Young, Black and Gifted :Lucky Kgwadi

Our first YBG this year is 25yrs Lucky Kgwadi, from Kgabalatsane, in the North West just outside Pretoria and the founder of E-Kasi Bucks. For those who don’t know what E-Kasi is, E-Kasi is a blockchain-based Crypto Currency which has been built on an Ethereum Blockchain to minimise the use of cash in the township. In short is, E-kasi is digital currency used by township businesses.

The valuable story behind the township currency: 

Lucky Kgwadi and his partner, Edgar Lebelo wanted to start a township bank and issue complementary currency that will only be used in townships. The aim was to assist in growing the township economy by encouraging the circulation of money in the community.

“But that was probably going to take another 10 years or more for us to achieve this,” says Kgwadi.

Kgwadi and his partner spent months studying Crypto Currencies, the Blockchain after discovering the technology behind Bitcoin. After discovering and experiencing the power of the technology, he says they knew that township Crypto currency was the way to go.

Lucky Kgwadi co founder,Ernest Klokow and Edgar Lebelo co founder of Ekasi bucks during the interview at Rosebank. Pic Veli Nhlapo/ Sowetan.

 

Challenges faced by Kgwadi & Lebelo

As young black entrepreneurs from the township, Kgwadi says they have to constantly to prove themselves everywhere they go.

“But I got used to it, so it does not bother me anymore,” says Kgwadi.

However, Kgwadi identifies the biggest challenge for their business and a young entrepreneur as lack of funding, which eventually leads to most brilliant ideas or concepts to fail.

“starting out a business is difficult especially without any source of financial backup, you have to look presentable all the time, you bear a lot expenses from your own pocket, transport, telephone, internet, networking sessions and others” he says.

Kgwadi & Lebelo were fortunate enough to met Mr. Ernest Klokow, who owns Forex Academy in 2013. They had pitched the idea and he was their first investor. Helping them to fund their dream and to get the business off the ground.

 

Q & A: I asked Kgwadi to give us some views on the politics of Growth in the Entrepreneurial Space, especially in the township space

1. How huge is the Market for Digital Currency in Township?

The market is huge; our target market is the youth and the working class, although it will take some time as we spend a lot time educating the community about the importance of spending local.

2. What do you think is the role of Government & Local communities in growing small businesses?

Well I believe all parties have a role to play, in this regard we have been well accepted by the Government and the community, and we will be launching a Crypto Currency named after a Metro City supported by the municipality.

3. What are your future growth plans for E-Kasi? 

In 4 years time we will have our own E-Kasi Bucks ATMs, E-Kasi Bucks Mall which will be 100% cashless, and taking the project into other African Countries.

 

 

Poetry: Hold me

By Taisco Poyo

give me a hug sometimes
tel me everythin is gonna be alrite
when my bins are reachin empty
while I’m in da middle of nowhere
same clothes on my back,nothin to wear
when al I considered to be love is gone somewhere
al this rain is just bringin pain
the jobs I’m seekin are not seekin me
I try not to cry
alone fighting wars at home
I’m afraid to love for da first time
guess my heart ran out of room for another scar
they told me dat love is a game but I didnt come to play
so I came out in da cold without my scarf
no gloves so I left my fingerprints in your heart
they shout that be grateful while chillin in their warm rooms
like da fortunate get more fortunate
unfortunately for da unfortunately they must just be grateful
so sorry to my chasers, I’m still here
I’m not even runnin so why u chasing
some nites I wake up dead
sometimes I know its not yet time to die

