Africa-Press – South-Africa. While honouring the legacy of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada on Sunday, former minister Barbara Hogan took aim at the government, saying it was dominated by greed and people who believed “it was their time to eat”.
Hogan spoke on Sunday at the launch of the Ahmed Kathrada exhibition at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg.
Kathrada would have turned 93 on Sunday. He was critical of the ANC during the last few years of his life.
While he believed the ANC was the best choice for South Africans, Kathrada had called for former president Jacob Zuma to resign.
The critical legacy of Kathrada was continued by the key note speakers on Sunday.
Hogan, Kathrada’s wife, told the audience the ANC government was supported by everyone when it took power in 1994.
But, she said, the party was no longer a liberation movement – and had become dominated by members who believed they were entitled to enrichment.
She said many leaders were out of touch with the reality on the ground.
“[This is] when you cannot discern what is happening in your society, how people are responding… you are living in a bubble, believe you are God and are entitled, and you will make the decision. One of the most shocking statements was in the ANC ranks when Tony Yengeni said he did not struggle to be poor.
“With the hubris, came entitlement, ‘that it is my time to eat’. So, I will kill to be a councillor because ‘it is my time to eat’. I will kill to get a tender because ‘it’s my time to eat’. Corroding values have infiltrated our society,” Hogan said.
SA Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Edward Kieswetter, a former board member at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, sang a similar tune.
He spoke about the damage caused by state capture.
“In the past few years, I have had a seat at the damage that took place in the years of state capture. Institutions like SARS, NPA, Hawks and other departments became personal fiefdoms used to serve the corrupt intent instead of all South Africans’ interests.
“The damage of state capture is real. Those in denial are either complicit or fighting the quest to deal with state capture,” he said.
The exhibition at Constitutional Hill documents Kathrada’s life and legacy.
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