Before my address, the President of the South African Students’ Congress, David Makhura, is giving a keynote address. Because I am presenting at the conference and I also don’t have my car, I need help to get Andiswa home. I made a promise to her mom that I’d bring her back in one piece. I scratch my head for answers, while enjoying a cigarette outside my bedroom. Tshepo appears out of thin air.
“Cadre, I am in trouble. I have to get Andiswa home. But I have a session, and I am a member of the NEC, as you know, so I can’t miss the opening.”
“Is that a real problem?” he asks mockingly. He then offers me a nifty solution. “Comrade, we are together, my man. I am going to take Andiswa home. You do not have to worry about a thing.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I hurry inside to Andiswa. “My love, our little problem is solved. Tshepo will be here in an hour to take you home, love. I have to rush. Please phone me after five in the afternoon.” I plant a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you for everything.”
I don my red South African Communist Party (SACP) T-shirt and faded blue jeans. I make my way to the council chambers to mingle with the next layer of SA political leadership of our free South Africa. Most comrades carry heavy sleep in their eyes.
I greet all members of the NEC, and over coffee, I exchange pleasantries with Vukile. He is on another level of joy. He tells me: “I pulled it off, cadre.” I smile knowingly without probing further. As we chit chat, more and more comrades come in, and one starts a revolutionary song:
Comrade Tambo ulale ngoxolo!
Comrade Tambo ulale ngoxolo!
Sekudala, sekudala uzabalaza!
Comrade Tambo rest in peace!
Comrade Tambo rest in peace!
It’s been long; it’s been long that you were struggling for us!
So it goes, and our spirits pick up. We are now ready to face the future. Our conference facilitator, Siya, takes the chair and opens up with a slogan, “Comrade Sisulu yinyamazane! Comrade Hani, yiguerrilla! Comrade Mandela, wuPresident!”
We jump to our feet, toyi-toying. It’s the best of times, indeed. Comrade President, Chris, makes strong opening remarks calling for a new cadre to take the revolution to its conclusion. “We need a new cadre. We need de-racialised higher education. We need a universal bursary and scholarship scheme for the poor as per the call of the Freedom Charter. We need it now!” he barks into the microphone.
We chant, “Amandla!”
Chris introduces President Makhura, the leader of the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYC). Makhura continues in the same mode. He warns us about what he calls the post-liberation political complacency.
“If the Mandela administration veers off the Freedom Charter’s revolutionary path, we shall refuse to cooperate. We must not be afraid to go back into the streets until all the children of OR Tambo live in peace, security, and comfort.”
***
Tell us what you think: To what extent have the aims of the young activists from 1996 been achieved: de racialised higher education and a bursary scheme?