COVID resurgence.
We meet during a very difficult time for our country and indeed the whole world; a time when there is a looming resurgence of the global COVID
pandemic that has radically shifted our worlds since the beginning of the year. The more localised effects of the pandemic are that across the globe, COVID-19 is threatening cities and communities, endangering not only public health but also the economy and the very fabric of societies.
As COVID-19 continues to spread, many of the impacts are likely to be concentrated in cities. How- ever, as we have seen, the effects of the virus are very much different in African cities where densely populated slums or informal settlements are most dominant; water for frequent hand-washing is in short supply; and households often spend 30 minutes or more sourcing water from springs, communal piped water points, swamps or through rain-water harvesting.
COVID-19 has therefore been a setback particularly for the local sphere of governance, and the great task before us is not only to regain lost momentum but to rebuild with added urgency. Struggle for freedom- a continuum
There are two sets of chains involved in any struggle for liberation. The one set of chains is the chains of bondage that people need to release themselves from.
Every effort of their lives is spent trying to release themselves from these and identifying those who share this goal of freeing themselves from the chains.
The second set of chains is that of a continuous movement towards freedom. Every event in the fight against oppression links with the next and the next.
From the first encounter between the Khoisan and the European settlers who docked in in the 16th century to the struggles against economic exclusion today, it has been part of the chain of struggle. We must at all times refrain from the error of thinking that one generation was more instrumental in achieving freedom than the other.
We must at all times bear the revolutionary humility to understand that our own contribution is in addition to those who have come before us and is the least we can do for those who will come after us.
The struggle for freedom can be likened to a relay race. Every generation must take up the baton from those who have come before them and run as fast as it can to give the baton to the next generation.
The generation that marches us to the next level of struggle, may or may not have been the fastest. It must, however, be a generation that has its sights focused on the broader and ultimate goal of our struggle.
And because the struggle for human freedom is never truly done, mainly because we realize as we go on that there are other elements, we did not fully pay attention to, the chain of the struggle continues.
As we celebrate 20 years of democratic local government in our country, we are reminded that local government is the nerve center of service delivery, of socio-economic development, and of driving our efforts to build a truly democratic, integrated, prosperous, non-sexist, and non-racial society.
Ours is a constitutionally derived mandate to bring development and opportunities to the people of South Africa.
Today we celebrate the two cadres of our movement who have been the embodiment of the struggle continuum, Cde Nkosiyakhe Amos “Ambi” Masondo, and Cde Mpho Franklyn Parks Tau.
Born 17 years apart and far from one another – Cde Ambi was born in Louwsburg, in northern KZN but grew up in Soweto and Cde Parks in Orlando West – they were brought together by the common desire for freedom.
We are celebrating here the life-long activists for the cause of freedom in general, for the work of the ANC, and for the construction of a unified and democratic Johannesburg in particular.
The role of effective leadership: Comrade Amos “Ambi” Masondo
And such a mandate can only be carried through by elected leaders whose strong inclination for freedom echoes in the work they put in towards the advancement of the people. For if there is any hope at all for democracy, we shall find it only in a growing sense of civic honesty and civic responsibility; and that is bound to appear, first of all, among the men and women who are elected or selected to serve the people.
Those who see Cde Masondo chairing and doing his best to restore order in the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces would probably not believe that he was once himself a fire breathing youngster.
A story is told about Cde Ambi being part of a group of students at Sekano Ntoana in the early 1970s who disrupted their own matric farewell function, making political demands to a bewildered school community.
It was around that time that those who lived with him around the Phiri-Senaoane community probably experienced the making of someone who would in time spend the rest of his life fighting the course of justice and human rights. Among those who grew up along Cde Ambi, the most enduring memory of him is that of a young man who was always serious – some might even say too serious and always talking politics and the need to liberate South Africa.
Cde Masondo understood that every corner and situation was an opportunity to conscientize and raise awareness of the plight of the oppressed. Perhaps it was for that reason that he was, along with his old friend and comrade, Elias Roller Masin- ga, part of a group that interrupted Mass at the local Catholic Church when the priest decided to take a special collection for the Portuguese community that had fled newly liberated Mozambique.
This was not because Cde Amos did not believe in charity. He just could not understand why a poor community in Soweto should have an obligation to help those who were and had been part of an oppressive minority in Mozambique.
In this regard, for Cde Amos, the church was the site of struggle and an opportunity to raise the consciousness of the social, economic, and political order of things in the country and across the region.
It would therefore take very few by surprise when they heard that Cde Ambi had been arrested for Umkhonto we Sizwe activities and sent to Robben Island from 1975 to 1981.
Few can argue that when the decision by the ANC to deploy Cde Ambi Masondo to lead the then newly unified City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council as its first Executive Mayor; it was a decision grounded in the understanding that in Cde Ambi we had a selfless cadre of our movement and a dedicated servant of the people.
