Cde Taola Mathumo, Harry Gwala in making: A Life Short-Lived – Tribute Delivered at the Funeral Service by ANC Greater Joburg Spokesperson, Cde Sasabona Manganye
23 June 2020
Amandla,
Maatla
Matimba
Maanda
Viva ANC Viva
Viva SACP Viva
Viva COSATU Viva
Long the ANCYL Long Live, Roar Young Lions Roar
Long Live ANCWL Long Live, Wathintha abafazi, Malibongwe
Long Live the Veterans of our Struggle Long Live
Viva MKMVA Viva Long Live COSAS Long Live
Long Live YCL-uFasimba Long Live
Long Live the undying Spirit of Cde Taola
Long Live
Long Live the resilient undying Spirit of Cde
Taola Long Live
Members of the bereaved family Members and Leaders of the ANC, COSATU in particular NEHAWU and the SACP at all levels Comrades and friends Receive my heartfelt revolutionary salutations as we celebrate Harry Themba Gwala in Making, a life short-lived. Cde. Taola Mathumo is indeed no more, at the age of 39. The family of Mathumo, the ANC, COSATU especially NEHAWU has been robbed of a dedicated cadre of our movement.
Cde Harry Themba Gwala died in 1995, 20th June. He was a generation of the ANC Youth League of the 1940s. He was among the young Mphephethwa began organising workers in the building and chemical industries and established the Rubber and Cable Workers Union in Natal. He was a Marxist-Leninist scholar, but most importantly a teacher. He was elected the first Chairperson of the ANC in the Natal Midlands after the unbanning of the movement in 1990.
I saw Harry Themba Gwala in making in Cde Taola Mathumo, he was part of the Youth of the ANC, a national liberation movement which appreciates that the history of the struggles in society is that of
the class struggles. Class struggle is about the working class, which are those who do not own the means of production and bourgeoisies who are those who own the means of production and exploit workers. It is for this reason that Cde Taola as a worker joined NEHAWU which he led as the Regional Deputy Secretary. Harry Gwala obtained his Diploma from Adams College and indeed Cde Taola as a student activist who fought for access for other students – also managed to obtain Business Relations qualification amongst from all.
Cde Taola was part of the generation that believed that that National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is
not a class-neutral struggle, but a struggle of the working class in their pursuit of total emancipation from colonial, racial and class oppression. In our country, elements of colonial, racial and class oppression continue to dene an absolute majority of our people, blacks in general, and Africans in particular. This in essence means the struggle is not over, and we have an obligation to intensify it.
It was for this reason that Cde Taola was part of the ANC Youth League generation that defined its generational mission in making a clarion call for the economic freedom in our lifetime. The generation which utilised the Freedom Charter as the strategic mission. Which defined economic freedom in our lifetime which implied the attainment of all freedom charter objectives as urgent as possible.
The generation which resolved that “the People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth” as contained in the Freedom Charter, which was adopted in the Congress of the People in Kliptown. The generation which demanded that “the national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people; the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole;” the generation which said “all other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people; all people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.” It is indeed the generation I am proud of as we celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter.
This generation, believed that due to the character of the South African economy and the aspirations of the Freedom Charter, state ownership and control of the strategic sectors of the economy should be the foundation for sustainable economic transformation in South Africa. A supposition that the South African economy can be transformed to address the massive unemployment, poverty, and inequality crisis without transfer of wealth from those who currently own to the people as a whole is illusionary.
Cde. Taola’s generation demanded that the land be shared amongst those who live in it, the generation which called for expropriation of land without compensation for equitable redistribution. This resolution has since been adopted by the ANC Conference in NASREC. This generation of Cde Taola further called for nationalisation of the strategic sectors of the economy such as mines and banks. The generation that believed that nationalised mineral wealth will effectively constitute a very rm basis for beneficiation of these products in both heavy and light industrial process in South Africa,which could be left to industrial and manufacturing entrepreneurs, co-operatives and small and medium enterprises, so as to develop productive forces of the South African economy.
The generation of Cde Taola indeed managed to win the debate for the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank. This resolution must be implemented in memory of the generation of Cde Taola and Sandiso Magaqa, may their revolutionary soul rest in peace. This generation has called for free & quality education. This is the generation which called on the state to ensure that all students from historically disadvantaged families who needs basic necessities such as residences, food and other learning and teaching support materials have guaranteed access.
It is the generation which called for generation mix in the elections of the leaders of the ANC. This Cde Taola lived to experience and it must be sustained moving forward and intensified nationally as we go to 2022 To the ANC Youth League, Cde Taola once said on his Facebook: “This mighty organisation will never die. We will rebuild it and continue to be proud of it.” He said these words in July 2014. Please don’t dare and fail him. Young people take your rightful place and reclaim the ANCYL from elderly people and democratise it with the leadership elected by its structures who will represent and champion the interest of young people and mobilise them behind the objectives of the ANC.
To NEHAWU, please continue with the workers struggles for liberation against any form of exploitation in Cde Taola’s memory. Gone are the days where we have NEHAWU leaders and shop stewards who uses their positions to sleep with the employer to pave a way for their own upward mobility in the disadvantage of the pride of workers.
To ANC, as we go to local government elections in 2021, lets reclaim the City of Joburg in memory of Cde Taulo who was a branch and zonal leader of the ANC. Let us remind ourselves that the ANC is a leader of society. The ANC is the organisation of the people by the people for the people not only its members. The ANC must select selfless leaders to become councillors and lead in the City of Joburg not leaders who will be leading to benefit just their own families, friends and those close to them. When leaders serve society, they are also equally serving everyone including ANC members as they are part of society. They must be leaders who are not susceptible to corruption. Leaders of high moral standing in society. Leaders who prioritise the people first than any other thing. By doing this, Cde Taola’s soul will indeed rest in peace.
All men must stand up and fight against gender-based violence (GBV) against women and children. It is men who perpetuate this violence, it is men who must stop acting like animals and respect women as fellow human being. Dating her doesn’t makes you her owner or master.
Marrying her doesn’t makes you her owner or master. She is not your subject or object; she is an equal partner who must be treated with respect. If you have a friend who abuses women and children and you are quiet about it, you too are complicit in the abuse, which makes you an abuse apologist regardless of whether you are a female or male. We call upon the progressive Minister of Justice and Correctional
Services to speed up the process to amend legislation around GBV crimes and offences and we call upon society to support these efforts to address the scourge of violence against women.
In conclusion, Cde Taola as we say farewell to you, we are not saying farewell to the ideals you believed in, we are not saying farewell to your generational mission. As long as we still alive, we who are part of your generation, your ideas will live forever as long as we are alive.