17Dispatches independentJUNE 28 2015

THE SUNDAY

‘IWONDER whether thetime has not come for theANC to consider thequestion of convening anational convention, acongress of the people,

representing all the people of thiscountry irrespective of race orcolour to draw up a freedom charterfor the democratic South Africa ofthe future,” Zachariah KeodirelangMatthews said on August 15, 1953.

A professor of anthropology atFort Hare University, “ZK”, as he wasaffectionately known, was speakingto the Cape ANC, as its president, atits annual conference in Cradock.

There had been mention of aneed to call a “convention” to discussthe thorny issues of the time, butnone championed the idea as ZK did.

The ANC adopted the idea threemonths later at its national confer-ence in Queenstown.

In mid-1954, following a requestfrom the then-president of the ANC,Albert Luthuli, ZK drafted a memo-randum on the contents of such acharter.

A committee, the National ActionCouncil, was set up to oversee prepa-rations for the congress. It includedmembers of the South African Indi-an Congress, South AfricanColoured People’s Organisation andthe South African Congress ofDemocrats (for whites).

However, ZK was not a member ofthe committee, nor was he at the con-gress, held in Kliptown on June 25and 26, 1955. He was then acting prin-cipal of Fort Hare University, a rolethat left no time for activism.

Despite being absent from thehistoric event at which the FreedomCharter was adopted 60 years ago, ZKhad set in motion an idea that wouldhave a catalytic effect on the way his-tory unfolded.

The charter was essentially apolitical document intended tomobilise multiracial opposition toapartheid with the aim of shaping adifferent future.

This inspirational objective wascaptured in ZK’s memorandum asfollows: “From such a congressought to come a declaration whichwill inspire all the peoples of SouthAfrica with the fresh hope for thefuture, which will turn the minds ofthe people away from the sterile andnegative struggles of the past and thepresent to a positive programme offreedom in our lifetime.”

In other words, the charter was atestimony of its time, but also artic-ulated a vision of a different future.

It was inevitably contentious. Officialdom denounced it as trea-

sonous, while Africanists in the ANCdecried it as a betrayal of the strug-gle for national liberation.

Matthews, whose son Joe wasamong those charged with treasonalongside him, was bewildered bythe accusation. He was a law-abidingman, whose name affirmed his deepChristian faith. His grand-father,Keodirelang, had adopted the names“Zachariah Matthews” after convert-ing to Christianity. ZK not only hadhis grandfather’s names, but fol-lowed his Christian path. The char-ter’s assertion of equality, amongother principles, was an affirmationof his humanity.

But the apartheid court latchedon to such words and phrases as“action” and “going over into theoffensive”, taking them as a call toviolence.

A gentle and a civilised man, ZKdismissed the charge of treason in away only a professor could: “Theonly explanation I can find for thisalarm over such innocent metaphor-ical expression is that, owing to ourbilingualism in South Africa, we arebecoming less and less able to followthe idiomatic English usage.” Hiswhite accusers were just not learnedmen! Matthews and his fellowaccused were acquitted.

To the self-defined “Africanist”faction in the ANC, the charter wasfurther proof that the liberationmovement had veered off the courseof African nationalism. The Afri-canists found it particularly intoler-able that it envisioned the grantingof ownership of land and citizenryirrespective of descent. They said itwould not achieve the freedom it pur-ported to pursue, and promptlyrenamed it the “Kliptown Charter”.

In December 1955, The Africanistdescribed in an editorial the calami-ty it thought had befallen the ANC:“We emerged at a time when confu-sion, worst confounded, reignedsupreme in ANC ranks.

“Without fear or favour we haveenergetically laboured to clear thestinking mess left to us as a legacy bythe opportunistic leadership thatserved, loyally, interests other thanthose of Africa. We have relentlesslywaged a struggle to restore andmaintain the independence of theAfrican National Congress, whosepotential has been reduced by asuperfluous multiplicity of pactswith insignificant organisations.

“We boldly championed thecourse of the ANC men and womenwhose opinion… was being deliber-ately stifled to placate lackeys,

flunkeys and functionaries of non-African minorities.”

