Gordhan a giant whose contribution will not be erased

SIBONISO DUMA

On behalf of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, we wish to express our revolutionary appreciation to the Gordhan family.

We thank you wholeheartedly for allowing members of the ANC and alliance partners to pay their last respects to the son of the soil. We can only imagine the severity of the pain that the entire family is experiencing at a loss so great that no one can heal.

Judging by accounts given by fellow comrades, diplomats and ordinary members of society over the past few days, it is clear that the whole country has been shaken by the departure of Comrade Pravin Gordhan. The apartheid masters never imagined that today we would stand here and talk freely about an activist they once listed and banned under the Suppression of Communism Act.

Despite the harassment and banning orders, Gordhan remained fearless. He is credited for the success of many student activism, rent boycotts and national stay-away of workers. All the activities he organised sent shivers down the spine of apartheid ministers.

It is not our intention to dwell on negative comments made by forces opposed to the ANC in various social media platforms since the departure of Gordhan.

We say this because, we understand that leaders of the ANC will always evoke different feelings and emotions.

Our main tasks, therefore, is to expose the youth of today to the phenomenal leadership of Mr Fixer, as he was commonly known. This is the leader who touched the lives of many people at their very core throughout his life.

To the apartheid government, he was a terrorist that had to be taken out in order to limit the spread of communism and socialism influence.

Some of the things that immediately come to mind when one thinks about Comrade Gordhan are: persuader; disciplined in thought and action; fearless and a leader with the ability to give and take advice.

Fellow mourners and comrades, what saddens us most is that his departure is a depletion of leaders not just for the ANC but for our matured democracy.

On Tuesday, exactly at 7pm, we received the body of Gordhan at the Dube Trade Port International Cargo Terminal.

We were touched by the bravery displayed by the family. This afternoon, when we visited the family at home, we felt unbelievable love and human kindness from family members. It is unbelievable that despite malicious political attacks and untested allegations against your father, your grandfather and your uncle, you are showering all of us with love.

We proclaim you heroes of South Africa. You supported this giant whose contribution towards the creation of a democratic state will never be erased.

We thank the president of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, for declaring his final journey an official state funeral. This is in recognition of his immense role he played over the years.

The contribution of the well-known leaders who hail from the Indian Diaspora is well documented. Pravin joins many other national heroes whose contribution is now part of a proud history of our country.

He joins Comrade Mewa Ramgobin who we laid to rest in 2016; Comrade Pat Thumbu who travelled more than 400km to Kliptown to witness the signing of the Freedom Charter; Dr Monty Naicker, another illustrious son of the soil, who is the descendant of the Indian Diaspora.

He recorded a historic agreement uniting the struggles of the Indian and African compatriots in our country, working together with Dr Yusuf Dadoo and Dr AB Xuma, to record what was called the “three Doctors Pact” in 1947.

This brought together the struggles of the ANC, the Natal Indian Congress and the Transvaal Indian Congress, eventually creating a “united front to fight apartheid.” The pact marked the origins of the policy of non-racialism and also ensured that all the oppressed black people combined their lot to fight against oppression.

Programme Director, at this stage, we wish to make a strong call to the ANC rank and file and alliance partners. We must close ranks. There is a systematic agenda to plant seeds of division and tribalism in society. We must resist this as it is aimed at reintroducing racial segregation and isolating certain members of society from the ANC.

The attacks on Gordhan is aimed at ensuring that a feeling of marginalisation is strongly felt in the Indian community.

It is important to point out that no minority community is targeted for isolation within the ANC.

In the Indian community, there are thousands compatriots who made the ultimate sacrifice but whose names are not prominently recorded in the annals of history.

As we bid a revolutionary farewell to Gordhan, we salute the brave heroes and heroines who forfeited the comforts of the homes and families and fled to foreign lands to attain training as freedom fighters in order to engage the forces of oppression.

Thousands lost their lives, and we owe them deep gratitude for their dedication to the fight for liberation – and their selflessness.

By all accounts, this province and the country as a whole achieved democracy through collective efforts by whites, Indians, coloureds and Africans.

The memorial service gives us the opportunity to strengthen the solidarity among the people of the province.

This evening, we are called upon to reflect with pride on the close working relationship between Monty Naicker with Inkosi Albert Luthuli. We must remember the dedication shown by comrades such as Billy Nair, Natoo Babenia and Ebrahim Ebrahim. They were amongt the earliest to volunteer when uMkhonto weSizwe was formed in 1960, and were subsequently incarcerated for many years on Robben Island, together with Ahmed Kathrada, Mac Maharaj and many others. They spent time with leaders such as Harry Gwala. The pathfinders of this democracy relied on one another as they wedged a struggle for liberation.

We must rely on each other as we build this province and the country for future generations. We must all ensure that we don’t get distracted on the important task of uniting the people in order to build the most powerful province and the country socially and economically.

As the ANC, we acknowledge that we cannot build this province if the society is divided. We are reaching out to members of society across all racial groups to step forward and take their place in the team that has to deliver a prosperous KZN.

We recognise the role of business to grow our economy. We recognise the role of organised labour to protect and promote productivity of our labour force.

We recognise the role of civil society organisations. We also recognise, specifically in our province, the important role of our religious and traditional leaders to assist us in bringing together our people.

The ANC is committed to strengthen its support base amongst all communities it was formed to serve. There should be no feeling of alienation from the ANC for whatever reason. The ANC accepts all individuals in terms of the contribution they make in the fulfilment of the dreams of ordinary members of society.

Finally, as we renew the ANC, we commit to ensure that the party treats all its members with the same respect, be they long-serving or newly recruited, whether they serve in elected or appointed structures of government or outside government service.

This will be the greatest gift to Comrade Pravin Gordhan. May God give the Gordhan family strength during this difficult period.

* Duma is the provincial chairperson of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Mercury