JCH 2012 Volume 37 Issue 1
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Browsing JCH 2012 Volume 37 Issue 1 by Subject "African National Congress"
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Item Open Access AWG Champion and township politics in Durban in the 1960s and 1970s(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012) Tabata, Wonga FundileThis article will consider the often contradictory role of Arthur Wessels George Champion (AWG) Champion, former leader of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) in the African National Congress (ANC), as a local politician serving on statutory Urban Bantu Councils. Champion was an elected member of the Ningizimu Urban Bantu Council from 1968 to 1975. He was still applying the political strategy of the 1930s and early 1950s where statutory Native Advisory Boards were used throughout the country by African leaders as platforms to fight for daily needs in the locations/ townships. The 1960s was however a period of strict apartheid when the National Party-led government also tightened its control over local government through the establishment of Bantu Administration Boards to administer African residential areas and control Urban Bantu Councils. The policy of “separate development” (apartheid) also stressed ethnicity as it linked all Africans with homelands. From 1970 up to his death in 1975, Champion advocated links between the Zulus in Durban and the statutory KwaZulu Traditional Authority in the Zulu “homeland” under its Chief Executive Officer and later Chief Minister, Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Champion stressed Zulu unity and the use of statutory bodies as counterweight against policies of apartheid (“separate development”). This made him a controversial figure in the ranks of the government as represented by local officials of the Port Natal Bantu Administration Board, black independent trade unions, the Residents’ Associations sympathetic to the African National Congress and the “underground” ANC in Durban. Champion worked very hard to represent his constituency as a councillor in the Urban Bantu Council system but failed to use statutory bodies to oppose apartheid and achieve equality and human dignity for his people. The powerful apartheid state had tightened its control over black political activity during the 1960s and 1970s.Item Open Access AWG Champion and township politics in Durban in the 1960s and 1970s(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012-06) Tabata, Wonga FundileThis article will consider the often contradictory role of Arthur Wessels George Champion (AWG) Champion, former leader of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) in the African National Congress (ANC), as a local politician serving on statutory Urban Bantu Councils. Champion was an elected member of the Ningizimu Urban Bantu Council from 1968 to 1975. He was still applying the political strategy of the 1930s and early 1950s where statutory Native Advisory Boards were used throughout the country by African leaders as platforms to fight for daily needs in the locations/ townships. The 1960s was however a period of strict apartheid when the National Party-led government also tightened its control over local government through the establishment of Bantu Administration Boards to administer African residential areas and control Urban Bantu Councils. The policy of “separate development” (apartheid) also stressed ethnicity as it linked all Africans with homelands. From 1970 up to his death in 1975, Champion advocated links between the Zulus in Durban and the statutory KwaZulu Traditional Authority in the Zulu “homeland” under its Chief Executive Officer and later Chief Minister, Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Champion stressed Zulu unity and the use of statutory bodies as counterweight against policies of apartheid (“separate development”). This made him a controversial figure in the ranks of the government as represented by local officials of the Port Natal Bantu Administration Board, black independent trade unions, the Residents’ Associations sympathetic to the African National Congress and the “underground” ANC in Durban. Champion worked very hard to represent his constituency as a councillor in the Urban Bantu Council system but failed to use statutory bodies to oppose apartheid and achieve equality and human dignity for his people. The powerful apartheid state had tightened its control over black political activity during the 1960s and 1970s.Item Open Access The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Tripartite Alliance: a marriage of (in)convenience?(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012) Twala, Chitja; Kompi, ButiSince its formation in 1985, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) had played a significant role in the political landscape of South Africa. From the start, COSATU appeared to be in support of the then banned African National Congress (ANC) when it adopted the Freedom Charter. This article highlights the relationship which exists between COSATU and the ANC as part of the Tripartite Alliance. The persistent animosity between the members of these two organisations is discussed.Item Open Access The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Tripartite Alliance: a marriage of (in)convenience?(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012-06) Twala, Chitja; Kompi, ButiSince its formation in 1985, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) had played a significant role in the political landscape of South Africa. From the start, COSATU appeared to be in support of the then banned African National Congress (ANC) when it adopted the Freedom Charter. This article highlights the relationship which exists between COSATU and the ANC as part of the Tripartite Alliance. The persistent animosity between the members of these two organisations is discussed.Item Open Access The road to the Mangaung (Bloemfontein) National Elective Conference of the African National Congress in December 2012: a political challenge to the Jacob Zuma presidency?(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012-06) Twala, ChitjaOn 8 January 2012, the African National Congress (ANC) marked the centenary of its existence. Without doubt, this was a remarkable celebration and achievement for any liberation movement. Despite all the challenges which faced the Jacob Zuma presidency during these eventful celebrations, the ANC portrayed a “united front”. The article gives a chronological account of the events leading up to the ANC’s Mangaung Conference in December 2012. In attempts to achieve this, the run-up events to the Conference will be traced from the ANC as a ruling party, as well as a political organisation in the broader South African political landscape. Critical issues confronting the ANC, which include among others, both organisational and leadership renewal, will be discussed. The eventual release of the ANC’s Discussion Document on Organisation Renewal in March 2012 after nine drafts was a measure of just how deep the malaise in the organisation has become, and just how uphill the battle will be to address the sins of incumbency that beset the ANC. The author attempts at weaving together different perspectives of the events, leading to the destabilisation of the Zuma presidency and raises pertinent questions about the role of the media in South African politics. After nearly two decades in power, the organisation still needs to adopt to the reality of the 21st century democratic South Africa or be left behind; a fact acknowledged by Zuma at the ANC’s centenary celebration on 8 January 2012 at its Mangaung birthplace.