After failing to win the leadershipof the Transvaal ANC at the Novem-ber 1958 conference, the Africanistsbroke away to form the Pan African-ist Congress in 1959.

Today the arguments havechanged, but the contention remains.The past 21 years of freedom, accord-ing to charterists, have shown SouthAfrica is on course to realise theobjectives of the charter. Critics sayjust the opposite, that the “KliptownCharter” prefigured a betrayal ofthe revolution.

In their appraisal, “Reflections onthe Freedom Charter”, MandlaSeleoane and Ben Mokoena are, insome ways, dismissive of its contem-porary relevance, while understand-ing the context that gave rise to it.They highlight the obvious points –for instance, that education is notaccessible to all and that wealth andland have not been restored to theirrightful owners. This is fair criti-cism.

It’s worth emphasising that a con-textual understanding of the charteris a lot more helpful than a literalinterpretation.

Because it was adopted in 1955, itgoes without saying that some of thethings it envisaged would beunachievable 60 years later. Theworld has changed and the dominanteconomic thinking is different.Nationalising private capital wouldnot be as easy today as it was in 1955.

Recent revelations about the con-duct of private capital, however,underline the absolute importance ofthe role of the state in the economy.An AU panel headed by former pres-ident Thabo Mbeki found that tril-lions of dollars have left the conti-nent illegally. Africa has lost out ininvestment and revenue.

A leak by a whistle-blower at theEuropean bank, HSBC, claimed that2 000 South African entities had off-shore accounts, some to evade tax. In2007, the accounts held a combinedR20 billion.

It has also been reported thatmore capital is leaving the countrythan is being invested internally.

The economy’s revival ultimatelyrests with the state. A discussion ofthe Freedom Charter is a satisfyingcustom. The emphasis now, however,should be on the cohesiveness of thepolitical elite and whether it has itspriorities straight.

■ Ndletyana is head of the politi-

cal economy faculty at the Mapun-

gubwe Institute for Strategic Reflec-

tion (Mistra).

Focus on charter takeseyes off political elite

The emphasis in our time should beon the country’s leadership and itspriorities,writes Mcebisi Ndletyana

ON THIS weekend 60years ago, as ANCcomrades we cheeredthe headlines of ourprogressive weeklypaper, the New Age,

when it announced, “All Roads Leadto Kliptown”.

Kliptown was the venue chosento launch the Freedom Charter in1955. June 26 was specifically chosento coincide with the Stay Awaystrike of 1950.

This strike was called by theANC alliance to protest the killing ofworkers during the May Day demon-strations and strikes organised bythe SA Communist Party (SACP) toprotest the Suppression of Commu-nism Act. But the road to Kliptownbegan long before June 1955. Itbegan with the adoption of the pro-gramme of action in 1949 by theANC at its annual conference.

This was a critical moment sinceit sought to change the method ofstruggle of the ANC and transformthe organisation into a mass-basedmilitant movement.

The ANC tested its strength inthe successful strike of 1950. Thisenabled it to launch the DefianceCampaign in 1952, together with theSouth African Indian Congress.

The Defiance Campaign tested

the popularity and militancy of themasses and their support for theANC. More than 8 000 volunteersdefied unjust laws and were sent toprison.

The success of the campaignopened up a new and more militantphase in our struggle for liberation.This phase of the struggle requiredthe movement to outline clearly thetype of society it wished to createwhen taking power.

Taking power meant the creationof a new democratic order whichneeded to be defined carefully in thecontext of a changing world.

This was the era of anti-colonial

struggles and the decolonisation ofAsia and later Africa. It is for thisreason that Professor ZK Matthewscalled for the drafting of the Free-dom Charter to define our newdemocratic society.

In the tradition of the congressmovement and its increasedreliance on popular mobilisation, itwas decided that the process leadingto the Freedom Charter should bepeople-driven. This resulted in theestablishment of an organ called theCongress of the People (COP),which sought to involve the broad-est section of our society in the cam-paign for the Freedom Charter.

At the beginning the Liberal Par-ty of Alan Paton attended a meetingof the congress but later withdrewbecause they were uncomfortablewith the mass-based character ofthe campaign.

