About two weeks ago, I had a fascinating interaction with the great Mawande AmaShabalala, a journalist on this platform.
During our wide-ranging discussion – you would think it’s weird I would use “wide-ranging” to describe a discussion entirely inside the four corners of what can best be categorised as “the meaning of blackness”, but I am.
Long after Mshengu had gone to bed, I was in mind going over the discussion when it hit me: The government of national unity (GNU) is not the ANC or President Cyril Ramaphosa selling out like the SACP believes, it is a lot less conspiratorial though I get the hurt the Party and Cosatu are feeling vis a vis Helen Zille’s coalition or Fikile Mbalula’s GNU.
I have had occasion to sit with ANC leaders, so I know they are acutely aware of the ticking timebombs of youth unemployment, poverty and inequality. They know that if these are not fixed, South Africa will implode in a civil war that would hurt them first.
The reason my mind was going this wild was because Mshengu had said he has given up on black people coming together to find solutions to their problems. “They couldn’t be bothered,” he opined.
To stretch his statement, he means black people gathered such as the ANC, such as Cabinet, etc.
“As black people we complain about our collective problems, talk about coming together to fix them collectively but no sooner have we done that, than we are stabbing each other in the back, aiding the very cause that has marginalised us”.
The detail is unnecessary, save to say he gave anecdotal evidence.
There’s a legend every one of my peers – both by age and geography – would recite in their sleep.
Four men went to see God to pray for talents. They knelt at his feet.
“So what do you want, my child,” he asked one by one.
“I want to rule over everything.”
“I want to collect rand and cents, be able to take care of and grow them.”
“I want to be loved and accepted by each,” each person said before rising to their feet ready to leave.
“And you, my child? You forgot to ask for a talent,” God said.
“No, bra God don’t worry, me, I was just accompanying these good folks,” was the response.
“Alrighty then, you go well.”
Legend goes that the last of those men to speak was a black African.
I don’t know if Mshengu is satisfied with that as an answer to his existential question: “Kanti, what’s wrong with us black people?” If we as black people siyaphelekezela others, that legend means it’s the same for the people we elect to lead us. It means that since we did not give them someone to phelezela for 30 years they have been doing nothing.
For 30 years the ‘escorts’ didn’t know where to go to find God, didn’t know why they were looking for Him, didn’t know what they would ask Him per chance they bumped into Him. In fact, they had nothing to ask God.
It is only now that we have given them their guiding staff – and Helen Zille, that they have something to phelezela.
If we are lucky, it’s only now they can go look for God even though they have nothing to ask Him.
How do I know this to be true?
Well, remember where we started.
Would people who have known every day that the conditions black people live in would result in a revolution that would, to put it diplomatically, cause their demise; do nothing to prevent such eventuality if they knew how?
So, no, I disagree with uMshengu – it’s not that they “couldn’t be bothered”, they don’t know what to do. Our leaders don’t know how to rescue us and save their own lives. So, they did not opt for the coalition with the DA because they were selling out – they did it so the DA can use its collective talents to do what they didn’t know how to for 30 years.
As Americans in the projects poetically put it “that’s some profound sh*t, right there”. My own moment of clarity.
All the ANC leaders in high office are millionaires, a status they, at the very least, would lose if the masses revolted and you bet that self-preservation dictates they don’t want that to happen.
That they haven’t been able to is because when others went to God to ask for talents, they were just escorts. In case you don’t believe me, now that we have given them someone to escort, cut this out, frame it to reread around March 2029.
The departments led by the escorts would have escorted the departments led by people with talents on achievement. Mark my words.
- Bizokwakhe is a columnist at large with obviously too much time on his hands to think silly things.
