‘Let us honour the past not with nostalgia, but with action’

THE time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. | Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address, May 10, 1994.

- JAY NAIDOO

THIS April 27, 2025, we celebrated 31 years of freedom. Freedom month stirs something deep in me. I remember the songs of resistance echoing through the townships, the fierce courage of workers striking for dignity, and the burning hope in the eyes of young activists demanding a future beyond the shadows of apartheid. We were not just fighting against a system — we were fighting for the soul of our nation. Our struggle was guided by the spirit of servant leadership, compassion and solidarity.

April 27, 1994, was a sacred day. I stood among my comrades, many of whom had been tortured, exiled or imprisoned, and watched our people cast their votes — many for the first time. It was a moment of collective rebirth. But it was never the end. It was only the beginning. For all of us, it was the first time we voted in our lives.

Today, we see nearly half of the population not exercising their right to vote. The reality is that we are still deeply divided. Not just by race but by class, status, employment, religion, gender, poverty and suffering.

The syndrome of the “Big Chief”, and party bosses who know what is best for the people, have failed us.

The toxic masculinity of politics today deepens divisions, using the legitimate grievances of our people to drive personal political agendas.

Ascendency to power does not change the basic fundamentals of deprivation and suffering. It just opens the doors to a new brigade of wannabes to feed at the trough.

The state has become the site of contestation. Not about the delivery of the better life we promised our people. But a fierce war within the political class rearranging their chairs on the Titanic.