I question God somedays
and I know He’ll answer me someday

anyway this is more than me
writers are warriors and this poem is my spear
God is my shield so stop fighting our love
let me poke doubts of a betta tomorrow
give me time and I’ll write your wrongs
a load shared is a load less heavy
life is battlefield so keep on fighting
never let your guard down
put your back against people u can trust
we in this together
switch it off and on, remote control your own station
cry like u not loved bt rise up when u done
baby step yourself to recover
rush to love like u never been hurt coz tomorrow is not promised
imagine coz that’s what God puzzled for u
lend a helpin hand even if u need help yourself
laugh da pain away
there’s always room where I’m stayin even if u were a stranger when I needed a friend
we might go to sleep without food but we won’t be hungry
we realised dat our graph is rising coz we been through worse
(Thixo uyanyenyisa, akaqhini)
I’m just a writer
so I’m not good in talkin but my smile will tell u that by my side ul feel at home
al those who consider to be my past will tell u that I create rainbows out every storm
you don need to be rich to be happy
a friend mine once said but a lil money can make a difference
and I was smilin thinkin that only if she knew what love can do
God is love then I guess we gonna be ok
So lets hug each other with love
He woke me up at 3am to write this so guess its worth your time.
so whatever u going through just let His word hold u coz it woke me just to hold me
#HoldMe

A Revolutionary In the 21st century

By Phethani Madzivhandila

 

Conditions changes with time but the basis of a revolution still remains the same, this is what most of us have taken into cognisant that a revolution is still needed even with the pseudo rainbow nation that has been fed to the people of occupied Azania. No fundamental change can come without a revolution and it is a challenge for all activists, decolonizers and revolutionaries on how to toil the ground and make it fertile for the revolution to happen, a revolution that will lead to a complete over throwing of white domination.

Our duty as revolutionaries is to sharpen the contradictions that exist in society. The first contradiction being that of land dispossession .this can only be achieved through rigorously and vehemently reminding our people of unity within the continent in order to rally them and unite them under the banner of African nationalism .The class contradiction which in the last 21 years has been so prominent in our country due the rise of middle class black national bourgeoisie, who are venomous to the African masses as their white counterparts. The antidote to capitalism is a socialistic revolution. Then we can unite the whole of Africa towards scientific socialism.

The role a revolutionary movement is not to fight on behalf of the masses, but to be with the masses. Our role is to develop the fighting capacity of the masses. Masses will be their own liberators when they are with the masses, revolutionaries should not make a mistake of giving sermons to the masses, but assist by making them asking critical questions about their society, this critical questions have to be continued to be asked as they sharpen our contradictions, better our analogy of the concrete problems of society in order to provide concrete solutions.

 

Fees must fall represents another epoch in a revolution in different conditions and an era where there has been a heavy dipoloticisation of the masses, but yet fed up with the current administration that has left them to fend for themselves and fight for the few leftovers left in the table.  As FMF activists it is our duty to rally the masses within universities and the community, and preach to them how the struggle in the university directly speaks to them as we are black first before we are students, we are members of the community before we are students . The road to a revolution is not a milky way; it is full of twists and turns, full of hazards and unforeseen incoming traffic. As revolutionaries it is important to be critical and aware of our surroundings protect the masses from all this distractions to avoid demobilisation. The antithesis to white supremacy is African Nationalism and thesis to it is Pan Africanism.

UMHLABA WETHU!!

 

Liberatory Pedagogy; Towards A Free Education System

By Tshepo Goba

The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” ― Karl Marx, the German Ideology.
On the third page, in the book Politics and Education, Paulo Freire opines “a book reflects the author’s confrontation with the world”. Here, two things are important to note; the author’s confrontation is with the world (site and situation), the author confronts a world (particularization). Friere was speaking of a writer, as a contextual subject, first. That as he writes, that which informs his writing in this “confrontation with the world”, is what he knows the world as to be, paucis verbis; a lived experience with the world. Confrontation connotes interrogational action, a critical way of conveying the force of questioning, however hostile. Jean- Paul Sartre in the book What Is Literature(?), accrues reading a book tantamount to writing a book. Following Sartre’s logic, to be literate then, means to write ones own reality, in one’s own understanding.
For an oppressed world, the meaning of a text is always found in the master-slave dialectic paradigm, meaning is always in the form of the dominator race, class over the other, the literate over the illiterate. Learning also takes the form of this combative trajectory, the contents of what one learns, and what one is taught and the modus operandi of the pedagogical process is defined by such a super-structural relationship. Education is no different, as it is an apparatus used by the dominator race, class to further entrench their ill-gotten supremacy in all spheres learning; the arts, economics, politics, law and the sciences.

