond what it has been saying in the past 10 years. We all know it has been going around in circles since, running from one unsuccessful programme to another. The DA is good at exposing ruling party’s failures with a semblance of fresh thinking. Unfortunately most of the time it betrays roots of elite anxieties and recycled newspaper sensationalism. Congress of the People (COPE) is usually criticised for being a cut and paste haste job with anti-ANC tendencies that’s caught up on personality dilemma. They say it does not know whether it wants to be a political party, a social club or a charismatic church.

Beyond these three major political parties you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better, just slight variations with emphasis on anti-corruption [Independent Democrats (ID)], emphasis on land [Pan Africanist Congress (PAC and its various factions)], minority rights [Freedom Front (FF)]. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and other organisation with emphasis on religious sentiment tend to be out of depth on political scene except when following the stance emphasised by COPE of better ethics and morals in politics. Emphasising on better values, morally and otherwise, can never be wrong. But to convince voters you need a clear vision and realistic program of implementation as an alternative. That is where almost all the South African political parties are failing us.

What our country needs most is fresh thinking for our relevant solutions. Indeed, there’s generally not enough radical thinking around the world in our era beyond manoeuvring propping of the system. One of the reasons for this is not enough comprehensive research, deeper reflection and diverse debate about localised issues. Perhaps it is because political parties know that we, as the voters, are not demanding enough; we’re, most of the time, satisfied with cheap political theatrics and other sensationalist guises.

For a time it looked like the formation of COPE meant the opening of a wider political space in our country, renewing hopes of true democracy, civil institutions and all. COPE’s founding message roused the urgent call to safeguard the heritage of our civil institutions, hence it resonated well with the public, until its own teething problems damped the enthusiasm energy back into impotent anger, fear and confusion. But no doubt about it, COPE introduced something fresh in our political scene, especially around the time of the Sandton National Convention (02 November 2008). After that it seemed to lose its momentum. Perhaps it was caught off guard by its own success.

It might be expecting too much for COPE to come up with well groomed policies less than four months of its existence. Still, during its manifesto launch at Port Elizabeth, COPE promised it’ll bring to the South African public a more detailed map of its vision by June. Now is the time to give a clear indications of its direction if it wishes to take advantage of the coming elections. We need clear directives especially concerning economic policies. This, coupled with the present glaring blunders of the ANC, might just buy COPE another serious lifeline and boost its momentum.

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NPA Decision to drop charges against Zuma suggest serious abuse of state resources

In News on April 9, 2009 at 10:22 am

by Mbulelo Ncedana

[Mbulelo Ncedana is the chairperson of COPE Western Province]

Many political analysts, opposition parties and commentators have expressed their strong objections to the NPA’s decision to drop charges against the President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma on the grounds of illegally intercepted tape recordings between the former bosses of the NPA Leonard McCarthy and Bulelani Ngcuka. I write to put my weight too behind these sentiments. The decision will do great harm to the integrity of the NPA, and will certainly inflict enormous damage on the ANC.

Many South Africans of goodwill are asking legitimate questions, like how did these tapes get into the hands of the Zuma’s defence? Why did the NPA not take them to the court to rule on their admissibility as evidence? Were there any breaches of state security leading to the tape recordings of the state being accessed by the accused? How did the state (the NPA) accept tapes illegally obtained from a state institution and decide in favour of the accused in his own case? Will such a precedent apply in exactly the same way in the future on less prominent cases?

The Acting Director, Adv Mokotedi Mpshe says in his media statement that the NPA had taken the tapes to NIA for authentication. To my mind, and certainly in the minds of many other law abiding citizens of our country, that ought to have been a secondary step. Surely if the NPA were too concerned about their credibility, the first and logical thing to do would have been to seek an urgent court date to determine the legality and acceptability of the tapes before deciding on their content. What purpose will it serve if NIA is only busy now with the investigation to determine any wrongdoing on the part of those responsible for handing these tapes to Zuma’s legal team.

