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IOL News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
The Freedom Charter at 70: A vision betrayed by the ANC?
The ANC and the Freedom Charter: A Betrayal of Foundational Ideals Image: Cara Viereckl/Independent Media As South Africa marked the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, leading voices in South Africa have raised concerns about the ideals enshrined in the nation's founding document, having been hollowed out, replaced by elite-driven agendas and systemic failures that threaten to undo the progress made in the liberation struggle. Seventy years ago, in the dusty streets of Kliptown, Soweto, the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies adopted the Freedom Charter - a bold, inclusive blueprint for a democratic South Africa rooted in the principles of equality, shared wealth, and social justice. The Charter was born from a comprehensive, cross-class, and cross-race consultative process. It embodies millions' hopes for a free, fair, and united nation. Today, as South Africa marks this significant milestone, critics argue that the ANC has drifted far from those foundational ideals, betraying the very values that inspired the struggle against apartheid. The Freedom Charter articulated a vision where 'the people shall share in the country's wealth,' land would be shared among those who work it, and poverty, unemployment, and inequality would be eliminated. It was more than a document; it was a rallying cry-a call for grassroots involvement, gender inclusivity, and racial unity. Its adoption in 1955 symbolised collective resistance, galvanising the fight against apartheid and laying the groundwork for the democratic Constitution of 1996. In the decades following democracy, the ANC claimed to be the custodian of the Charter's ideals. Yet, many South Africans now see a stark contrast between the lofty promises of 1955 and the reality of today's socio-economic landscape. Poverty persists, unemployment remains entrenched, and inequality is among the highest globally. The triple burden the Charter sought to eradicate continues unabated, raising questions about the ANC's fidelity to its founding principles. The political landscape has shifted dramatically. The ANC, once the undisputed leader of South Africa's liberation movement, is now relegated to a coalition partner in a fragmented multiparty system following its failure to secure a majority in the 2024 elections. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ According to Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, this marks a pivotal moment but questions the party's direction. 'The ANC has had ample time to realise the promises of the Freedom Charter. Their inability to deliver on key clauses, particularly wealth sharing and land redistribution, reflects a betrayal of those ideals.' 'Many South Africans believe that the ANC has reneged on its promise to implement the clauses of the Freedom Charter. They base their assessment on the condition of their lives and unfulfilled promises made by the ANC in each election.' Mngomezulu drew disparities in the ANC, which holds a view that only two of the ten clauses of the Freedom Charter have not been fulfilled. 'These are clauses three, which says, 'The people shall share in the country's wealth,' and clause four, which says, 'The land shall be shared among those who work it.' However, even with these clauses, the ANC claims it is a work in progress.' He argued that it was safe to say that the question on poverty and other challenges have not all been answered, as people still lived in poverty. Political Economy Analyst Zamikhaya Maseti proposed marking the 70th anniversary by returning to the roots of the Charter and holding the commemorative events in Kliptown itself. 'Kliptown was the site where our great-grandparents gathered under difficult, illegal conditions on June 25–26, 1955, to craft a vision for a democratic South Africa,' Maseti noted. 'Their gathering produced the Freedom Charter, a lodestar for the liberation struggle. Today, we face an equally historic task: rebuilding South Africa born from their sacrifices. A nation now fractured and drifting, desperately in need of repair.' She said that 'holding the anniversary in Kliptown would root it in the moral soil of people's struggles and remove the sting of elitism that often surrounds state-led initiatives. It would strip the dialogue of unnecessary extravagance.' Maseti stressed that 'the original Congress of the People saw delegates arrive by bus, taxi, train-some even on horseback. 'Reflecting this spirit, the proposed R700 million budget for this national dialogue is seen as absurd and morally indefensible I am relieved that the Presidency rejected that outrageous proposal.' Former ambassador Lassy Chiwayo reflected on the nation's current state as the nation comme 70th anniversary approaches. He warns of a dangerous phenomenon. 'Political sclerosis' is a form of institutional rigidity that stifles progress. 'Once, the ANC was Africa's most respected liberation movement- an icon of hope,' Chiwayo laments. 'Today, what has happened to that movement, and what does it mean for our nation?' He described 'political sclerosis' as 'a state of stagnation, gridlock, and paralysis,' warning that 'when our institutions become inflexible, they stop functioning effectively, and progress stalls. The ANC is suffering from a kind of political leprosy that threatens to consume the very ideals it once stood for.' If unchecked,' he warns, 'this disease could lead to the collapse of hope and the end of our dreams for a free, liberated Africa.' Chiwayo urges the movement to shed its sclerosis, embrace flexibility, and reconnect with the core principles of liberation and service. 