Education under capitalism;
Bourgeois Education system performs three primary tasks which they all seek to maintain exploitative nature of the system and further refine it for furthering its exploitation in a desperate search for profit for the minority ruling elite in exchange of poverty for the majority working classes.

1. firstly, education inspires the coming generation of workers with devotion and respect for the capitalist regime. It prepares from the children of the working class a new army of workers for future role as exploited and oppressed class while seeking to sharpen them for maximization of profits. It inculcates desire to be workers and submit to dehumanization and oppression without question.
2. Secondly, it creates from the young of the ruling classes ‘cultured’ controllers of the working population. It is designed to reserve an opportunity of furthering education to the sons and daughters of the ruling elite so that they are prepared for their future role as exploiters. Fees for access to higher education are exorbitantly high to exclude children of the working class who others wise rely on minimum wages of their highly exploited parents for living.
3. And thirdly, it assists capitalist production in the application and improvement of sciences to technique, thus increasing capitalist profits. Scientific research is directed at finding more efficient ways of maximizing profits and social well being of citizens is never considered in capitalist scientific research. All new scientific discoveries and techniques becomes privilege only enjoyed by the ruling capitalist classes.

Education in Azania under various political epochs;
1. British Royal Education:
It was a colonial education system. Its duty was to fortify supremacy of British Emperor. Its content was aimed at raising “subjects of kingdom”’s ability to appreciate and marvel the British Crown, British values, British justice system, British history, British traditions, British arts, British literature and British products. The education system in Africa was conduit pipe for imperialist values and was not design to solve African problems.
The education system was the same for “subjects of kingdom” on British soil and rest of British Emperor. The social force that came out of that system defends the British way of doing things and justness of exploitation by brutal British Crown. The behavior of victims of French, Portuguese or Spanish colonial education were no different hence the logic of African soldiers sacrificing their lives in European tribal wars of 1914 – 1919 and 1939 – 1945.
2. Apartheid Bantu Education:
It wished to define African indigenous people’s place in society according to separation development ideology. It articulated the values of white supremacy as defined by Afrikaner nationalism. The values can be summarized by saying that indigenous people were created to serve white people.
These apartheid values in education were justified by misinterpretation of religious scriptures, fake social science and pseudo natural science. It ingrained value of artificial superiority in settler colony. Education system product is running public and private sector, where it equates merit to European personality. It is convinced that “whites” are intelligent people capable of sophisticated inventions and Africans are self-destructive people that require guardianship of “white” masters.
3. Neo-liberal Education:
It espouses neo-colonial values. Its value content mixes colonial values of imperialist education, values of settler colonialism, and liberal values espoused by captured African leadership that is no longer in ranks of the liberation movement. It merely opens the door for indigenous people to efficiently and effectively manage the exploitation of Africa and African people.
The liberal education system reinforces capitalism, which is foundation of imperialism. This education system does not remove foolishness. The liberal education system makes this social force susceptible to neo-colonial agenda of the imperialist. National interest is clouded by weak tools of social analysis provided by the liberal education system.
It can be concluded that education systems in various political epochs in Azania had always strived to protect and advance the class interests of the ruling elite consistent with Karl Marx’s contention that “in every class society, the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class” (The Germany Ideology). As indicated herein, in the capitalist society that we live in, education is designed to brain damage children of the working class and make them accept their own exploitation and complement capitalism in its exploitative growth. Quality education under capitalism remains an ivory tower admired by all yet accessed by few.
The curriculum and the pedagogics (method or art of teaching) under capitalism-white rule, are meant to teach the child of the native working class into accepting his/her inferiority, that there is no way out of his/her damnation, and rapid exploitation by the racist capitalist. Education plays a role of perpetuating mental slavery of the native working classes and manifestation of capitalism in its various forms sustained through propaganda contained in capitalist white-supremacist curriculum. This education system should be done away with and replaced by a decolonized, Socialist education system.
Socialist Education, just like under education in all class divided societies, shall be tasked with advancing class interests of the native working class and be part of broader program of building and consolidating socialism. It is to be designed to consolidate the revolution and produce out of its products citizens to jealously defend the revolution.
Secondly, it should be tasked with producing proper scientific formulae for equitable distribution of wealth and means of production and maintenance of good living conditions for all citizens, particularly the native. It should produce all-rounded and capable citizens who’ll play a role in the running of the system, should produce what Lenin called “professional revolutionaries” capable of playing a role of being both a worker and a bureaucrat at any time when required to do so.
Lastly, it should be tasked with assisting in the final destruction of capitalism and white supremacy and all its apparatus. The purpose of the destructive role would be to demolish or takeover all bourgeois institutions that shall be remaining post the revolution and replace them with more progressive socialist institutions.

