Alex ANC military vet bemourns division in the party
ALEXANDRA – ANC urged to revert to its consultative culture for the sake of unity.
An Umkhonto we Sizwe military veteran has appealed for the revival of the culture of consultation which, he said, kept the African National Congress intact during the struggle.
Walter Mojapelo believes this will help stop the seemingly violent tension pitting former comrades against each other.
The party, its veterans, structures and alliance partners have admittedly been torn into factions with fissures seeming to deepen at local, provincial and national level. This has lead to many predicting a possible and likely loss of power by the erstwhile liberation movement in the national general elections of 2019.
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This has left many, including Mojapelo, publicly agonising about the internal squabbles. A former altar boy at the Anglican Church, Mojapelo was a member of the Alex Student Congress, Alex Youth Congress, ANC’s underground structure, United Democratic Movement member and one of its religious department’s representatives in Tanzania. He is also an ex-detainee with a R20 000 price tag for his head.
Mojapelo said the only solution to the problem was the party’s return to its culture of consultation and free but critical introspection. “The party needs unity to heal and avert the split predicted by many,” said Mojapelo, insisting that the party was his home. “It still has the mandate to achieve more for society through consultation which will enable its leaders to re-commit to its task of governance of, for and by the people,” he said. This task, he said, was under serious threat due to the current shenanigans which he equated to the apartheid era when people were split on racial and class lines.
“This development is an antithesis to the freedom our fore bearers fought and shed their blood for and, the party’s principles which can still be rescued by reverting to the consultative culture to build unity in our diversity and make the members and all citizens feel free and beholden to each other at all levels.”
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Mojapelo urged the party to develop a cadres’ school to groom future leadership steeped in party principles. “We need well balanced and educated future youth with capacity and a firm understanding of the country’s challenges, who will admit, atone and correct their errors and, be good listeners able to understand the citizen’s concerns, use their education skills to make democracy work and enhance the image of the country globally.”
Details: Walter Mojapelo 011 443 7408
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