22 November 2003
Viva SACP! Viva ANC! Viva COSATU!
Members of the Masebelanga Family,
The ANC, COSATU and SACP Leadership;
Dignitaries, Guests and Friends
On behalf of the South African Communist Party, I wish to express our condolences to the Masebalanga family, for the loss of such a promising, hardworking servant of the people, and our dedicated member, the late Cde Kgomotso. We know that these must be very difficult and painful times for the family. You have lost a son, a father, a husband and a brother. But we hope you will take comfort in the fact that Kgomotso’s untimely death is a loss to the entire SACP and to the nation. The feeling of pain will obviously be felt most acutely by those closest to him. But at least be assured that we are with you in this hour of need, and hope that this will go some way towards comforting you.
This year the South African Communist Party is observing the loss and passing away of heroes and compatriots from our ranks who died in the cause for national liberation and socialism. The South African struggle was a long struggle. Many great leaders and revolutionaries of different generations came to the fore along our long journey. At the same time, we lost many so that there could be a better life for all. We never knew that we would today be saying farewell to Cde Kgomotso.
I never had the privilege of working very closely with Cde Kgomotso. But our comrades in the East Rand, who have been working closely with him were struck by his humbleness, dedication and lack of ambitiousness, but dedicated to working with ordinary people on the ground. Cde Kgomotso will go down in history as amongst those we have referred to as people’s doctors. As the SACP we shall forever honour his memory, as an example and a role model to our youth, on how to be a professional and intellectual serving the interests of the workers and the poor.
In the history of progressive struggles whether for national liberation, for socialism, for land or even water resources – from big struggles to small- the protagonists or leaders always run a great risk. There is always a point when the intensity of the struggle threatens the interests of the haves, the corrupt or the powerful. At this point history can either solve the problem peacefully or it can result in a clash where some are losers and some are winners. The South African Revolution was and is a great and heroic struggle. While our leaders had the wisdom to avoid the catastrophe of a civil war during our transition, there were always those who felt that the old was better. There were always those who did not want to embrace the opportunities of change. These where and are the enemies of our Revolution and amongst these enemies we face we must include the criminal element in our society. Democracy in South Africa does not mean we move from apartheid oppression to criminal oppression. Those who harbour this illusion beware. Our government, an ANC government, will not tolerate or give an inch to these enemies of our Revolution – thieves, criminals, counter-revolutionaries beware.
The struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic and socialist South Africa is about a country in which the restoration of human dignity and respect is pivotal. We struggled for an alternative way of life and society as compared to the insanity and barbarism of racial oppression and capitalist exploitation. And where do we start this alternative way of life? We start where we work, live, pray and study. To care for the old, the infirm and sick. To care for the vulnerable, excluded and disabled. To care for the emancipation of women. To care for the exploited and poverty stricken. This was the example of the late Comrade Kgomotso Masebelanga. An example of compassion, palpable love for humanity and an uncompromising belief in a better life than what capitalism can offer.
Now we might want to pause and ask ourselves, why somebody who is a doctor, who objectively speaking is part of the middle class, should take the option of the working class and the poor? More classically Marxists would pose the question why did Kgomotso Masebelanga commit class suicide? The are many answers to the question. We could say Cde. Kgomotso Masebelanga was oppressed by apartheid but he realized he had to deal with the root cause of his suffering. This means he realized that he had to fight not just apartheid but its underlying colonial capitalist system. We could say Cde Kgomotso Masebelanga was encouraged to embrace the struggle against racism and exploitation because as an intellectual he came to a fundamental understanding of how the madness of apartheid led to suffering. But the tools to assist his enquiry, his questioning, were provided by Marxism.
In short whether it was his lived experience of suffering and/or a profound ideological grasp of Marxism, in the end Cde Kgomotso Masebelanga took the option of struggling for a South Africa that would take us all to a higher level of civilization, culture and co-existence – a socialist South Africa. In other words he chose to commit class suicide because he believed in the fundamental transformation of South Africa and the world. Very few people are courageous or bold enough to do this. Many have painted themselves “Red” in our struggle but in the end have not been able to confront the full implications of their convictions. Cde Kgomotso Masebelanga was a Marxist and Communist not just in theory but also in practice. He was a complete Marxist revolutionary in this sense.
The South African Revolution has had to endure many hardships and setbacks. Many constraints bedevil us. Some of these constraining factors include a world dominated by United States of America and its allies, the increasing marginalization of the Third World and Africa in particular and domestically, we have been faced with monopoly capitalists who have not embraced reconciliation and national unity in a genuine way. Instead, they have attempted to hold back investments, have engaged in capital flight and have demanded more concessions to meet their needs. As a sophisticated Third World national liberation movement led by the ANC we have not let these constraints hold us back from realizing the needs and aspirations of the majority of South Africans.
In the 1999 election manifesto, for example, we were able to give the following as achievements since the 1994 election:
This is a vindication of the Marxism that Cde Kgomotso Masebelanga believed in. In other words meeting the basic needs of people, even modestly, is the only way to construct a new and sustainable society.
However, as we all know the socio-economic challenges are still overbearing. The small inroads and breakthroughs we have made against poverty are important steps forward but have to be strengthened and amplified. We need to ensure that more Kgomotso Masebelanga’s, more Chris Hani’s can arise to carry forward these tasks.
In short, we must lead the people driven reconstruction and development process. In this endeavor the SACP, as part of the ANC led Alliance, is committed to working genuinely and decisively with and for the workers and the poor to make sure these things happen. That is how we will practically continue to honour and treasure the memory of Cde Kgomotso. Hamba Kahle Comrade, Hamba Kahle Qhawe.
Amandla!
Viva SACP! Viva ANC! Viva COSATU!
Socialism is the Future!
Phambili Socialism!
Long live the Memory of Cde. Kgomotso Masebelanga!
Blade Nzimande
General Secretary
SACP