During that time I was an activistin the Greyville area of Durban andbelonged to a branch of the NatalIndian Congress.

We formed a COP committee inour area. I was fortunate to be elect-ed by my branch to be a delegate tothe Congress of the People in Klip-town, where the final draft of theFreedom Charter was to be adopted.

As a person of Indian origin, Icould not travel to the then Trans-

vaal without acquiring a six-weekpermit. As an activist there was noway I would have been able to get apermit.

The chairman of our branch,Comrade Ismail Gangat, was alsoheading to the Congress. He plannedto travel with a coloured comradecalled Middleton. Ismail suggested Itravel with him and if we were

stopped at the border, Middletonwould say I was his nephew ascoloureds did not need a permit forinter-provincial travel. Fortunatelyfor us we were not stopped.

Kliptown was buzzing withexcitement and expectation. Dele-gates poured into an open groundwhich was fenced to accommodateat least 3 000 people. We sang free-

dom songs and danced. The occa-sion was also marked by the award-ing of the Order of Isitwalandwe toChief Albert Luthuli, Dr YusufDadoo and Father Trevor Huddle-ston.

The clauses of the FreedomCharter were read out and peoplecommented on them. On the secondday, the police raided and circled thevenue. The names and documents ofeach delegate were seized by thepolice. Since I had no permit, a com-rade gave me a false address in theIndian area of Joburg.

The police kept asking me for aTransvaal document and I told themI neglected to bring my documentswith me. Luckily I was allowed toleave and returned safely to Durban.

The Congress Alliance featuredprominently in the campaign and atthe Congress of the People.

The symbol of the Congress wasa wheel with four spokes represent-ing the four members of the alliance– the South African Indian Con-gress, the Coloured People’s Con-gress, the Congress of Democratsand the South African Congress ofTrade Unions. The centre of thewheel represented the ANC as theleader of the alliance.

The Freedom Charter was subse-quently adopted by all the organisa-

tions that constituted the CongressAlliance at their respective confer-ences. A year later we were official-ly informed that the Congress of thePeople had been disbanded.

We were told they did not want arepetition of what happened at theAll-African Convention in the 1930s,which transformed itself into apolitical organisation.

The Congress of the People andthe adoption of the Freedom Char-ter was a historic event. For the firsttime in South African history, peo-ple of all national groups and allclasses expressed their views onwhat a free democratic South Africashould look like.

The people rejected all forms ofracism and said South Africabelonged to all those who lived in it.

Freedom and democratic valuesexpressed in 1955 shaped the strate-gic outlook and vision of the ANCand defined its non-racial struggle.

It was this commitment by theANC that made our movementrecognised and supported by peoplein the country and all over theworld. The struggle to create a bet-ter life for all, as envisioned in theFreedom Charter, continues today.

■ Ebrahim is parliamentary

counsellor to President Jacob Zuma.

Ebrahim Ebrahim

All roads led to Kliptown on day of the Freedom Charter

Qu

ote

s

We are going after (President Jacob) Zumaeverywhere we find him.Unfortunately we don’tget to meet him anywhere,we meet him inParliament.But if I happen to meet him in a publictoilet,I’ll ask him “when are you going to pay backthe money?”Everywhere we meet Zuma,he mustbe asked the question when is he paying back themoney.Ultimately,this man must step down.Notonly that.He must be arrested and rot in jail.– EFFleader Julius Malema

The police are worried about the things Isay.Why are they not making the peoplewho were in the house talk? I lost myson and all I want is for his killers to bearrested.I have been threatened withdeath and they do not feel sorry for me.They (the police) must blame thewitnesses and not me.– Father of slainSenzo Meyiwa, Sam Meyiwa

I am happy that for the first timewe are led by a blind person.Thatshows this country is movingforward.These professors anddoctor,they believe in Hlaudi.Make no mistake.– SABC chiefoperating officer, HlaudiMotsoeneng

SHINING LIGHTS: Ebrahim Ebrahim, Reggie Vandeyar,Henry ‘Squire’ Makgothi and Vijay Padayachee. Behindthem are Justice Albie Sachs and Vanessa September.