When he was elected the first Mayor of the Unicity (that brought together the Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern Metropolitan Local Councils and the Greater Johannesburg Metro Municipality together with Midrand Local Municipality) in the year 2000, he played a catalytic role in the building and development of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in many respects. Most importantly, he had achieved this at a time when such exceptional dedication and fortitude were sorely required qualities in a leader.
He offered much-needed leadership in ensuring that Johannesburg Metro comes alive and strives to execute its electoral mandate. Being the country’s economic hub, Joburg had a disproportionately high number of challenges at the start of Mayor Masondo’s two terms; but under his stewardship, Johannesburg’s fortunes turned around and the economic growth rate stabilised. Socio-economic disparities were being dealt with, jobs were being created, economic opportunities were available to all and sustainable human settlements had been built for some.
The City tarred all streets in Soweto and delivered essential basic services to poorer communities. It began building community centers, sports facilities, multipurpose centers, libraries, information hubs, recreational parks and other amenities.
Under his watch, the City of Joburg developed Soweto and transformed it from the apartheid reserve it used to be into a modern city township. We can now confidently say that his legacy was dedicated to dealing directly with the evils of apartheid.
In addition to this, Joburg’s short- and long-term international credit ratings improved under Bra Ambi. The City rode the wave of the global economic downturn, increasing long-term borrowings from R5-billion in 2005 to R10,3-billion by the end of 2009. Systematic improvements to its financial management procedures and practices earned the City three consecutive unqualified audit reports. Several programs were implemented to accelerate economic growth. The greening imbalance and other inequalities between the northern and southern quadrants of the metro were beginning to be addressed.
An Integrated Development Plan was introduced to tackle reconstruction and development, reduce crime through enforcement of by-laws, increase metro police visibility, and rejuvenate and regenerate the inner city. Primary health care was decentralised to intensify immunization and HIV/Aids campaigns. Bra Ambi was also proactive in dealing with the HIV/Aids epidemic, increasing resources at clinics, and expanding health care accessibility. Cde Masondo oversaw the implementation of Rea Vaya – Africa’s flagship Bus Rapid Transit system that is now on phase 3 linking communities that are historically separated by apartheid.
We also saw hosting a successful football World Cup in 2010 especially the opening and closing games being played at Soccer City; we have now legacies of world-class stadia in Orlando Stadium, Dobsonville Stadium, and Rand Stadium. Bra Ambi also introduced the Inner-City Charter to help restore investor confidence in the inner city. This assisted in addressing urbanisation and migration; and creating successful partnerships in regenerating the dilapidated inner city. This resulted in many former and some new business owners returning to invest in and open businesses in the inner city, contributing to job creation. A comprehensive programme dealing with the formalization of informal settlements was also introduced under his leadership.
Before being elected mayor of the wealthiest city in Africa, Masondo was a member of the Gauteng legislature, serving as the MEC for health until 1998. He was then political adviser to then Gauteng premier, Mbhazima Shilowa, until his appointment as mayor in December 2000.
I have personally drawn a lot from the knowledge of comrade Masondo, the son of Sam and Anna Masondo. He was a civic activist for decades and is considered by his peers as modest, introverted, yet tactful – a man of moral integrity and resilience. He was listed on the 2008 World Mayor Award’s list, which recognises mayors worldwide and honours those who have served their communities well and have contributed to the wellbeing of cities. Ntate Masondo was one of the architects of a unified Local Government Movement in Africa and subsequently served as UCLGA Vice-Chair whilst serving as a National Chairperson of South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
His job under the Mayorship was demanding and challenging, but like a disciplined and committed comrade and activist, he provided the best service at all times. His work distinguished him as a capable manager and a strategist, and we were assured that he left the legacy which we will continuously strive to emulate.
Although Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, what Mayor Masondo had managed to accomplish in just over 10 years was laudable. I am confident that his legacy has inspired the next generation of leadership to continue to strive for a socially and economically integrated city just like other major cosmopolitan cities in the world if former Mayor Masondo’s 10-year legacy in the region taught us anything, it is that a life rooted in activism is a life rooted in public service. It is also a reminder that our struggle is far from over. Therefore, it is our collective duty to stand for the poor‚ the voiceless‚ and the landless; the City of Johannesburg awaits the transformation that our freedom and new democracy has promised.
Cde Ambi did as he had always done, take to his work with dedication and selflessness before handing the baton over to Cde Parks.
Enter Parks Tau
A product of the youth and student movement in the Congress tradition, a former president of the Soweto Youth Congress, Cde Parks is another whose life is and has always been about how to serve the interests of the people and the revolution we are pursuing.
As already pointed out, the struggle is a chain of events with one leading to the next. While comrade Masondo established and unified the City of Johannesburg, Cde Parks set out to put in place the systems that would ensure that the City would be sustainable in the long term.
If Cde Ambi’s role was to unify the city politically, Cde Park’s term of office was to put up practical means of this unity of the city.
