There was debate at former finance minister Tito Mboweni’s funeral on whether or not he supported the ANC’s decision to form the government of national unity (GNU) which includes political parties that are ordinarily not aligned to the ANC.
This was after his long-time friend, former cabinet minister and ex-ANC NEC member Ngoako Ramatlhodi in his tribute to Mboweni said he died an unhappy man.
Ramatlhodi said he spent a lot of time with Mboweni towards the end of his life discussing the current state of the ANC, which for the first time dipped below 50% at the polls. He said their conversations centred around a concern for the fate of the national democratic revolution (NDR).
“He died a very unhappy comrade,” said Ramatlhodi, “as we used to spend a lot of time discussing issues facing the movement and our country, in particular the fate of the national democratic revolution”.
Without specifically saying what Mboweni’s views were, Ramatlhodi said that Mboweni in June sent him a quotation from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities as part of their debate around the state of the ANC and the country. The quote reads: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
“This message,” said Ramatlhodi, “was sent to me as part of the difficult conversations we had been having in recent times. I choose not to quote the dead when they have no right of reply.”
Kgothatso Madisa
www.timeslive.co.za