 

Our guest writer this week is Tshepo Goba, a Social science student from the University of Johannesburg. 

The myth of elections

By Phethani Madzivhandila

On the 27th of April 1994 over 18 million jubilant Azanians woke up, early before sunrise and queued up. Embarking on their own personal ‘long walks to freedom,’ to cast ballots bringing us to a new dawn of democracy, bringing an end  to over 40 years of the racist  apartheid regime. The years leading up to 94 were dense and tough for  Azania ,with threats of an eruption of civil wars whereas revolutionary radicals of the PAC wanted to wage the armed struggle forward,  liberals and compromisers where already sitting in the table with the oppressor negotiating their freedom (tshini madoda! !) . This begs the question of whether our struggle  was that of inclusion into the system through the ballot or the usurped land,which Muziwakhe Anton Lembede settled back in the 40s when he told us that the point of conflict is the usurped land.

Phethani Madzivhandile
Photo supplied

The land wars have been fought long before our generation here in occupied Azania in the continent and the world as a whole , our ancestors perished om the barrel of the gun fighting for what was rightfully theirs not integration. Not inclusion into white capital hegemony that still sees themselves as inferior to us.The propagandistic machine of the ANC failed the land question and adopted the sell out document of the Kliptown charter in 1955 .Like the youth of today says “94 changed fokol” it also did not change anything ideologically for the ANC for Sobukwe warned us after their split from them in the 50s,they no longer fall within the ranks of a liberation movement,long before they sat and ate with the oppressor and integrated to the exploitation of the Azanian masses.

22 years after the dawn of democracy we are still politically oppressed, economically exploited by the Neoliberal hegemony and still socially degrading in the vicious cycle of poverty. The fallacy of that we have political power is wrong and should be addressed, we cannot have political power without economic freedom they go hand in hand you cannot have the other without the other therefore the black faced colonial administration doesn’t have political power we are still controlled by the master as we have witnessed in the past few months with the reshuffling of our strategic portfolios In the cabinet. The country is still characterised by inequality, unemployment, landlessness and the face of poverty still remains black.

Yet the colonial administrators of the ruling party still rally the disgruntled masses to go to the ballot and vote for power is in their hands . Indeed the power is with the people but through the ballot we are polarised and it shifts to them consequently leading to us not being able to affect change. The current leadership of the country is no different from the apartheid era homelands chiefs  of the past like Buthelezi,Mathanzima, Mangope ,Mphephu and the likes. They are watchdogs of capital protecting it by all means and leaving the dispossessed, landless masses of occupied azania fighting for scraps from the table of a system that has kept us subservient instead of being self reliant .

The ballot will not free us because our war was never about elections. We tried the ballot way for 22 years it is not working instead it further subjugates us to white capital hegemony we are still enslaved . Like fanon said ” For a colonized people the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity” .

Azania is nauseous of whiteness because she is pregnant of a Revolution. It is time for revolutionary midwifes to step up and deliver the baby for the time has arrived

Shango Lashu!!!

