This year marks the 40th anniversary of the United Democratic Front (UDF). To mark this important anniversary, former leaders and members of the UDF and its affiliates have convened a committee to celebrate its outstanding and seminal role in the struggle against apartheid.
We call this initiative UDF40.
Why are we doing this? Most, if not all of us, are of a sedentary age when activity should entail a brisk walk across the golf course, or chasing our grandchildren around our homes. Why, then, do we want to become involved not just in activity, but in activism, and in active citizenry — and to do so using the name of an organisation that is itself in its 40s?
We are doing so, comrades and friends, because — as was the case in 1983 — we all have a mission that is critically important to our country’s democratic project.
We have to ensure that our democracy is not derailed; that the government of the day works for the benefit of the people, especially the poor, the working class and the marginalised; that public representatives are held accountable by their constituencies and by the rest of society; and that civil servants truly uphold the principles and ethos of Batho Pele.
That is our mission. And as we pursue it, we must ensure that the UDF is not just remembered, but that we draw lessons from its vision, values, ethos, ideals and modus operandi — and use them to inform the collective efforts to defend, deepen and strengthen South African democracy.
Our theme for this crucial project is “active citizenry for transformation and accountability”. Our approach is to ensure the tireless mobilisation of the citizenry to be the true agents of change, transformation and accountability.
“Fundamentally, we must reassert and reinvigorate local communities and find new ways of giving a voice to the people. We must reassert the supremacy of our constitution and demand accountability by public representatives. We must reclaim our democracy.
We will be taking our call to South Africans everywhere, urging them to engage actively in issues that affect them at all levels of society. This is critical for our democracy.
To succeed will require not just active citizenry, but unity across race and class.
When the UDF was formed in August 1983 to fight apartheid, it united groups that were divided by class and race while at the same time ensuring that its affiliates identified and creatively responded to their immediate and specific challenges. The overarching objective of a free and democratic society appealed to all these different socioeconomic classes.
There is a strong possibility that the 2024 elections will produce a hung parliament. If that were to happen, politics at the national level could mirror the chaos and infantile disorder that are daily features of municipal coalitions now
Many leaders and activists who played seminal roles during the UDF days are advanced in age. Some have passed on, such as Albertina Sisulu, Archie Gumede, Dr Beyers Naudé, Frances Baard, Joseph Marks, Mewa Ramgobin, Peter Nchabeleng and many more. How do we create a new generation of UDF leaders?
Are we able to adapt to new conditions, to understand the concerns and aspirations of younger generations especially, and accommodate them in ways that will overcome political and social demobilisation and apathy?
There are concerns that older leaders don’t adequately respond to the youth, leading to political apathy or political delinquency, especially within our own political, worker and civic structures.
This invariably spills into the government and into state institutions. We must unite young and old activists in meaningful ways if we are to truly bring about change.
The incontrovertible truth is that “every generation starts with a legacy of the previous generations”. We must now embrace the values and legacy of the UDF: its pursuit of nonracialism and nonsexism; its expansive mobilisation and organisation of South Africans; its ability to instil hope in the people; and its internal democracy and accountability.
Clearly, many citizens are disconnecting from democratic processes. There is an urgent need to mobilise and activate the citizenry so as to arrest the country’s downhill trajectory.
There is a strong possibility that the 2024 elections will produce a hung parliament. If that were to happen, politics at the national level could mirror the chaos and infantile disorder that are daily features of municipal coalitions now.
We could end up with public representatives who are even less accountable than they are now, expending their energy on horse-trading and jostling for power, with personal ambitions and party interests dominating national politics.
The dire consequences would be worsening service delivery and less attention paid to the important matters of socioeconomic transformation. Undoubtedly, South Africa will be characterised by delinquent governance, exacerbating the already high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality and fuelling social instability.
We believe the 40th anniversary of the founding of the UDF should be leveraged to unleash energy and creativity at various levels of society. At the same time, citizens should be encouraged to come up with focused, well thought-out plans and to engage with all tiers of the government on legislation and programmes that would have a positive effect on communities and especially the poor.
There is a need for consistent, coherent and clear strategies to infuse the principles of nonracialism, nonsexism and democratic participation at all levels, whether in public, private or community structures.
The UDF anniversary must provide the impetus to pursue a return to locally based organising and community-orientated structures; to promote civic and women’s organisations; and to revitalise entities such as advice offices, which have historically been essential in supporting and uniting communities.
The anniversary should encourage and help different sectors of society to participate in organisations that can engage the government at all levels around genuine developmental programmes, specifically in service delivery.
These groups must be at the forefront of fighting corruption, wasteful expenditure and general malfeasance; making tireless efforts for better, prudent and sustainable resource utilisation.
A priority should be to reintroduce into the public and media spaces the voices of progressive policy experts on issues ranging from macroeconomic development and finance to the arts, science and sport. As was the case in the past, institutions of higher learning, especially universities, have a crucial role to play as incubators.
In this way, progressive voices can reclaim thier ethical, principled and value-led leadership in society, inspiring optimism and confidence that our nation can be turned around.
• Molefe is a member of the national steering committee of UDF40 and former national secretary of the UDF
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