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Ephraim Tshabalala told me, that he felt that the nfbl was not at all representative of black South Africa. ‘Maybe in two or three years we will be ripe for such a development,’ he told me. Sam Mabe, of The Sowetan, likewise said to me that the National Forum was hardly a reflection of the black masses.
On the nfbl Gogotya told me, ‘It is unfortunate that the whole thing is dirty play by some people, either intentionally or unintentionally. Because I believe that if such a Forum has to have some credibility, the groups serving in the Forum must have a constituency. They must have been elected by a constituency that chooses them to serve in the Forum. The present councillors from town councils cannot be said to be representative of the black community at large. The government cannot fool us. These people have no mandate from anyone to negotiate on our behalf. They were elected to provide houses, roads and infrastructure. The government should play this matter openly. Just as much as town councillors in Cape Town cannot serve in the national parliament, a town councillor of Pretoria or Heildelberg, cannot serve on a national body. He has no mandate for this purpose. That's why fida rejects what's going on.’
Once more I suggested a referendum for all blacks in South Africa, on the basis of one man, one vote, to choose whom they want to represent them at the National Forum and the Great Indaba. John Gogotya: ‘This is what we have been saying time and again. Let there be some form of democratic representation. If it can't be a referendum, than let the government recognise the organisations that already exist, and let them appoint one representative each, or whatever. Just as much as the government has recognised the existence of the anc and has said they will sit down with them and talk if Nelson Mandela renounces violence, then a referendum would become unnecessary. If violence is renounced, banned political organisations would be unbanned and we would have all the legitimate representatives we need, to organise a Great Indaba to solve the problems of this country.’
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