About the author:

Phethani Madzivhandila, is the Chairperson of PASMA at Wits and a member of fees must fall. Phethani is our resident contributor, voices coming out from his pen are clear and unshaken on his views… 

Young, Black and Gifted : Emmanuel ‘Odeka’ Mohlala

Our YBG this week is, 21-year-old businessman Emmanuel Mohlala. He is the CEO and founder of Clanman, an exclusive Bow Ties Brand. Competing against the fashion Giants, this young man has dressed various names including Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba and Maps maponyane.

Back-end story:

Mohlala started his business last year, May with a normal tie, which belonged to his elder brother, Peter.And this was a start to bigger things, as he used the money to buy his first material to start making the bow ties.

“I walked the streets of Joburg trying to get retails or boutiques to supply,” added the young businessman “that didn’t happen.”

After knocking on many doors, going up and down to see his dream come through, Mohlala decided to go at East gate Mall to market his business, where he got Theatre Clothing. And he is now their official supplier, where he supplies his brand exclusively to them.

Mohlala on Entrepreneurship: 

Speaking to Voices inside my pen’s Anelisa, this gifted young black businessman emphasised the importance of creating opportunities. He said “create opportunities, rather than hoping to get one.”

There’s no secret to Mohlala’s success story, its just “hardwork and passion,” Mohlala believes.

With no doubt, Emmanuel Mohlala will be on the Forbes-Africa list of young entrepreneurs or Africa’s richest list in the next 20 years.

 

Clanman collection: 

EXCLUSIVE CLANMAN

EXCLUSIVE CLANMAN

EXCLUSIVE CLANMAN

EXCLUSIVE CLANMAN

CLASSIC CLANMAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dating Struggles Of Being An Alpha Female

Article republished from: The Bolde.com By Andrea Wesley

I abstracted this from the bolde.com because it is generally something I have been struggling with post my 3 year long term relationship. It is rather harder to find the a man who is open enough to admit that ‘there’s room for an Alpha female in the relationship’. Lets read what Andrea has to say on our behalf… 

Being an alpha female is, for the most part, pretty awesome. I know this because I am one. We’re wildly independent, ferociously driven and we favor passion over tender romanticizing. We’re also incredibly stubborn, hard-headed, opinionated, and can be intimidating or misjudged by men. This makes our dating lives more of a challenge to navigate. We’re not your typical submissive and doting partners, we’re a challenge. For this reason, finding a man who can handle and understand the traits we carry is much harder. These are the real struggles of being an alpha female in the dating world.

We have smart mouths
We’re wildly sarcastic about nearly everything and anything we can make light of. We’re not afraid to make sexual innuendos or express opinions that aren’t typically “ladylike”, because screw that. This comes across as bitchy to the men whose balls aren’t big enough to date us, or sleazy to men who think we’re signalling for sex.

We’re not afraid to speak our minds
We don’t hesitate to say exactly how we feel about something even if it means we tell a guy straight up that we don’t like the shitty thing they said or did, or how we feel about a certain controversial issue. Unfortunately, they would prefer that we dance around their behaviors and remain delicate instead to feel maximum masculinity.

We take the lead, and that makes most men run
An alpha female knows exactly what she wants and doesn’t hesitate to go for it. We’ll ask you out first, kiss you first and unbutton our blouses first when the mood is right. We need a man who can handle this, and not feel emasculated by it. Not only do we take charge on matters of intimacy, but we’re the kind of girlfriends who’ll get shit done, whether it’s booking a trip or planning the most kick ass Super Bowl party you’ve ever had, complete with kegs and steak sandwiches.

We’re unfazed by cliché romance
The alpha female favors passion over romance. While flowers are sweet and all, we would rather be greeted with long passionate kisses in the hallway, leading to something a little more creative than vanilla dates and sack sessions.

