When Africans in all countries on the continent embarked on the Struggle for liberation from colonial domination and oppression, they had many good reasons to do that. It was necessary. All of them probably knew that it would inevitably involve many sacrifices but it was for a good cause, so they were prepared to accept the risks.
Many paid with their lives. Many more survived and we will forever be grateful for that.
There are a few things that are of great concern and puzzling. Why, after winning hard-fought freedom, do almost all the Struggle heroes want to indiscriminately change everything, however good it might have been, so that they can implement their policies however ill-conceived they might be?
Take SA, for instance. Social change cannot be avoided but you can’t change everything at the same time; it has to be a gradual, well thought-out process.
The ANC came and in a hurry to stamp its authority, went about changing everything, including the education and health systems, employment policies, the judicial and law enforcement agencies, immigration and border control policies, and SOEs, to show who was the boss. It didn’t matter that the systems had been working well.
There were all kinds of promises. They have remained unfulfilled after 29 years.
On the day that South West Africa (Namibia today) gained its independence and people around me were over the moon with joy, as they excitedly declared South Africa was next, I had a strange, nagging feeling.
I wondered about the kind of future we could look forward to. I could never have imagined we would be where we are today, with fierce fighting among politicians that threatens to plunge the country in deadly chaos, while everything around us is falling apart.
* Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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