RIGHT TO REPLY: We Share Mandela's Values

We Share Nelson Mandela’s Values - Cape Independence Advocate

Democracy, self-determination, non-racialism, and a better life for all. These are the values which in recent years I have elected to champion.

I never met Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, but had I enjoyed that privilege, I sincerely doubt that he would have differed on any of them. They are, after all, precisely the same values to which he dedicated himself, albeit perhaps in distinctly different circumstances.

The recent statement issued by the Melisizwe Mandela Foundation has been brought to my attention, and I have taken note of the allegations made against me therein. I will be diplomatic and say that they are unfortunate. It appears that Mayibuye Mandela, the author of the statement, does not understand what it is that I and others like me are fighting for, nor why it is necessary for us to fight.

Since 1994, the South African political order has been turned upon its head. Political power no longer resides in the hands of a white minority, but in the hands of a black majority. This is as it should be, but with power comes responsibility.

I strongly suspect Nelson Mandela is turning in his grave at what democratic South Africa has become.

Raising a family in South Africa

Just like millions of others, I am raising a young family in present day South Africa. I would do anything to protect my children, and I will do everything within my power to create a safe, well functioning, just society for them to grow up in.

I have made no secret of the fact that I was born British and elected to make South Africa my home. My wife and children made no such decision. They are South African by birth and heritage, and they have never called any other country home. I have no intention whatsoever to stand back on account of my birthplace and abandon them to their fate.

I have been able to provide my children with a relatively privileged environment in which to grow up, and for that I am eternally grateful, but they have also had to needlessly contend with an increasingly dysfunctional society. Significantly, just as Nelson Madela’s children did, they have also grown up in a society which actively discriminates against them on the basis of their race.  

Many of the challenges which they have been forced to face are a product of successive ANC governments which neither my family, nor the majority of families in the Western Cape, have ever voted for.

Our economy has been stagnant for decades as a result of disastrous ANC policies meaning that our standard of living has continually declined. Crime is out of control as a result of a criminal justice system which the ANC deliberately handicapped. Public transport is virtually non-existent in my area as a result of the ANC having destroyed the rail system. Loadshedding became a way of life as a result of the ANC destroying Eskom. My children have had to contend with racial quotas in their sports teams, race-based admission criteria when they go to university, and employment equity when they go to work. My options as a father and entrepreneur have been limited by BEE.

A shared set of values

Nelson Mandela fought for the right of self-determination. He wanted all South Africans to be able to make their own decisions and for the government to represent the democratic will of the South African people as a whole. He wanted to end a system of racial classification and discrimination, and in doing all of these things, he wanted to create a better life for all. Nelson Madela never allowed the fact that some white people didn’t want him to succeed to stand in his way.

Through my work at the Referendum Party and the Cape Independence Advocacy Group, I am fighting for the right of self-determination for the Western Cape people so they can make their own decisions and for their government to reflect their democratic will. I want to end racial classification and race-based policy. In doing so, I want to create a better life for all the people of the Western Cape. I am not going to allow the fact that people like Mayibuye Mandela don’t want me to succeed to stand in my way either.

I have presumed no authority to act on anyone else’s behalf, I have acted within both the letter and spirit of the law, and I have not advantaged myself personally in any way. I have come armed with facts and ideas, and together with my colleagues, am calling for a provincial referendum, as provided for in the constitution, to determine the democratic will of the Western Cape people. This is international best practice and the long established norm.

If this process offends Mayibuye Mandela and his foundation, then I strongly suggest that it is he who needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. What exactly is it that he finds so offensive about the Western Cape people making their own decisions about what is best for them? I have my suspicions. In polling last year, seven out of ten black respondents believed that South Africa belonged to them and that other races were guests in the Western Cape and should behave accordingly.

Cape Independence didn’t become a political issue in a vacuum; people rarely want to opt out of a system that works for them.

‍Copy of letter written by the Melisizwe Mandela Foundation

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Copy of letter written by the Melisizwe Mandela Foundation

‍This article was first published in the Sunday Independent: https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/we-share-nelson-mandelas-values-cape-independence-advocate-77c64788-4751-410c-8a1a-a1c0adf35886

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