Poetry: Last Supper Of Love

By Taisco Poyo

It was born nor rich nor poor
among animals we must be home
its birth certificate is heavenly certified
stars rejoice on its arrival
so departure your worries on its shoulder
take it and make it your King
protect it like u protect the Queen
stand for its name firmly
believe the storm is always comin  comin to test your test of time
test u if what u stand for its real
some days u might feel like love turn its back on u
like what if’s will cloud your judgement
i ask u to wait in your faith coz its mornin is upon us

so njenga manje  hear ma story coz i met love in the darkest of places
i too believe that even a lil light can illuminate the darkest big room
like i felt like a player at some point in my life
coz every thigh that will open
i would dive in head first like i’m finding ma way back to the womb
ma mothers womb melted at the sight of all da girls i brought home see i used every trick i know to get her in between ma sheets
a burnin desire tht felt like hell ….man i’ve been to hell
tjo i was very good , sometimes il get praises from ma friends like hai u da man
like taisco uyakuthanda lamntana ,nalamntana nalowa
but with every orgasm i felt empty
like there was so much emptiness
a hole so big it swallowed my pride
it was like i lost myself in between every thigh i seduced
no matter how much I’ll try to find myself , i failed
instead I’ll fell back into ma old ways
i realised that alone i cant do this so i call onto the universe to set me free
i did ma sentence, i wanted freedom
i rioted ,i stood for truth for once
lies tasted otherwise
ma friends said i wont make it but this was above them
i made love the centre of ma universe
in the process i lost some friends and lot of ladies
broken hearts surfaced but this was a sacrifice needed
coz i was damaging them as much as i was damaging myself
this cause is just
i was hated by the same people i love
the world i was stepin into was not the world i was born too
yazi i was nt a player coz i was disappointed  by someone…. i was ma own disappointment
bt everyday i am throwin myself as far as u can throw a stone en pray for self
our father this art is heaven
ma pen is the spear that leads
my paper is the the plate for the Last Supper
for tomorrow they will forget ma name
en wht i stood for is and always  love
tomorrow one of y’all will kill me by takin away ma pen en paper
anyway for the first time i hv one gf en i told her
the road to where i am is neva easy
coz i too dnt even know if i am truly who i say i am but I’ve been faithful to ur love alone
ur thigh gap is da only Jerusalem i wanna enter…..

Young, Black and Gifted: Dumza Maswana

Our YBG this week is Dumisani “Dumza” Maswana, a 33-year-old father and vocally gifted brother from the Eastern Cape, in a beautiful village called Bhira, eNgqushwa.

This Xhosa brother is a fine packaging! Blessed with a deep voice and clear notes that makes it okay to sit on a train to Eastern Cape for a week. Dumza’s popular song Molo, was his signature to the hearts of many Xhosa music lovers and fans.

“There’s a Jazz aspect in my music, but I find it hard to categorize it myself” said Dumza, when we asked him to describe his music for us.

He added, “I just want to make the art and be true to the artist that I am.”

Like a true gifted African artist, Dumza has no perfect moment for writing as many of his songs are stories and events.

“I write songs about every day events that happen to ordinary people,” added to Dumza, “the things that everyone can relate to.”

Dumza recently released a song titled “Nomthandazo”, and this song is no different than his usual contribution to Xhosa soul music.

He says the song Nomthandazo, is about the everyday girl, who wants reassurance.

“All of us have or had that girl”, he said.

One of the verses in the song Nomthandazo describes her beauty as an incorruptible flower, intyatyambo engabuniyo. He furthers this beautiful song by telling her to trust him, because he has chosen her amongst many.

“Our sisters must know they’re enough,” added Dumza “despite the disappointments they might have come across with, they remain flowers.”

Because the blog is about voices inside everyone’s pen, we thought we would pick Dumza’s head in the politics of growth in the music industry, specifically in the vernacular genre.

 

Q: How huge is the market for artists who sing or want to sing in vernacular in S.A?

A: It’s huge, and we still need more musicians who will sing in vernacular. I’m one of the people whose objective is to promote the development and preservation of isiXhosa. I express myself easily in my language, it’s easy to say what I want to say the way I want to say it.

Q: Identify the challenges that S.A artist face when it comes to your music genre

A: I think the challenges we face as artists aren’t only limited to Soul and jazz, it’s all of us. What comes on top of my head right now is Audience. We are trying so hard to be part of the popular culture but media especially radio is not helping. Our music gets played on Sunday or midnight, that’s not right. Even when we speak of funding and sponsorships, both public and private, funders want to be part of popular artists.

