Listening to the silent majority

[p. 139]

[102]

I shared with Moeketsi Shai, director of the Black Management Forum, some of the incredible turmoil taking place in Lekoa. ‘You see,’ he replied, ‘blacks are now looking for structures of their own making. These structures must reflect their mandates. Presently, most blacks still look upon Community Councils as the making of the government, and that's why many blacks reject them.’ I told Moeketsie some of the recent events around mayor Samuel Kolosang personally. ‘I don't know him,’ he replied, ‘but I must admit, what I just told you hardly explains why the mayor managed to assemble 19 000 or 20 000 people in the stadium of Sharpeville. I don't know what support Kolisang enjoys. I do not know what he has done for his people either. Look at Enos Mabuza, a homeland leader and the Chief Minister of KaNgwane. He was recently even invited to Moscow. He spoke about that trip to the Financial Mail.’^78. Mabuza enjoys massive support by young people. He is apparently polular in KaNgwane, but also in the rest of Africa and internationally as well. Here is a man who also might have joined the system, but his actions, and the support he has given to his people, indicated to the people his sincerity and desire to support them. So, Enos Mabuza is in the eyes of the people truly working for them, even while at the same time he is operating within official South African structures.’

I asked Moeketsi Shai whether he believed that blacks, both as individuals and as members of the various organisations, communicated sufficiently with each other. ‘You yourself are telling me,’ I added, ‘that you have never met for instance, Willie Ramoshaba, President of the Black Achievers Foundation, in person.’

Shai: ‘You are right. There is definitely not enough direct communication. There is, however, a movement to do something about it. For a long time, black life in South Africa used to be very much disintegrated, but a definite change is taking place. Increasingly, black organisations are talking to each other. For instance, we recently organised a Black Management Forum Conference. We invited speakers from black unions, from cosatu and from nactu. This was unthinkable in the past. But we now need to rise above the level of petty politicians. We need to rise above the forms of petty apartheid. We must communicate

78. The Financial Mail, April 28, 1989

[p. 140]

more as blacks. I myself have studied computers very carefully. As you know, I am now selling them. So, I am aware, when you mention the programming and structuring of brains, of what happens more or less in people's heads. A computer programmer has to think logically by learning to use computer language. Learning means, i.e. to learn to think logically. One cannot possibly write a computer program without thinking systematically and methodologically. We have got to hand these tools to our young people, because they are the ones who will shape the future of this land.’