By the NPA’s own admission, they remain convinced that their case against Zuma was and is still strong yet they deemed it prudent to decide to drop all his charges despite these glaring legal flaws. What bearing does the ulterior motive and evidence of tempering has on the court of law if the evidence of Mr. Zuma’s case is admissible and strong? Given these serious questions, we are left with no option but to surmise that Advocate Mpshe was probably subjected to immense political pressure, and that the decision taken was therefore not his decision but that of the ruling party.

Advocate Mpshe is a professional who has proved beyond any doubt that he is up to the challenge of heading an institution like the NPA with great integrity. However, the reality is that Adv Mpshe is a human being; and any human being can take only so much pressure. The fact that the leaking of the charges being dropped through Mo Shaik weeks before was not a mistake at all. It was part of a strategy to exert pressure on the NPA and gauge public opinion. I’m not sure why they didn’t foresee the fact that should the charges against Zuma be dropped without being tested in the court of law it means that in the public eye he’ll forever be guilty.

What we’ve just witnessed is nothing but the so called political solution of the type the tripartite alliance has been pressing for all along. They have finally won the battle but not the war. The sad part is that they’ve achieved it at a huge cost to the reputation of our country. We can only hope that voters will wake up to what is happening, and punish the ANC heavily on 22 April. The South African public is starting to see the true colours of the triapatite alliance. People will not forever vote for corruption nor give blanket mandate to the ANC to do more crime.

What Stage Are We At Now?

In News on April 8, 2009 at 10:52 am

by KHAYALETHU KHAYA SEBASTIAN HAMANA

I recall reading something written by Peter Marais in the Cape Argus (3 April; 2009) entitled, “I follow ideologies that make sense”. With his usual chameleon-ability to adapt himself to his ever changing situation he was waxing hot about something that required a strained interpretation to realise he was trying to make himself into an ethical individual. I’ll not go to Marias’ warps and wefts, which I’m sure are clear to our readers.

Marais is constantly busy trying to find solutions that are consciously convenient for him (he’s now dangling on the ruling party’s operation Come Back Home). One was once of the opinion there was genuine lack of good grasp of political service, but one is now clear what kind of political animal Marias is.

Regardless what he says it is clear that Marais left COPE to join the ANC because he was disappointed with his allotted prospectus. Like Mlungisi Hlongwane he had to find justification for his deserting of COPE. Hlongwane said COPE is a Xhosa nostra. A Xhosa nostra that happens to have only one xhosa in its executive leadership. Marias justification was that he prefers to align himself to an ideology not personalities. He fails to mention which personalities are so dominant to overwhelm COPE ideology.

The stark reality is that COPE’s progressive ideology did not fit Marias because it prioritises ability above political antecedent. At least Marias was shrewd enough to understand he’d fit better with the ANC mixed bag where contradictory traits are the order of the day. After all feathers of the same bird flock together.

COPE too delouses as the country goes through Schopenhauer’s three stage happenings to all new truths. First it is ridiculed, then violently opposed, and then treated as self-evident. Remember what the leaders of COPE said at Sandton Convention Centre that momentous November day. Many ridiculed and called them cry wolfs. Now the truth, as we watch the charges against the current present of the ANC being dropped with no convincing argument, is becoming self-evident. Tell us which stage we are at now?

(Khaya is a member of cope’s policy and content) he writes in his personal capacity.)


What Beast was woken at Polokwane

In Editorials on April 3, 2009 at 4:49 am

As we wait the news of the NPA dropping all charges against the ANC president, Jacob Zuma, we stand in amazement of the quick fading credibility once again of one of our institutes of civic liberty. I’m sure the leaders of the ANC will stand at Fitzegerald square, gloating at the mastery of their good plan coming together. I’m sure the South African public will be told the information contained on the so called Mbeki tapes are of sensitive national security, thus barring them from public scrutiny. And so the cookie crumbles, as the Americans would say.