 

Dumza’s latest song Nomthandazo is available on itunes and google play. Let’s continue supporting S.A music and great talent.

THE DICHOTOMY OF EDUCATION

By Phethani Madzivhandila

Phethani Madzivhandile
Photo supplied

“Education consists not only in the sum of what a man or woman knows or the skill with which they can put this to his or her own advantage…Man’s or woman’s education must also be measured in terms of the soundness of their judgments of people and things and in his or her power to understand and appreciate the needs of his fellow men and women, and to be of service to them. “Kwame Nkrumah

Most of my African, dispossessed and landless people of Africa are so concerned with that obtaining a degree from colonial institutions infested with western epistemology and a curriculum that does not represent us .I do not blame them because the scourge of poverty is a daily lived experience in our communities and I for one I am a victim of such a social construct. What most of us do not realise is that the graduation gown and the hat that we put on graduation to celebrate our elevation into certified slaves does not absolve us of our blackness .The fallacy that we are caught in is that schooling to attain qualifications without  ideological training will eventually  free black people .

The case of a slave know as Thomas Fuller who was a mathematics genius and  was enslaved and shipped to America in 1724 at the age of 14, eventually becoming the legal property of Presley and Elizabeth Cox of Alexandria, Virginia. Stories of his abilities abounded through the Eastern seaboard. His skill was even used as proof that enslaved Blacks were equal to whites in intelligence, which fuelled some pro-abolitionist discussion. There is a scenario when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800.

Without revolutionary consciousness there is no revolution .A revolution can ever manifest without such a fundamental necessity .Continuing from where I left off last week, the conditions of a revolution exist but us as revolutionaries we have to sharpen the contradictions in order to make the masses comprehend that their liberation only lies in their hands.  It is what most of my peers of the so called “ born frees” suffer from , we have been sold the fallacy of the rainbow nation and a South Africa full of possibilities to an extent that we have normalised our condition therefore we yearn for  just education without  ideological training to escape our blackness.

When the pale skinned Invaders of Europe arrived on the shores of Africa they found educated populations, masses of brilliant people who built the indestructible pyramids of Egypt, the extraction of gold from the civilization of Mapungubwe, the democratic empire of Mansa Musa. Poverty has nothing to do with our people. It’s not in our culture to be poor. That’s only been the last 500 years of our history; look at the last 2000 years of our existence and what we brought to the world in terms of science, mathematics, agriculture and forms of government. Like Del Jones often stated: “We came here educated.”

So, after generations of telling our youth that education, and academic achievement is the path to power and freedom, telling them that they “have to be twice as good to get as far,” our youth found out that an educated Black person is still a “Nigga” in the Systems and Institutions of White Domination, our community began to abandon our academic striving because the humiliations faced by Blacks in higher status in this society can be more (psychologically) painful and destructive than those faced by us poor Black folks, just ask Obama if you don’t believe this for the African masses believed that his ascendance  into the biggest job in the world would free us.

Revolutionary ideological training is the most important and first tool we should arm ourselves in order to survive in this world that is anti us. It is therefore imperative for parents to start grounding their offspring’s ideologically, infuse their daily lives with Pan-African Cultural and Revolutionary development for the mind of the child is where the revolution begins. Let them read Fanon, Biko,Nyerere,  Marechera and others  at a young age before they are lost out into the capitalistic society. Like Nyerere taught us on “Education for self-reliance” whether formal or informal has a purpose, “that purpose is to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society and to prepare the young people for their future membership of the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development” .Sadly the current educational system in occupied Azania does not serve that purpose.

If we continue to fail and ignore this we will see that the more educated we become, the more academic achievement we strive for the more dependent and powerless we are, as a collective.

About the author:

Phethani Madzivhandila, Chairperson of PASMA at Wits and a member of fees must fall. Phethani is our resident contributor, voices coming out from his pen are clear and unshaken on his views…