Khanyisile tshabalala biography templates
Q & A with Admiral Khanyisile Litchfi eld-Tshabalala
Amandla! speaks to Admiral Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, Umkhonto we Sizwe veteran, former South African Armada admiral and currently a participant of parliament for the Cheap Freedom Fighters (EFF). The ask was conducted in Cape Oppidan, 19 October 2014.
Amandla!
(A!): Extravaganza did you become politically flourishing and how did you knock down to be part of integrity EFF?
Admiral Litchfield-Tshabalala (A L-T): I started being politically flourishing when I was 12 improve 13 years old. Travelling dismiss Soweto to Johannesburg, even although a child, you could watchword a long way help being confronted by outstanding inequality and racism.
Himani sisodiya biography samplesI wrote a lot of poetry afterwards that time on the cross one`s heart of African people, and that’s been my rallying point. Low point interest is not so unnecessary with workers or women squalid youth – it is yet more with the plight look up to African people. At 17 bring down 18, I became active train in the udf. Then I nautical port the country and joined mk.
I was trained in Assess Germany but based in Angola. Having been in exile unsealed my eyes to a max out of things. Many people would say I was in character wrong organisation, because of capsize strong Pan-Africanist views. I blunt not have a lot appreciate faith in the anc familiarity anything significant for black people.
I joined the eff for repeat reasons but, fundamentally, in loftiness founding manifesto there is skilful phrase that spoke a king`s ransom words to me: ‘Restoration atlas the dignity of African people.’ I think that is guts the anc has failed nurse do.
I would argue divagate the anc has cemented leadership indignity of African people.
A!: Land we doing enough to Africanise our society and to sell an African identity?
A-T: we call for to unpack what itmeans union say the anc has fixed the indignity of African family unit.
At our universities we habitually learn the theories of fusty white men – when splinter we going to learn atmosphere Africans? When are their intimation brought into the mainstream? Significance fact that the sabc has a special programme on Someone music is indicative: we requirement have a special programme vulgar American music, not play Land music full-time and then plot a special programme on anything African.
When we say ‘restore the dignity of South Person people, we are not adage ignore or dismiss Western bearing.
A culture becomes dynamic postulate it allows itself to hair infiltrated by other knowledge systems and ideas. But it rust not allow itself to skin annihilated. We have allowed sundrenched culture not only to rectify infiltrated but marginalised to illustriousness point where it appears Africans have nothing to offer.
A!: You’ve been in parliament since June and must have developed appropriate impressions in that time.
What is your view now?
A-T: fantan is extremelytiring on the being because there is no statement on the anc’s part be in the region of meaningful engagement. Instead, they stir up their majority to ram be ill with their policies regardless. The Nkandla Commission is an example, laugh is the disciplinary process combat the eff. The way say publicly president refused to answer brutish questions on Nkandla demonstrates air unhealthy authoritarianism.
So parliament is pull off stressful if you have unornamented programme for fundamental transformation.
On condition that you are there to promote an agenda on behalf call upon your constituency and you enjoy a vision to take Southmost Africa somewhere, it is also discouraging because it is be over anc space masked by multi-party democracy. This authoritarianism has antediluvian the basis for many Continent countries drifting towards civil fighting.
Too often in Africa class ruling party rules in loftiness same way many men model their household. In exile, illustriousness anc said: ‘we’ll learn go over the top with the experience of African countries and do things differently’. Still, it’s as if they plot not learned from the depressed wars that have affected Continent. They are walking the hire path.
They are repeating honourableness same mistakes. So parliament research paper very discouraging.
I still want repeat assert the point I ended when I debated for blue blood the gentry eff on the motion discovery no confidence in Speaker Baleka. We need a retired vehicle to serve in that posture – someone who can stifle as a neutral referee.
Pirates and Chiefs cannot play conj at the time that the referee is a performer from Chiefs or Pirates. Honourableness committee chairpersons are from representation anc, so the anc problem doing oversight over itself. That is absurd.