Many things have recently happened in our country that leave any thinking individual that South Africa’s political scene has entered a low, mean, dishonest era; and is poised between decaying democracy and nascent Maoism. Whether we termed our quest for liberty in revolutionary lingo, or western Herodotean concepts of eleutheria, isonomia (freedom-under-law); the basic truth is once we were all after similar things, like freedom, good governance and self-determination for the honour and character of our republic. Now we’re learning the hard way the culture of deception that inevitably comes to envelope self-selecting leadership groups organized around crises. Something is definitely rotten in our political state.

Samuel Huntington once pointed out that ‘People use politics not just to advance their interests but also to define their identity. We know who we are only when we know who we are not and often only when we know whom we are against’. Today we find ourselves having more and more in common with states that trump the rule of law for what is misrepresented as the greater good of the country. We’re keeping invidious company with glorified oppressive states like Russia, China, Algeria at a growing strain with those that champion liberty and democratic transparency. The sad part is that, by the look of majority opinion, we are complicit in our own deception, and downright eager to be misled. Man of courageous principle, like Bishop Tutu, are called by sinister names because they dare expose the underside of the rousing beast within us. What is clear is that the iron of our principles is rotting by collective, group and individual vested interests.

It reminds me of something the historian William H. McNeill once said, commenting on why modern armed forces still use Maurice’s techniques, nearly five centuries later. “When a group of men move their arm and leg muscles in unison for prolonged periods of time, a primitive and very powerful social bond wells up among them. This probably results from the fact that movement of the big muscles in unison rouses echoes of the most primitive level of sociality known to humankind.” This is the kind of democracy we’ve landed on under the tutelage of the ANC government. You either march to the tune of the ruling party or be called worse things than just counterrevolutionary. This may satisfy the primitive crave to be part of something greater than oneself as the slogans go; “My ANC! My Vision!” But behind the forced utopic exuberance is a reality of the proverbial snake satisfying its hunger by devouring itself, tail up.

As a liberation movement the ANC has always been susceptible to the blandishments of collective myopia and illusions of divine purpose. But it was, for the greater parts of history, lucky enough to have sterling leadership that was able to gently stir it out of these pitfalls. It had leaders that were able to tame its beast of collective aggressiveness, and the seduction of mindless identification with destructive tendencies of mob psychology. That’s why South Africa was able to avoid the fates of Rwanda’s Hutus and Tutsis, Bosnian Serbs and Muslims, Nazis and Jews, Irish Catholics and Protestants, Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Israelis and Palestinians, etc. But what beast was woken at Polokwane in the ANC’s 52nd National Conference. Better still, did those who roused it understand what they were doing?

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ANC desperation to win election further exposes its naked corruption

In Editorials on April 3, 2009 at 4:00 am

By Lindikhaya Braves Maqhasha

Corruption of the ANC led government is something in the public domain. The question is whether the South African public has grown to accept it as occupational. The answer to that we’ll know only after 22 April 2009. What is more worrying now is the spiteful campaigns the ANC has embarked upon to discredit and infiltrate political parties it feels most threatened by, like the DA and COPE.

There’s evidence that the ANC election War Room is involved in dirty tactics, like food politics and infiltrating the structures of COPE structures to sow divisions ahead of the coming elections. One questions why the ANC, if it is confident of its growing popularity, will it go to all this trouble, even stooping as low as to embark on counteractive dirty tactics. No doubt, the ANC has resorted to these underhand tactics because it is driven by fear of COPE’s growing popularity.

COPE is the only party capable that has the ability to challenge and take the ANC head on in their quest to plunge our country into another banana republic. The panic buttons they are now franticly pushing through things like Jeff Radebe’s led Operation Come Back is clear evidence of their threatened state. The people of South Africa are not blind, they can see through the naked lies and corruption of the ANC. They require a party with clean and credible leaders who have impeccable credentials to ensure a hope and a better tomorrow for all. COPE is up to that challenge.