'Otherwise, we risk losing the very essence of what our ancestors fought for-an Africa free from foreign domination, inequality, and oppression.' Activist and author Kim Heller laments that 'the Freedom Charter lies in ruins in democratic South Africa.' She argued that 'today, the portraiture of the ANC as a devoted and dutiful servant to its citizens has all but collapsed. The party has abandoned its scripture.' Heller critiqued the current elite-driven, VIP-dominated political culture, contrasting it with the grassroots participation and volunteerism underpinning the Charter's formation. She pointed out that the proposed R700 million National Dialogue, led by President Ramaphosa, 'lacks the nation-building spirit and grassroots involvement that defined the Charter and the UDF. It appears to be an elite talk shop, disconnected from the struggles of ordinary South Africans.' Independent analyst Professor Sipho Seepe highlighted that the implementation of the Charter was doomed from the start. 'The ANC adopted a constitution that appreciated past injustices but made socioeconomic transformation difficult,' he stated. 'The architecture of apartheid remains largely intact, and inequality has only worsened, making South Africa the most unequal country in the world.' He criticised the ANC's partnership with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in government, arguing that 'the party has become an empty shell incapable of delivering on the promises of equality and justice, betraying the very ideals of the Freedom Charter.'
IOL News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Reflecting on 70 years of the Freedom Charter: a journey towards equality
A copy of The Freedom Charter, signed in 1960 by, among others, Chief Albert Luthuli. Image: Cara Viereckl/African News Agency(ANA) SEVENTY years ago, on June 26, 1955, the Freedom Charter was adopted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown. It followed Professor ZK Matthews' suggestion in 1953 to hold a "national convention" to formulate "a Freedom Charter for the democratic South Africa of the future". While not produced by the ANC, it was closely associated with the ANC. People from different walks of life were asked what kind of South Africa they wished to live in, as an alternative to the horrors of apartheid. Their responses were stitched together to create the Freedom Charter. After 1960, with the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and other political movements and the suppression of protest, the Freedom Charter went out of view. It reappeared when resistance to apartheid began to grow again. In 1980, the Sunday Post published the Freedom Charter and an article on its history. The 1981 Anti-Republic Day movement that protested the racist white republic promoted the Freedom Charter as the basis for a democratic people's republic. The preamble of the Freedom Charter written on the holding cell that the Rivonia Trialists were kept at the Palace of Justice. Image: Masi Losi/African News Agency (ANA) Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading On its 30th anniversary in 1985, it was widely promoted. Many anti-apartheid organisations adopted the Freedom Charter as their manifesto. The Freedom Charter responded to white minority rule, segregation, and the white monopoly of the land, mines and economy, of professional and well-paying jobs and of educational opportunities. It stated that South Africa belonged "to all who live in it, black and white", based "on the will of all the people". It declared that "the people shall govern", that "all national groups shall have equal rights" and all were to "enjoy equal human rights" and "be equal before the law". It called for everyone to "share in the country's wealth", for "the land (to) be shared among those who work it" and for all to have "work and security" and be treated equitably. There was a pledge to ensure "houses, security and comfort" and provide food security and health care. Recognising the importance of education and knowledge, there was a commitment to open "the doors of learning and of culture", ensure "free, compulsory, universal and equal" education for all and sport and recreation opportunities for everyone. Instead of apartheid's militarism, hostility to neighbouring countries and pariah status, the Freedom Charter sought "peace and friendship", "self-determination for all" and peaceful relations with other countries. Seventy years after the Freedom Charter was born and 30 years into democracy, South Africa is a very different and better society, especially for black and women South Africans. Unfortunately, despite strong support and the opportunity to fundamentally remake our country and achieve the Freedom Charter's goals, the ANC squandered the opportunity. Rather than the people governing, popular participation and a grassroots democracy, we have rule by elites focused on their interests and aloof from the people. ANC policies have done little to eliminate inequality and poverty, redistribute land, create decent jobs and ensure effective social services. We are a long way from everyone sharing in South Africa's wealth, the land being shared equitably and 'work and security' for all. Our "wealthiest 10% owns 85% of all household wealth"; the "wealthiest 0.1% own 25% of