The Freedom Charteris as relevant today as it was 60 years ago

ALL SOUTH Africans shouldcelebrate the 60th anni-versary of the FreedomCharter, adopted by theCongress of the People in

Kliptown on June 26, 1955, with greatpride. It was not only a milestone inour own struggle against apartheid,but a model for people around theworld who are struggling for liberationfrom injustice and tyranny.

The Freedom Charter not only laidout a programme to eliminate colo-nialism and racism in South Africa, butalso dealt with all the economic andsocial ills existing alongside apartheid.It gave us a stunning vision of a totallynew kind of society, in which everyoneshared in the country’s wealth andwas treated equally and fairly.

That is why it is still so relevant 60years later.We have adopted a consti-tution and many laws which reflectclauses in the Freedom Charter andgive better guarantees of social justice,human rights and equality than thoseof most other countries in the world.

We have achieved the highestexpansion of social grants in the worldand one of the best records for provid-ing the poor with houses, electricity,running water and access to educa-tion and health services.

But we still have to ask whether wehave built a society in which:

● The people shall share in thecountry’s wealth;

● The national wealth of our coun-try, the heritage of South Africans, shallbe restored to the people;

● The mineral wealth shall betransferred to the ownership of thepeople as a whole;

● All other industry and trade shallbe controlled to assist the wellbeing ofthe people; and

● The doors of learning andculture shall be opened for all.

These surely have to be the corner-stones of the society envisaged in theFreedom Charter, but the sad reality isthat in practice millions of SouthAfricans are still denied, because theinequalities and injustices we inherit-ed from apartheid remain in place.

Inequality has increased across theboard.The Gini coefficient, whichmeasures income inequality, stands at0.65, the highest in the world. StatisticsSA shows from 1994 to 2010 the shareof the gross domestic product (GDP)going to labour in wages, as opposedto capital in profits, fell 7 percent.

A PwC report, Executive Directors’Remuneration: Practices and Trends,July 2013, found the gap between theremuneration of the lowest-paidworkers and chief executives of JSE-listed firms was more than 50 times.

According to an Oxfam report,the two richest South Africans (JohannRupert and Nicky Oppenheimer)owned wealth equal to the poorest 50percent of the country – 26.5 million

people. At least 54.3 percent of SouthAfricans live in poverty and 14 milliongo to bed hungry every night.

Inequalities in income and wealthare still racialised. At least 56 percentof whites earn more than R6 000 amonth, while 81 percent of Africansearn less than R6 000 a month.Themeans of production remain concen-trated in white hands: almost all thetop 20 paid directors in JSE-listedcompanies are white males.This is farcry from what the drafters of theFreedom Charter envisaged.

And there is no sign things aregetting better, with unemployment atan appalling 36.1 percent by the morerealistic wider rate, including thosewho have given up looking for work.

Economic growth in the first quar-ter of 2015 crawled at a miserable 1.3 percent, so the prospect of anyearly relief for the unemployed is dim.

The yawning gulf between theextreme poverty of the majority andthe excessive wealth of the minoritylies behind the mushrooming of oftenviolent service-delivery protests in thein poorer communities.We are sittingon a time bomb unless we get back tothe principles of the Freedom Charter.

All this is made worse by thescourge of corruption and the lootingof public money by tenderpreneurs,corrupt politicians and officials andeven some union leaders, who exploitthe climate of “anything goes” to getrich quick at the expense of the work-ers, consumers and the economy.

We face the biggest crisis since thebirth of democracy in 1994, epito-mised by the statement of the Ministerof Police, Nathi Nhleko, on the exces-sive R246 million Nkandla spend.

The only way to fight back andtruly celebrate the Freedom Charter isto work together to put our dreamback on track and create a truly egali-tarian, united, democratic, non-racial,non-sexist and prosperous SouthAfrica.The mass march against corrup-tion in Pretoria on August 19 must be the first step in this pursuit.

■ Vavi is former general secretaryof Cosatu.

Zwelinzima Vavi

THE INSPIRATION: Professor ZK Matthews set in motionthe idea of calling ‘a congress of the people‘ in 1953.

There will never be aninch of racism that willhappen under mywatch.– Gauteng EducationMEC Panyaza Lesufi