FORMER FINANCE MINISTER PRAVIN GORDHAN HAD A MESSAGE FOR DISRUPTERS

By Subry Govender

Senior ANC leader and the immediate former Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, had a clear message for the rowdy and abusive ANC Youth League members who had repeatedly disrupted his speech at the memorial service for freedom icon, Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada, at the Sastri College hall in Durban last Sunday. “Young people,” he said, “must have the proper training, young people must get business opportunities, and young people must ensure that they grow into the economy of this country”. “And if we don’t work together, we are not going to be able to accomplish what Kathrada and his generation and indeed subsequent generations as well have wanted for our country.” Gordhan, who like the ANC Treasurer General, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has come in for perverted criticism from the KZN Youth League and others over the past two weeks since his dismissal as Finance Minister, was responding to the repeated shouts of “radical economic transformation” by the Youth League members during the course of his speech. He said Kathrada and his generation and “the generation like ours” also wanted radical economic transformation. But, he warned, “be careful”.

“Radical economic transformation can’t be for a handful of people. It must be for all of us. Radical economic transformation must mean that our families, particularly African families, don’t pass poverty from father to child. They must start passing wealth from father to child. We want to create a country and an economy for all people. “Radical economic transformation must mean that there must be land for all our people, jobs for all of our people and that we must ensure that everybody in 20 years’ time or less has some asset that can be passed onto future generations, and in that sense we need a very different kind of economy from the one we have today. And the appeal to all of us who have some wealth, some property, and some assets is, let us find out how we can help others who don’t have that, how do we include small businesses in the townships in our businesses.” Gordhan also reminded the audience about the true values and principles of non-racialism, democracy, peace, and socio-economic development for all propagated by leaders of the calibre of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Kathrada and others who had sacrificed their lives for the freedom South Africans enjoyed today. It was clear that he disagreed with the uncouth antics of the youth league members. In this regard he told them that they should promote the disciplined values and unity of the ANC. “Comrades let’s hear each other, it’s my turn to talk. It’s a free country, it’s a free country but let’s not disrespect. Everybody here talks about unity in the ANC, where is the unity in the ANC? “Everybody said we will respect each other and sort out our differences in our structures. Let us live that principle, let us go to the structures.”

He also said Kathrada would have called on members to resolve their differences without resorting to unpleasantries and calling members names. “Ahmed Kathrada would say to us that despite differences among us, we must ask ourselves what are our differences based on, what is that we are arguing about? We agree on the kind of South Africa we want. We agree that we need a different kind of economy. We agree that all of our people must have a much better life than we have today.” The youth league members and others persisted with their unrepentant stances towards Gordhan and Dr Mkhize despite the leader of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, Sihle Zikalala, and the ANC Youth League official, Sanduxolo Sabela, making several pleas to their members to act with restraint and to show all leaders due respect. But in their speeches, they emphasised that they fully supported the cabinet re-shuffle and Zuma as President of the ANC and the country. Sabela told the memorial service that the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal wanted to unequivocally emphasise that it fully supported the recent cabinet re-shuffle carried out by Zuma. He said: “We also wish to re-affirm the continued leadership and stewardship of President Jacob Zuma of this country and we are saying as the youth league, we believe President Zuma must stay as president of the ANC till December and president of the country till 2019.”

Most of the people who attended the memorial service were taken aback at the lack of respect that the youth league members displayed towards Gordhan and Dr Mkhize.

Dr Mkhize issued a statement on Monday calling for “political education to teach our youth tolerance of different views and respect for the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom”. Dr Mkhize apologised on behalf of the ANC to those who attended the memorial service for the embarrassment and inconvenience caused. “The memorial service was a beautiful representation of the non-racial and non-sexist credentials of the ANC from the youth to senior citizens, many of whom have known struggle credentials,” he said. “The behaviour remains unacceptable now as it has always been when it happened to other leaders in the organsation as it erodes on the respect for the ANC. It is a challenge leadership has to address. “There is need for leadership to dismantle factions which are tearing apart the organisation and urgently work to rebuild unity and deal with differences which play out in the open. We call on all comrades to avoid using such solemn occasions to exacerbate tensions and embarrass the ANC,” he said.

After the memorial service, Zikalala announced that they would investigate the behaviour of the Youth League members concerned and bring to book those responsible for the disruptions.

But it seems that the KZN Youth League members would continue to show their support for Zuma by utilising all forms of protest in view of the fact that Zuma will be facing more protests marches and continued calls for him to step down from office. There will be another protest march in Pretoria today (Wednesday) and he will face another vote of no confidence in Parliament on April 18. Some political parties are also calling for a secret vote in the hope that members of the ANC who are disillusioned with Zuma will also cast their ballot against him. But at this stage it appears there’s little chance of anti-Zuma ANC MPs casting their ballots for his removal. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com CLIPS OF PRAVIN GORDHAN 1

CLIPS OF PRAVIN GORDHAN TWO

CLIPS OF SIHLE ZIKALALA, SANDUXOLO SABELA AND THE SINGING AND DANCING OF PRO-ZUMA DISRUPTERS