it". The "wealthiest 3 500 people own more than the most impoverished 32 million. Nowhere else do so few own so much. And there are few other places where that privilege is protected so fiercely to the detriment of the impoverished". Despite considerable investment in education, the children of the impoverished largely end up in the same position as their parents. There are probably less opportunities in black communities and for black youth to play sport today than under the non-racial sports movement of the 1980s. Chauvinists use identity politics to define who is a South African, African, and black in ever more narrow terms. By freezing identities along racial lines, they compromise building a non-racial society in which "race" eventually does not matter. In the international arena, South Africa has won admiration for its stand on the Israeli genocide in Palestine. But commitment to self-determination for all and "peace and friendship" has been inconsistent. We allow coal exports to Israel and are muted on some issues because of material interests. The Freedom Charter is a radical national-democratic manifesto. Neither a liberal reformist nor a socialist programme, it was a positive response to racial and national oppression. Its goal was a non-racial democracy and a unitary national democratic state. For some, the Freedom Charter represents their goals in full. If there has been some progress towards achieving those goal, there is some way to go to achieve what the ANC calls the "national democratic revolution". For others, the Freedom Charter represents their minimum goals. They seek to extend and deepen those goals to build a socialist South Africa that ends the rule by the wealthy and ensures greater equality. Manifestos are important but guarantee nothing. It is struggles waged by mass organisations, the conditions under which they occur, the nature of leadership, and whether there is working class leadership that determines the outcomes of freedom struggles. South Africa in 2025 is a shamefully unequal, unjust and unstable society. The impoverished grind out an existence, while the rich and middle classes flaunt their wealth and fortify themselves behind electric-fences and ubiquitous security companies. It cries out for a social movement with an ethical and capable leadership that is committed to sustainable economic development, eliminating inequality and impoverishment, ensuring fair and just treatment for all and promoting greater participation and democracy. Professor Saleem Badat Image: Supplied Saleem Badat is Research Professor in the Department of History at the University of Free State and the former vice-chancellor of the university currently called Rhodes. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. THE POST
IOL News
10-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Joburg's Project Lokisa: A bold move to recover R61 billion in municipal debt
The City of Johannesburg has launched Project Lokisa in an attempt to recover billions of rand it is owed by businesses, government, and residents. Image: Cara Viereckl / Independent Newspapers The City of Johannesburg is intensifying its efforts to reduce its nearly R61 billion consumer debt by targeting the municipality's worst defaulters. Project Lokisa will be an aggressive debt recovery focusing on the city's biggest defaulters, particularly large electricity and water consumers with properties valued above R100 million, high-valued residential properties valued at more than R5m, businesses, government departments, and state-owned entities. According to the National Treasury's latest available figures, as of the end of December last year, the country's eight metropolitan municipalities were owed more than R206bn, with households responsible for about R154bn, businesses almost R43bn while the debt owed by organs of state stood at R7.73bn. In total, municipal consumer debt across the country was just over R405bn, with households about 72% (or R291.1bn) and the government 5.6% (R22.7bn). Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ This week, the City of Joburg announced the launch of Project Lokisa, which means to fix or sort out, and the municipality described it as a multifaceted approach aiming to claw back the money owed for municipal services by the worst defaulters. The large scale and bold reform also aims to improve revenue recovery and ensure the municipality's financial sustainability. Acting group head of revenue and shared Malope Ramagaga said Project Lokisa will encompass the implementation of large-scale disconnection operations across the city, targeting mostly worst defaulters, with an intense focus on illegal connections and the constant monitoring of the impact of disconnection on customers. Ramagaga also indicated that under Project Lokisa, changes will be introduced to the process of issuing clearance certificates when owners sell their properties. He said this was to ensure that the municipality does not lose money owed for municipal services by the seller when they finally put their property on sale. 'A clearance certificate will be provided to the transferring attorney and the customer with a notice of the total amount owing above 90 days. Attorneys will be given notice to sign an acknowledgment of debt, which will authorise direct payment to the city from the sale proceeds,' Ramagaga explained. The municipality has urged all property owners and businesses to settle their outstanding accounts or alternatively make payment arrangements to avoid disconnections and legal action.