Appreciating that Blacks in general and Africans, in particular, continued to live far from their workplaces and had to travel long distances to reach places of work, schools, and leisure; Cde Tau’s administration came up with Corridors of Freedom which looked to remove these boundaries to link jobs to people and people to jobs.
This was in keeping with the vision for an equitable and liveable Johannesburg that stems from the Joburg 2040 Growth and Development Strategy (GDS 2040) which sets out pathways for attending to the challenges of urban migration, globalization, climate change, and technological innovation facing large cities the world over.
Comrade Parks Tau made his mark as a leading advocate of local government in South Africa, Africa, and across the globe – serving as the President of the world body United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), as well as the President of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
As a proven innovative and effective leader in government, comrade Tau has been advancing the interests of a developmental local government in a bid to locate the sector at the centre of a changing world, and promote collaborations with strategic partners locally and across the globe.
Under his Mayorship, he drove the spatial and socio-economic transformation agenda to create sustainable opportunities for communities in the metropolitan municipality by confronting past injustices, as well as present and future challenges.
In 1995, comrade Tau was first elected as a Councillor when South Africa held the First all-inclusive, Local Government Elections (Pre-Interim Local Government Phase). In 2000, he was appointed a member of the mayoral committee following the democratic local government elections. He was entrusted with a wide range of portfolios – development planning, transportation, and environment. His voice and ideas were instrumental in the formulation of the development plans which shaped the current and future Johannes- burg as a Metropolitan Municipality.
In 2003, he was given the responsibility of the City’s finance and economic development portfolios. As the head of Johannesburg’s finances, he presided over the growth of the City’s annual budget from a mere R8,2-billion to more than R28-billion for the 2010/11 financial year – reflecting Johannesburg’s continuing success in delivering services to communities and creating a climate for economic growth and development. Under his leadership, the City issued the first municipal Green Bond in the world which won an Innovative Funding award from C40 in 2014.
As we all know, comrade Parks was a modern ‘internationalist’. I can confidently say that he helped to put the City on the global pedestal that it now enjoys. He is a proficient ‘International Speaker’ and has provided a voice of transformation in International Seminars and Conferences. His main areas of focus were issues of socio-economic development, urban transformation, climate change, energy, and youth matters and he has been able to generate global debate and garner support for his views and perspectives.
Perhaps most notably is the ascendance of the City’s Growth and Development Strategy, as well as the Spatial Development Framework under comrade Parks. Some of the core flagship programs that were initiated under the two strategies included the following: Corridors of Freedom, Jozi@Work, the Green and Blue Economy, and also building a Smart City. Comrade Parks understood, as we do, that Johannesburg is a city of stark contrasts divided between islands of some of the highest standards of living coupled with oceans of record-high poverty and inequality. While these divisions seem insurmountable, however, he was motivated by the fact that these manufactured superficial divisions, offer another truth which is that Johannesburg has untapped great potential and opportunities.
I echo his favourite theorist David Harvey in his ‘right to the city’ argument when he said “the right to the city is not merely a right of access to what already exists, but a right to change it after our heart’s desire… to remake ourselves by creating a qualitatively different kind of urban sociality”.
As we conclude
And that is exactly the legacy that these two outstanding residents and leaders left in the great city of Johannesburg. They have re-made and changed the face of the city from one marred by racial exclusion and class division, to one that has effectively come to be known as Africa’s World Class African City. One that is on a developmental path far greater than what is expected of African cities, and one that has continuously been seen as the place where the dreams and aspirations of the downtrodden come to be realised.
When future generations ask what kind of men these were, who gave so much of their lives in service of the citizens of Johannesburg, we will be able to boldly say how special they were, to dedicate their lives to such a noble mission of transforming the City into an inclusive region where its citizens enjoy the fruits of their activism.
Comrades Masondo and Tau, you have done more for this great City than what was expected of you. You laid down the foundation for a progressive outcome for the future of our city and have imprinted in us the type of leadership required to take our great city forward. You were and continue to be the blueprint for developmental and inclusive cities and as far as I am concerned, you were exactly who the ANC sent you out to be. Indeed, you did not disappoint. Our responsibility as cadres of our movement, in keeping with the story about the links to the chain, is to take up where the two comrades left off and continue the path of making Johannesburg great and a World Class African City.
“It is impossible, if not fatal, to divorce the struggle of our people in
South Africa from the struggle of the peoples of the world.”
– OR Tambo, Morogoro Conference
“The Morogoro Conference, many agreed, was a ‘turning point’. The movement in exile had bonded through a process of problem-solving. It had been restructured so that it could fulfill its necessary purpose as a ‘proper instrument for organising and leading the revolutionary struggle’.”
Luli Callinicos
“When you are asked to speak in honour of two great comrades that you have observed navigating the political terrain and challenges, both within the movement and the state, a few questions come to mind. One: how do you best describe the two in a manner that you are not found to have grossly misrepresented them?”
Thabo Manyon