Morning folks. Thanks for the feedback on the previous excerpts from my upcoming memoir. Today Im posting the last one (3 of 3): ... In May 2004, I arranged a Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) workshop through the office of the municipal manager. This workshop was for all councillors, middle and executive managers. The MFMA was one of the latest municipal finance reforms legislation which was to be effective from 1 July 2004. One of the major reforms brought by the MFMA was the exclusion of councillors from procurement. If you were ever involved with government for considerable time you will know that procurement and employment is the biggest Achilles tendon for the state. There were rumblings and discontent already from some councillors regarding the introduction of the MFMA. The municipal manager and I felt that we needed a workshop before the implementation of the MFMA so that the transition can be as smooth and less painful as possible. There I was at the side hall ready to facilitate the implementation of this ominous piece of legislation. The Speaker entered the hall when everybody was seated, expected to make the usual introductions and welcome as per protocol. Instead of the expected niceties, his statement was brief: The MFMA is legislation for municipal managers and chief financial officers, and we will not implement it. This workshop is cancelled. We were all taken aback as we quietly moved out of the side hall... We learnt of the List of 23 in December 2004. This was a political hit list comprising politicians and administrators identified by the Group of Four to be dismissed from the municipality. Interestingly they were to be dismissed, not because they are defeating the ANC government agenda, but because they were protecting, implementing and jealously guarding this government policies. The purported list had the following top five people (in order): 1. Councillor Jacobs, the Mayor. He was probably the only politician in office on the list; 2. Mothibedi Matshele, the municipal manager. He is one of the best administrators Ive worked with to date. 3. Me. Yes, I was third on the list, but the first one to be dealt with. 4. Vuyo Peach, the legal advisor. 5. Freddie Hill, the internal auditor. The list obviously targeted financial governance; from the Mayor who was the political head of finances, to everybody involved with municipal finances, operationally and legally... After the approval by the provincial ANC chairperson on 14 January 2005 that I must be dismissed, few political causes took place to communicate the intention, and immediately thereafter came the clarion call: Rammile ba tlo dila ka yena (Rammile is going to be taught a lesson)! I was officially the enemy of the state. One of the sad legacies of the ANC government when we review the gains of political freedom in the last twenty years is the practice ya ho dila ka batho (dealing with people). In short this is state terror, targeted mainly or exclusively to black people! Ostensibly this is meant to punish those who have veered away from ANC directives, but ironically it also punishes those who obey the spirit and letter of ANC directives, as demonstrated in the List of 23. When they deal with you everybody knows: from the community member where you live, and most of the time to the highest office in Luthuli House. For them to deal with you, you have to somehow be depended upon government for your livelihood, be it employment or business. They first make it known publicly that you are going to be dealt with. This I suppose is meant to call upon future dissidents to observe how dissidents are punished. The punishment is normally slow and enduring, and the victim will usually not be let off the hook, even when they have pleaded repentance, until those making example of him are satisfied theyve achieved their goal. Its highly saddistic! They first take away your means to your livelihood (employment or tenders), close all prospects of making a living anywhere else, especially from government departments or agencies, and slowly watch you wither. O lahlehelwa ke tsohle, o lahlehelwe ke kelello, o be moputswa (you lose all material gains, you lose your soul, and you go insane)... In 2009, I was in my fifth year of sustained persecution by the state since that clarion call in January 2005. It was national election year, and my mother had suffered most as a result of that onslaught. My mother had constantly expressed her anger and disappointment with how the ANC government had stripped me of my manhood and humanity, and she vowed never to vote for it again. She indicated to me that shes going to vote for Cope. On elections day I was in Gauteng. I called her that morning before she went to the polls. Later in the evening I called her again to check how elections went. She told me everything went well. After all the legalities of checking my id against the voters roll, I collected my voting paper and went into the booth, she said. I slowly went through all parties with their candidates faces. I saw the ANC and Zumas face adjacent to the logo. I smiled and softly said ke ya o beha sani (Im putting you forth to lead me), this as she put her cross next to the ANC. I was dumb-struck by the turn of events. I never asked her why she did that, but I understood. Here is a woman who witnessed her only beloved son being put through hell by the ANC government, the actions of which affected her health and material state negatively, and she has an opportunity to change the status quo, however limited, and there she votes the same party to power, again. As if thats not enough, during the local government elections the following year, she again voted the same people who directly persecuted me in office. It defied all logic! My analysis was that when she got into that voting station, and held that voting paper in her hand, that moment represented what had changed since the hard days of apartheid for her. No amount of convincing, not even indiscretions from some ANC functionaries, will take away the opportunity to assert her political emancipation. The ANC for her and many other black South Africans represented that emancipation. Ive seen many liberals and political analysts banging their heads as to why dont people from Bekkersdal and other places where there are service delivery protests vote other parties. They never get it. The perception of what the ANC represents to people who lived under apartheid cannot be taken away overnight, not even by vibrant parties like Economic Freedom Fighters. This will go on until those who have lived under apartheid are gone through natural attrition. As for 2014 and 2019, you can rest assured that the ANC will win those elections, with a resounding majority...
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 11:39:48 +0000