By: Siki Dlanga
Have you ever wondered how Mantashe became Mantashe? What images come to your mind when you think of him? A frustrated activist from Soweto recently described him as a man whose belly is pregnant with their votes. Journalists have described him as a man who can evade important questions and disarm them. Social media users call him a tiger after his unsavoury sex scandal with young women. During the Zuma era he was a defender of Zuma. Now he is the defender of Cyril.
Mantashe is an unknown entity in the ANC struggle history even though now he takes up the biggest space and eats the biggest slice. Perhaps that missing history explains him best.
When he contracted COVID, young people on social media were praying for his death. Why? Perhaps time has shown that Mantashe is not a defender of his position, a defender of his stomach and his sexual appetite. Whatever Mantashe is, he is not the defender of the poor, he is not a defender of the youth, he is not a defender of the environment, he is certainly not a defender of South Africa, her future and absolutely not a defender of the people Chris Hani, Steve Biko or the Mxenges died defending. He will sell South Africa to the highest bidder without blinking an eye. If blood spills, well, that is not his problem.
The people of Xolobeni know from experience. Their fight against an Australian mining company revealed just how brutal Mantashe is. The rural community of Amadiba feared for their lives as they defended their land from Mantashe and Oscar Mabuyane who used every intimidation tactic to pressure them to give over their land to the Australian mining company. The people of Xolobeni were valiant and prevailed against their own government in the face of Mabuyane and Mantashe’s insatiable greed. Today, the people of the Wild Coast are still battling against Mantashe and Shell, yet another big company Mantashe is fighting for against the people.
Alex Lenferna wonders how Gwede Mantashe has not been asked to step aside given the details of his dodgy dealings that make Ace Magashule’s asbestos seem like small change? Some of these have been well recorded including his corrupt department. Much has been detailed regarding hundreds of billions of rands that implicate his wife as reported by Thabo Seseane as far back as 2015 on wsws.org. “A company directed by the wife of African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Gwede Mantashe received a R639 billion ($55 million) contract for providing food to workers at the construction sites of the new Medupi and Kusile power plants.”
If we go by any of these numbers, it is understandable why Mantashe prefers South Africa to forget about how the president has broken his oath of office. He has no integrity to demand the president to step down because tax evasion is a crime. Doing business while in office, which the president has recently admitted to when asked about his millions of dollars, is a contravention of his oath as a president of the republic.
If the list of what is recorded about Mantashe is anything to go by, then he is a master at corruption. Hiding millions worth of forex is a small crime for Mantashe that should be overlooked because a leader to him is not a shepherd but a wolf. A leader’s job according to him is not to protect the people, it is not to ensure that their lights are on, that their economy is strong, that they breathe uncontaminated air, that they can fish in their oceans, that they are safe from outside predators who want to ravage their minerals and destroy their communities. A leader’s job to Mantashe is to take as much as you can from those you lead especially if they are vulnerable and need to be protected. A leader’s role to Mantashe is to amass so much ill-gained wealth that there is no longer a difference between you and the coloniser because you have mastered their art.
It is no wonder Mantashe rejects the term White Monopoly Capital. He has become Capital by partnering with white big business against the country. Perhaps, that is his most honest admission yet. The Xolobeni battle was the truest frame with which to see Mantashe just as Marikana was to Ramaphosa. Both sided with international capital against the people of this land for the sake of resources. Both are supposed to be trusted leaders who look after the interests of the people. Both fail the people of South Africa every day they wake up. Both should step aside. The president must vacate his office and look after his millions. South Africa is not Ramaphosa’s priority. We are his side gig which he has so dismally failed at that we no longer have a parliament.
Samson is one of Mantashe’s names. He betrays his name. Samson may have had a problem with his inability to contain his sexual appetite, but he was a defender of his people to the death. Mantashe survived covid only to sell us further for the advancement of his own ambitions to accumulated wealth. We see it in how he wants South Africans to forget about dealing with a president who has not denied the forex scandal.
One wonders how anyone could be so short sighted, particularly someone like Mantashe who seems wise and gifted with words but only uses them for trickery not for the good of the nation. Could the love of money blind a man so completely that he cannot even see the future and squander it all for his stomach? Is the cost worth it? Can Mantashe be saved? His name is Samson, perhaps he too might have a late revelation that redeems his name and the nation.
Always judge anyone by how they treat the poor and the vulnerable. That is how you know who you are dealing with. Sipho Singiswa was right. Mantashe and Ramaphosa are the same.
Mantashe cannot be found among those who were exiled, nor was he with the UDF, he was not in Robben Island or any prison that imprisoned anti-apartheid struggle stalwarts. He is nowhere to be found in the June 16 struggle while the likes of Lindiwe Sisulu were imprisoned in the same prison as Solomon Mahlangu. He was not in the Black Consciousness movement yet now he leads those who paid the price for our liberation.
I read Mantashe’s biography to better understand him. My eyes landed on “he became the first trade unionist to be appointed to the Board of Directors of JSE-listed company – Samancor.” That is when I knew that he and Cyril are the same but not for the obvious reasons as trade unionists who turned against the people. It is recorded that when he first encountered the JSE in 1988, Ramaphosa was so impressed, he said; “it is mind boggling to see the casino market at work.” Now the man has so much money he might as well turn Phala Phala into a casino. No wonder white media such as the likes of Richard Poplak of Daily Marverick and others are always trying to tarnish Lindiwe Sisulu who is known throughout the ANC as the only prominent leader who is without blemish. They prefer those who will keep South Africa unequal because that is what the colonial beneficiaries prefer. They will even wink over serious crimes and ask South Africans to forget about them while they exaggerate letters as treasonous. Mantashe does not have the DNA of the ANC nor does he love the ANC. Mantashe defends Cyril because he is protecting his stomach.
