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The same Cosatu will be telling the same suffering workers to vote for the same ANC next elections.

Who is fooling who here?

I want to write about Potchefstroom today. Last weekend I found myself in the company of three of my childhood friends talking about growing up on a farm in Potchefstroom.

On reflection, we didn't do too badly for ourselves, considering the fact of our depressing background.

The one guy is an accounting officer for a film production company and another is one of only two blacks in a specialised area in the army. OK, I'm a lousy scribe but Hezekiel Sepeng, the former king of 800m, was also in our midst.

Our parents were slaves on the same farm.

The four of us spoke for hours about the horrors of farm life as we know it. We agreed democracy had not liberated farm-workers.

Those of our contemporaries who were not lucky enough to escape are either farm-workers like our parents, or they have been evicted to the outskirts of Ikageng township and have become squatters there. Poverty is the order of the day.

All those squatters are competent farmers who know everything about producing food; from cultivating the land to raising chickens and packing agricultural produce for the market. They are landless farmers.

At one point we started talking about the size of land owned by the white farmer family that our parents worked for. The land they own runs into hundreds of kilometres, most of it is not used, but they wouldn't share it with those who worked for next to nothing to make them super wealthy.

What has changed on farms around Potchefstroom is that white farmers have left the AWB and joined the ANC. The AWB has basically dressed itself up in ANC clothing.

I was brought to Black Consciousness thinking by the late Simphiwe "Basie" Gugushe, the bravest and perhaps best revolutionary fighter to come from the township of Ikageng. He was a fearless leader whose story is still to be told. He led Cosas in the township in the mid-80s, this landed him on Robben Island with his close friend "Boy" Majola.

Basie and Boy went into Robben Island as Charterists but returned Black Consciousness adherents. Basie was assassinated for his politics but because he comes from the "wrong side" of the liberation movement he is strategically forgotten.

One of the things Basie taught us in our teens, echoing Tsietsi Mashinini and Khotso Seatlholo whom he met on the Island, was that "The people first! Then only the individual." Now the mantra seems to be: eat first, screw the people!

• New Frank Talk will host a discussion on the black condition in Ikageng at Victor's, next to Phaladi school, on Saturday at 2pm. The talk is dedicated to the memory of Basie Gugushe.

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Thu Jun 20 08:23:35 SAST 2013 ::

Aug 24, 2010

Decolonised

'Listen to the voice of reason'. Andile is one of those guys who give me a reason to believe that we are all not oblivious to the political agenda that is being set today. Very soon, those who are like-minded will rise up and correct most of the ils afflicting our society today. Keep up the good work my brother! I see a credible political party not so far away....
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Aug 25, 2010

Doc

The struggle that our elders have fought is perishing and its perishing in an increasing speed because of the power hungry and wanna be rich individuals hiding behind the struggle.

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Aug 26, 2010

Msereza

to Andile, why cant we let educated people run the country rather than giving it to incompetent, selfish, power hungry politicians who most of them dont even have formal education, maybe that will help the thinking of our government and the future of our kids, we did not struggle against the white man to come and be robbed by our own brothers.
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Aug 26, 2010

CheeseBoy

Ignorance is what is going to destroy this country, slowly but surely. this whole strike fiasco is nothing more than a show to give the impression that our leadership care for us.

Millions of ignoramuses will keep voting for the ANC as the Zim people did for ZANU-PF even when the country was literally in flames.

Until such time we stop this worshiping of "Liberation Icons" things will never change.Why do you think the whole land redistribution process is taking a snail pace yet institutions like SARS are super efficient?

Why is it that there billions readily available to bail out mismanaged govt institutions like SAA/ Eskom/SABC yet there is no money to give govt employees much deserved increases ?

why is it that our education system stinks, our health care system stinks, poverty is still high yet infrastructure upgrades for FIFA WC were executed with precision and in record time in less than four years?

We need to answer these questions honestly before being hoodwinked again come next elections.
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Aug 26, 2010

Nyakafatane

If only poeple could be tought the importance of "Black Consciousness" in our life. It is very sad how little we think of ourselves. People have lost the true humanity, the i am because we are philosophy, is gone. All is left is every man for himself and God for us all, how sad.
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Aug 26, 2010

BabyL

Morning Andile. I think people of SA must agree that we need to develop a new way of dealing with these politicians who live luxury lives at the expense of the majority. One example is when the parliamentary committees sit there to discuss, pass laws/policies, interrogate DGs, what are they eating, drinking, smoking and most importantly at whose expense. Because they have domestic workers and garderners at their homes in CT and PTA, the question is why don't they buy food, pay salaries of their workers with their own salaries instead relying on the Government to pay for them.

These unneccessary allowances should be scrapped with immediate effect because they save their salaries and the State pays everything for them even the suits they wear, the houses they stay at, the furniture, their children's future, cigars they smoke, whiskys they drink - NO NO NO NO COMRADES, THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL.


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Aug 26, 2010

Jajaja

In the first place, why do we allow ourselves to be lead by somebody with no formal education, but only a charm ? Where on earth have you ever see Head Of State going overseas at state costs to negotiate business deals for his children and nephew, whislt the country is in flames, but yet the followers demed it fit to vote for his party again and again? Is it a question of not having an alternative political party to vote for ? The strikers need only 8.5% but the son is R9billion richer, thanks to the charmer ABET Drop-Out.

It is still going to take us 2 more generations to be politically educated as a nation.
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Aug 26, 2010

blks101

Yah! Black Consciousness inspires me alot hence i cal myself blks frm i writes wat i like (we blacks)
our poeple lack consciousness seriously. we firstly need to change de MIND SET of our youth as de starting POINT,I am reminded of de statement once issued by Dr W Marvin Gumede.

DE SOCIETY HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY ITSELF, UNLESS THOSE WHO'S SHOES R PINCHING STAND UP. Every politician talk, talk, talk.
1, VAvi useless, workers can see dat but nothing is done ( we need arogant leader to lead workers)
2,Blade is capitalist indirectly so.
3,Trade unions are led by ignorant leaders

Marx said WORKERS OF DE WORLD UNITE, DO AWAY WITH EXPLOITATION,

Workers REMOVE vavi secondly Contest de ELECTION its only then workers will be lebarated.

workers stop voting ANC cause they thugs they lie n lie EVERY TERM AND U KEEP ON FALLING TO DE TRAP! NOW MEDIA IS DE NEXT VICTM WATCH OUT TSUNAMI IS COMING.
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Aug 26, 2010

Ping

The only long lasting solution is for Cosatu to split from ANC and then we will have real opposition politics. DA with or without ID are just howlers in the wilderness. With proper opposition politics the people of South Africa can really see who truly has their best interests at heart. Right now Cosatu people vote ANC! The honeymoon has long been over that's why this marriage of convenience is now so dysfunctional and even abusive. The sad thing is that the strong partner is the one consistently being compromised. Cosatu members want to vote for Cosatu!
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Aug 29, 2010

MsLee

Yup, maybe it's time for a Labour Party. Cosatu needs to show some courage and make the break from the ANC ...
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