Biko’s values trampled in rush for feeding trough

TOMORROW – September 12 – marks the day in 1977 on which Steve Bantu Biko was brutally killed in custody by the police officers for his ideas. He was 31 years old.

It is now 37 years since his death in detention and one finds it difficult to resist the temptation to look at how our young democracy, which Biko would have loved to enjoy, fares on a liberation scorecard based on the principles that Biko lived and died for.

There is no doubt that the founding father of Black Consciousness (BC) would be impressed by the fact that this country has a government dominated by black people, with a very significant number of them being women who seem to be surmounting conditions of double oppression.

He would see this as an indication that his dream of an anti-sexist and egalitarian society is slowly taking shape.

He would also be heartened that there were at least some attempts made to unite the three historically black liberation movements in the country and the diminishing breed of racist bigots.

This would show that an anti-racist society and the black solidarity he died fighting for was not a mere pipe-dream.

He believed that black solidarity would be an antithesis to the thesis of white racism and that interaction of these factors would lead to the creation of an anti-racist and classless society.

He would however, be dismayed to learn that public representatives and those in leadership of our organisations have deserted the principles he adopted and preached – the principle of serving the country and the people with utmost pride and dignity.

He would not be inspired by the performance of our young democracy on this score. He would decry the fact that selfishness and greed have come to characterise the lives of public representatives.

He, together with many of his peers in the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the predecessors sacrificed, not only comforts and privileges, but their lives too in pursuit of what others today call “a better life for all”.

Dismay would grip him as he saw people who are expected to be men and women of credibility and integrity; people who are supposed to serve society with dedication and selflessness, being driven by narrow self-interest and greed.

He surely would realise how public spiritedness, sacrifice and solid patriotism have given way to a commitment to advance self-interest.

He would also be horrified by the legislation that undermines the choice of the voting public, and gives politicians power to ride on the backs of voters to achieve personal glory and success.

Biko would find it challenging to understand and accept the content of Dr Mosibudi Mangena’s (Azapo’s honorary president and the former minister of science and technology) observation that: “Our society is in a moral crisis of some sorts. All media houses, electronic and print, (except those associated with the ruling elite) are teeming with stories of corruption, bribery, fraud and theft involving people in public office.

“If it is not thousands of civil servants illegally accessing social grants meant for the elderly, the infirm and vulnerable children, it is highly-trained medical personnel trafficking in human parts. If it is not councillors being accused of stealing millions of rands from their councils, it is members of parliament or members of the executive abusing the state money to enrich their big bellies.”

He would be saddened by the rampant moral decay that seems to defy attempts at regeneration.

It would definitely be a daunting task to try to give a mark for our democracy’s performance on the issue of self-esteem and self-reliance. Where Biko taught black people to be proud, confident and assertive in pursuit of their own life, our society seems to have forgotten his words that “the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”. Our languages are endangered while we embrace other languages – languages that we struggle to speak properly.

The content and culture of our public broadcaster fails to reflect what the majority of our people holds dear.

That is why we are failing to give our country an African face.

Biko and his comrades taught self - reliance. They believed that it was unethical and shameful for people to be the victims of a dependency syndrome. In their student days, Biko and his peers initiated black community projects (BCPs) in which many of our people participated and empowered. They created, for example, a dam in Njwaxa, the Yizampilo clinic, the Zimele Trust Fund. Yet today the spirit of self-reliance is gone.

Our people fail to see their role in the process of delivery. There is a general acceptance that the government must deliver what people feel they are entitled to.

For how long do we think we can sustain a society whose survival is based on grants and handouts? This is one of the most disappointing facts about our new democracy.

Biko believed that political freedom would, with the passage of time, translate into economic freedom. He believed that equitable distribution of wealth would follow a period of socio-economic transformation. It would not be a pleasant task to score our young democracy on this point.

The economy of this country is still in the hands of a few, the majority of whom are white. The supposed Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment programme is failing to be really broad-based – it benefits only those who are in power, their families and those close to power.

Many people who were expecting a lot from BBBEE are now beginning to lose hope as the process has come to be selective economic empowerment – something for a chosen few.

The road ahead still requires dedication, sacrifice and clarity of vision, just like during the days of struggle. It is not yet time to harvest. The struggle goes on and the harvest will be better if we follow Biko’s example.

Thole Somdakais the former national spokesperson of AZAPO Youth