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Friends, political parties do die.
While the “after-tears” of the National Party have hardly dried up, the body of the ANC is already on the floor, and we are unsure as to whether it fainted or is dying.
Death gives us an opportunity to reflect on our immortality and to correct our errant ways.
For years, the ANC was a beacon of discipline. It stuck to its philosophy of nonracialism even though it would have been quicker and easier to plunge South Africa into a racial war.
But no one can see the fire in the deep belly of the earth. We can only deduce that it exists by looking at volcanic eruptions and the molten rock spewed into the skies.
Likewise, no one can claim to know the broad church called the ANC very well.
The leaders have been many and varied; from idealists such as John Dube and appeasers like Dr James Moroka to the peaceful Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela.
Skip the highly disciplined Oliver Tambo and his Africanist protégé, Thabo Mbeki, and head to the incumbent Jacob Zuma.
When a respected leader of the movement, Smuts Ngonyama, erupted saying, “I didn’t join the struggle to be poor,” was it an innocent mistake or was he articulating a belief that is held by his comrades?
We may never know for sure, but if the latter is true, then with great sadness, we must accept that a beautiful orchard has been overrun with weeds.
We unfortunately suffer from a culture of Mojalefa or Indlalifa, which translates to “the inheritor of wealth”.
This is a culture of the child who is born to be the heir of the family’s wealth. It suggests that while the rest of the family members work hard to create wealth, the heir bears the sole responsibility of spending it.
President Jacob Zuma does not see himself as a liability, and seems to think that it is the ANC rank and file’s responsibility to defend the movement.
As far as he is concerned, he has done nothing wrong. Like all izindlalifa, if anything goes wrong, it is always the fault of those who do the work.
“They’re not working hard enough or they’re working hard but not smart enough.” There is never a shortage of excuses.
Do not fool yourself, the business you are building today may someday go through a similar test. Some will see themselves as its rightful heir.
They will loot it shamelessly, by awarding themselves heaps of perks, and justify that by the scarcity of their skills.
There will be very little that you can do to protect your “baby” from such an attack. If such happens after your death, you won’t even be able to turn in your grave.
The learning process begins at home. Children need to know the meaning of “enough”.
They need to learn that when they are full, they must stop eating in order to be healthy.
You can help children eat healthily by monitoring their food choices and leading by example.
Only when our children are able to say, “No, thank you,” will they be free from the clutches of what people like the Guptas represent.
They will understand that their status in society is not enhanced by the number of women they sleep with.
They will understand that a mansion built using poor people’s money only builds resentment, and destroys everything they once stood for.
Hopefully, when they become leaders of this country, they will put its future ahead of fattening themselves and their friends.
Kuzwayo is the founder of Ignitive, an advertising agency.
