You have seen the race to Mafikeng in 1997 where Thabo Mbeki bulldozed everyone from Cyril Ramaphosa, Tokyo Sexwale, and Winnie Madikezela Mandela to accend the ANC throne. The race devided a lot of the people in the rulling party. Time went by and there came the Polokwane congress. Many were vocal, and the then president Thabo Mbeki was leading the country and hoping to get a third term. On the wing was once fired depurty president Jacob Zuma trying to redeem himself after Mbeki booted him out of office after allegations of corruption among other charges.
By that time there was a new kid on the block taking the South Afriican politics by storm. Many like him for his "on the spot" behavour. Although there were questions about him failing woodwork, Julius Malema was praised as a future for the ANC which was at the mercy of a man who said " I dont know what AIDS is, I dont know what causes it" on live television. Malema was backing Zuma in Polokwane. It came as no suprise when Zuma went on to win the congress with an outright majority and became ANC president and the country's president in waiting.
Zuma was appointed the country's president in April 2009. Now the ANC is preparing for the next congress which will be held next year in Mangaung in the Free State. It appears that Malema is backing a different horse in depurty president, Kgalema Mothlanthe. Many in the rulling party are fighting for their lives, Even the country's president will be lying if he said he is having sweet dreams at night.
Now I shall get to the point I am trying to raise. Look back to Mafikeng 1997. We had Mbeki, Sexwale, Ramaphosa and Madikizela Mandela. Now lets shift focus to Polokwane 2007. Again we had Mbeki, Zuma, Motlanthe and Baleka Mbete. Currently we are looking at the race to Mangaung. We have Zuma, Mothlanthe, Mbete, and we also have Sexwale and Blade Ndzimande, though they are keeping it under wraps for the time being. Lets look deep into this. From this list of camdidates from the past up to this day, I am struggling to spot even one white person on the lists. What makes us to say whites do not want to change their ways when we are not giving them a chance?
I have one big question for all who lives in South Africa. Do you see a white man or woman leading the ANC? Would you like to see a white person at the throne of the liberation movement? Dont you think its about time we give them leadership positions? I am not suggesting it, and I am not against the idea, I just want to hear what the people of South Africa think. Dont you think there are white men and women in the ANC who can lead this party? One big question I would like to raise is, are black people in South Africa racist, or are they capable of being racist? Do you think black people are immune to being racist?
I have witnessed cases where whites were judged to have been racist and what not, and I have seen very similar acts by blacks on white people and nothing was said. Where can the line be drawn and until when is the racial card going to be flaunted whenever things dont go the way of a black man? For how long are we going to be lazy and claim that the white man has taken what rightfully belongs to us? Untill when is a black child going to open his books and forget about what the past did to his great grand parents? Are we going to cry foul for every missed opportunity? Are we honestly going to tell people that we black people are not being empowered?
I dont think it is too late for a person to mend their ways and focus on their goals, their futures, without pointing fingers at people who have nothing to do with it.
*Please note that I am not trying to be controversial in my articles, this are questions that I am struggling to get answers in. Feel free to engage with me.