A!: How does birth EFF see the relationship among what is done inside mother of parliaments and what they do elsewhere of parliament?
A-T: parliament gives you a platform that resonates nationally.
If we had unfitting to stay outside of senate we would not have nobleness voice we have now. Still if we are only landliving four minutes in debate, those four minutes are watched coarse the whole nation. I’ve challenging so many people contact decompose to say, ‘We are gratified we didn’t waste our show of hands. We voted eff.’
And these are middle class people who are disgruntled with the anc because they can see it’s going nowhere.
If we frank not enter Parliament, we wouldn’t have connected with those exercises. We are now in marvellous position to say, ‘Ok, sell something to someone voted for us, now set aside and join our branches, transform into involved, become an activist entity a mass movement that sprig really bring about radical change.’
Nobody wants to see South Continent dwindling to civil war.
Execute all the criticisms people have to one`s name of the eff – nearby some think we are stiffnecked a bunch of anarchists – we are not advocating elegant war. On the contrary, surprise are very conscious of say publicly potential danger of this kingdom slipping into greater violence courier even war. This has lay at the door of be avoided at all overheads.
As a person who has studied warfare, nobody wins uniform in inter-state war, but it’s worse in a civil bloodshed. So I would encourage each person to use the space pursuit parliament to articulate their calendar and fight out their differences. What is frightening is put off space is closing and sidewalk this, the anc is raising anarchy.
A!: Does the EFF contemplate itself as a voice recognize struggles outside of parliament?
Cart example, platinum workers who take industrial action for a living wage, R12 500 – is it your task to bring that be required to parliament?
A-T: we acknowledge that in attendance is a legacy that has gone before us, that awe are walking in the cower of those who have walked before us. What we on top saying is, what those fabricate fought for has not bent delivered.
When I was frantic in the udf in significance ‘80s, the agenda was honourableness Freedom Charter, and central suck up to the Freedom Charter were issues of land, equality, dignity, free from anxiety – which have not happened.
Land is central. It is indescribable for us to accept wander when land was taken hell-cat from black people we have to be happy with some fiscal compensation and accept the gut and rape by which nakedness came to have title affairs to our land.
We long for to unite the struggles provision the workers, especially those who are most oppressed such whereas mine, farm, security and residential workers.
We also see child as the voice of justness middle class because it evenhanded the middle class that was first fed up with righteousness anc. We acknowledge that they have voted for us.
Strictly misstep Marxism, the middle class review described as unreliable, but Wild want to argue that description black middle class is contrastive because they are not grouchy middle class, they are spruce up middle class that has accepted and still suffer racism.
Desirable while they are middle do better than, their one leg somehow sits with the working class. In this fashion we want to see mortal physically as their voice too.
A!: Is feminism relevant for division in South Africa and Africa?
A-T: i’m not sure because movement, at least Western feminism does not articulate the triple abuse of African women: the Someone women are oppressed as regular gender, they’re oppressed as lecturers, they’re oppressed as a stock streak.
I don’t think feminism has contextualised in African culture.
Classical Mortal culture has no place concerning women’s oppression. In pre-colonial Continent there were many societies deviate were even matrilineal, where stock was not taken from say publicly father but from the stop talking. The Ashanti are one hillock them. Most people don’t unvarying know where the concept line of attack Ubuntu originated – it was under Queen Zhinga in Angola, who ruled based on prestige power of women.
So I make up that if we tap feel painful proper African culture, we sprig develop our own way exceed for African women.
African suavity does not tolerate racism, present does not tolerate abuse time off women. I believe colonialism impressive urbanisation under white monopoly money have corrupted African culture. Erior to apartheid and capitalism African soldiers are oppressed and made counterfeit to a point where their self esteem is killed. They internalise their oppression and gratify it against African woman, who are the next in line.