We’ve all seen how this ANC led government is using its financial muscle and abuse state resources and power through corrupt means to fund their election campaigns. We have witnessed in dismay as their volunteers and ANC Councillors, fully clad in ANC gear registering the poor for social grants specifically for the distribution of food parcels on behalf of SASSA. We believe SASSA has a case to answer. Why is the registration being run and supervised by the ANC? Why is it not the staff of SASSA running the food relief programme? And it surely is not a coincident that these programmes are set in motion now during the election time.

Why were our people not given these things all along when resources for them were available. It is really sad, even criminal, how they use our people as pawns. Can we be led by such a government and trust our future in their hand? The interesting thing is how short their memories are. It was only in elections of 1994 the NP failed to secure majority votes for itself despite spending millions trying to buy votes from the poor through food politics. The ANC cried foul then. And the majority of South Africans were not fooled by the belated cheap politics of a failing government.

Countrywide ANC members are presently threatening and intimidating voters that if they vote COPE their RDP houses and Social Grants will be taken back by ANC led government. The ANC is throwing away its good history and heritage to the dust bin. The ANC of Luthuli and O R Tambo has long vanished.

The current ANC President’s legal team which has embarked on negotiations with the NPA behind the scene is nothing else but a grapevine exercise to prepare the South African citizens for a big shock of dropping the charges. Shabir Shaik is out of jail while other inmates are rotting inside with no mercy from the authorities. People are no fools, they can see through the eye of the needle. Judge for yourself! Vote for COPE.

Head: Policy Unit – Western Cape

Lindikhaya Braves Maqhasha

To Men & Women of conscience

In Editorials on April 1, 2009 at 6:54 am

by Ndithini Leon Tyhido

Dear comrade Voters

If anything is clear it is that most people will be going to these coming elections with clear expectations for what they’ll be voting for, and thus will do so based on more issues than past allegiances and political nostalgia. This is a good thing, in fact this space was created in greater part by the formation of the Congress of the People (COPE). If we are to live up to the responsibilities demanded by our freedom and sacrifices made to get us where we are our mentalities must be open to a complementary learning process of our times.

All those who still posses and respect their God given ability to distinguish between right and wrong understand that our country has a leadership crisis challenge. This challenge and a threat to the institutions of our civil liberty led those of us who were concerned to congregate at a National Convention in Johannesburg in that momentous November day. We all agreed we had congregated because the state of our nation, under the political leadership of the African Congress (ANC), had taken a wrong turn. We said, and still say, “things are not going right in our land”. The comrades within the ANC accused us of being traitors, called us names, and even said we were paid agents of the imperialist agenda. But if look at the status quo of our nation now, from the disbandment of Scorpions to the soon to be dropped charges against the current present of the ANC, tells you were right to be concerned for our liberties. The voter will soon be the arbitrator on this matter.

For those of us who see things at their seed are aware that South Africa stands at the crossroads. It is now dependent on the voter for our country to redeem our country and get back on the path of hope she was derailed from by prevailing tendencies of cronyism, nepotism, political deployment to civil service, and the rest of the things that make for the present failure to implement policies aimed at serving and uplifting our people from the conditions of misery they live under. Our nation must strive to get rid of the mentality of thinking there are among us who were born to lead, those who go as far as to threaten us with chaos if we don’t succumb to their demands. None of our leaders were born to lead; leaders get their mandate from the people.

COPE does not take pleasure with our people going to bed on empty stomachs, but will never condone the disgusting practise of using them as pawns through politics of food parcels that will not be sustained beyond electioneering. COPE does not trade on food parcels, but on politics of integrity and lasting values. COPE’s philosophy is progressive and value based. All must learn to acquaint themselves with it, especially those in positions of leadership.

Unfortunately the loss of value we stood against on that momentous November day at Sandton visited our ranks when we fell for the corrupting trends of cheap politicking and gimmick parliamentary lists. We forgot that all of us posses equal opportunity to change our country for the better, and that opportunity does not depend on parliamentary list.

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