“To achieve the change we must and will continue to intensify our political and military offensive. We owe it to ourselves as a people to the thousands who died before, during, and after June 16, 1976. We owe it to the people of southern Africa, Africa, and the rest of the world. We count on your all-round support, as the representative within South Africa of the objectives contained in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The obligation to choose to be on the side of the oppressed people of our country and their national liberation movement can no longer be avoided.”
(O.R Tambo, 16th June 1986, Paris)
Let’s talk about “Choosing People”. O.R Tambo was very consistent in his insistence that the ANC and the forces supporting it should always be seen and felt to be choosing the side of the People of South Africa. This, he maintained, was a fitting tribute to those who paid a supreme price and ultimate sacrifice for our liberation.
Local Government, beyond trading in utilities, is essentially about the distribution of value to the property. Those who stay in well maintained and close to premium economic assets see the value of their property increase dramatically and thus their wealth. So, we have the opportunity and power through allocative decisions we take in Council. The nature and location of public investment determine that of private investment. This distributes economic relations in the superstructure that either enables the transformation of society or thwarts it.
In the spirit of O.R we can and must use this power for allocative justice. We can distribute economic rights and value to spaces where most of our people are. We can invest in spaces where most of our people are. We can invest in public infrastructure in a manner that transfers economic rights and value to the marginalized. We must consistently choose the side of the marginalized to realize societal transformation.
Choosing the side of the people goes beyond allocative justice into the realm of service. Being available to serve humbly, genuinely, and professionally is a revolutionary act. Public service, as a social construct is not designed to enrich the servants. However, it is designed to be a convenience to the people and proud discipline of giving your time and skills to solve human problems with little expected return.
The underlying ethic of giving of yourself to uplift other humans is the energy that propels human existence in the universe, without this, humanity would have perished. Hence its powers to redistribute and support the less fortunate equitably. It is against this background that the ANC should deploy its most advanced cadres to the frontline of service to the People. This cadre must be technically and morally advanced to serve the people exceptionally.
Our Humanity will be revealed locally
“It is in the hands of the international community, perhaps today I should say in the hands of the Commonwealth, especially the head of Commonwealth, to intervene on our side, on the side of the humanity.”
(O.R Tambo, 23rd June 1983, London)
Finally, comrades let us look at Humanity as Local Government Praxis.
O.R implored the world to intervene in the South African conflict on the side of Humanity. He saw the historic significance of the moment in resolving the South African conflict. Some argue that this was from his character as a humanist. We must assert that this well maybe, but you cannot be a revolutionary and not be seized with humanism. The survival and prosperity of humans are commonplace for all revolutionary praxis. In our case, to borrow from Madiba, our humanist mission is to “make poverty history”.
We must build municipalities that deliberately pursue the lifting of the people out of poverty as a strategic objective. Local humanity is however linked to global humanity and as such must be part of our continuous existential struggle. In recent times this existential struggle has been characterized as a struggle for a sustainable society. The ANC must be at the forefront of localizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Localization of the 17 SDGs should be a strategic focus of our branch activity. Municipalities must regularly report against these and nationally we must consistently generate an account of our collective contribution as a people to these.
President General O.R Tambo was a very complex revolutionary character. The space we have is not enough to cover the value system He embodied. We are presenting and highlighting these key strategic areas as a contribution that must ignite an ongoing conversation among ourselves, members of the ANC, and outside the movement in order to personify the values of OR on daily basis. We are presenting this input just as a spark and not the fire. The conversation about the rich legacy and what it means for South Africa, Africa, and the World should be ongoing. We dare say, as activists of the ANC, we are standing on the great shoulders of the great giants.