Q&A
Comrade Sibongile Eunice Mgcina Shares Her Remarkable Story Deputy Chairperson of the ANC Greater Johannesburg Region Current member of South African National Civic Organisation and the Women’s League
In her words, “Many of us who grew up as young children in the 80’s had no choice but to follow the stories and developments shared in our homes, streets and countrywide. My mother has a deep connection with Alexandra, where she stayed shortly and left for the plots around Blue Hills. A story of a disappeared cousin propelled me to follow the developments of the Struggle. This is a story that woke my curiosity about injustice and the brutal system of apartheid”.
From Tata Madiba to Mama Adelaide – She was inspired to follow their Example Her involvement in politics has its genesis when she was a student activist at Umqhele Secondary School in Ivory Park, in Joburg’s Region A. Her grandmother related the stories of Tata Nelson Mandela and Cde Winnie Madikizela-Mandela; Tata Oliver Tambo and his wife Mama Adelaide Tambo; Tata Walter Sisulu and his wife, Mama Albertina Sisulu.
“After learning about the sacrifices that these gallant leaders made in the fight against the injustices of apartheid and the hardships and brutality that they had to endure; I was motivated to follow in their footsteps and spurred on to make a difference in people’s lives by the 1976 Students’
Movement and my mission were to find, my cousin brother”. She was discovered by the Tembisa activists in the form of SDUs, the provincial organiser of the ANC, and other activists in Tembisa then. These activists nurtured and raised her in the African National Congress (ANC) and she currently serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Regional Executive Committee of the ANC in Greater Johannesburg Region. Stay humble, stay disciplined, and never be silenced.
Asked about the lessons and values she learnt as a young activist that remain useful to her today, she replies, “One of the main useful lessons that I have learnt, particularly from our heroes and heroines of the struggle is to remain humble in the business of serving the people. I have also learnt that as the footsteps of other young revolutionaries like Anton Lembede, Peter Mokaba, Solomon Mahlangu, and Connie Bapela who were never silent in the face of injustice and inequality”.
Economic freedom and gender equality are vital
Asked what her mission as a leader is; she replies that the greatest mission currently facing us is to propel the country towards the attainment of economic freedom; “particularly as there is rife unemployment among the youth and women. For me, until our people achieve economic emancipation and enjoy the liberties and rights, as enshrined in our Constitution and in the Bill of Rights, our country will never be truly free”. Gender equality and women empowerment is critical so that we can also deal decisively with gender-based violence and femicide, social inclusion and increased political awareness and activism among women.
Her hope for young South Africans is that we follow the principles of the Freedom Charter “By and large, we are standing on the shoulders of the great giants of the liberation struggle who adopted them inspirational document known as Freedom Charter, which asserts the following: We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: that
South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people; that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty, and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality; that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities; that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of color, race, sex or belief.
(She would like to see more young people buying in and reconnecting with this vision set out by those who came before us. “I draw inspiration from the words of Mama Charlotte Makgomo Maxeke, ‘This work is not for yourselves. Kill that spirit of self, and do not live above your people but live with not for yourselves. If you can rise, bring someone with you”. (She is a former Student Representative Council member, member of the Greater Kyalami and the Greater Midrand Youth Councils, former Zonal Deputy Secretary of Zone 15, and a former African National Youth League Branch Executive Committee and member of Local Youth Development Council. She is also the former Deputy Chair of the ANCYL in Greater Johannesburg Region, former BEC member of the Young Communist League and ANC Branch Executive Committee, and a former Member of the Inaugural Task Team of Young Women Desk.)