Madiba’s values can still be applied
HOUGHTON – The current socio-economic situation in the country has led to the questioning of some post-apartheid values and the NMF sought to re-invent Madiba's values.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation hosted a discussion titled Remembering Madiba: Metanarratives, Myths and Memory on 5 November at the foundation in Houghton Estate.
Dialogue director at the foundation, Khalil Goga said observers have noted that some of the ideals of the post-1994 project were misguided seeing as there are high levels of corruption and worsening economic problems which have led people to look for solutions to these problems.
However, these solutions which are viewed as ‘mythologies’ seem to display elements of xenophobia, racism and chauvinism.
Adding on to that, chief operations officer at the foundation, Limpho Monyamane said, “This year is significant as it comes after the centenary. Madiba was reconciliatory, racism could be overcome and barriers could fall. Failure to grow has made these ideals seem invalid. We, therefore, use this opportunity to discuss how Madiba’s ideals can be reinvented.”
Lecturer in political theory at the Witwatersrand University, Ayesha Omar recommended reinventing the nation through the notion of shared community values which Madiba shared. “We can draw a lot from his legacy. What’s being universally articulated is that we need to broaden our political thought. Doing this can lead to seeing SA re-imagined,” Omar said.
Artist Haroon Gunn-Salie who grew up during the apartheid days said he could see that the struggle was still not over. He added that through art he understood the power of sculpture as it brings lived experience in the form of non-language. “I saw art as the vessel of my activism. We need to find ways of communicating without waiting for privilege to allow us.”
Chief executive officer at SweepSouth, Aisha Pandor said she had a similar background to Gunn-Salie and lived in the post-apartheid era. “We still have issues around economic liberation and so I thought of doing something more practical. So, I got into the business and I saw technology as an enabler to also be used to revolutionise education,” said Pandor.
She added that the Fourth Industrial Revolution should be embraced as a space that feels inclusive for both men and women.
Former Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Yvonne Mokgoro encouraged everyone to draw from Madiba’s boldness. She said it was his boldness that motivated the Constitutional Court to make human-socio-economic rights judicable.
She added that the late icon valued the idea of children growing in the context of a family. “When Nelson Mandela was released; while sitting on the back of the car he was driven in he saw children under a bridge and was shocked. That was how the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund was started,” said Mokgoro.
She went on to say another important value was to capacitate young people by enabling them to interact with the older generation so as to learn from their experiences.
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