DOCUMENTS

Black intellectuals in KZN: An open letter to Sihle Zikalala

Benedict Xolani Dube on why Xubera has opted to place its activities in abeyance

08 May 2013

Mr Sihle Zikalala

The Provincial Secretary: African National Congress-KwaZulu Natal

190 Stalwart Simelane Street

Durban

4001

C/O: African National Congress-KwaZulu Natal: Provincial Executive Committee

Mr Sihle Zikalala

Subject: The deafening silence of the Black African Intellectual Voice in KwaZulu Natal

Allow me to be succinct, acknowledging that collectively you are on borrowed time and space. Therefore, time is of the essence. The raison d'être for this letter is to address a growing perception that the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is fast descending into an intellectual graveyard. Xubera Institute for Research and Development (Xubera), an initiative by Black Africans aimed at inculcating public intellectual discourse primarily amongst Black Africans, has been repeatedly harassed with derogatory labels and accused of mind-boggling conspiracies.

Despite a litany of pleas from the general public to proceed with seminars and book launches, Xubera opted to place all our activities into abeyance until we could fully comprehend the cause of the hatred for books and intellectual discussion and public debate. The ill acts meted out against Xubera, intended to silence and intimidate, are the anti-thesis of that for which the majority of Black Africans yearn.

In the past, KZN was viewed as a serious contributor in the theatre of academia and public discourse. We do comprehend that times have changed. Yet it is unfathomable that postapartheid time shall be against those who seek to nurture the objective analysis of the national discourse from the Black African perspective.

Our former intellectual colossuses, men such as H.I.E. Dhlomo, B.W. Vilakazi, E.A.M. Made, C.L.S. Nyembezi, Albert Luthuli, Jordan K. Ngubane, R.R.R. Dhlomo, Mazisi Kunene, Ben Magubane, Fred Dube, Selby D.B. Ngcobo, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Walter M.B. Nhlapo, Rueben Caluza, Anton Lembede, Selby Msimang, Richard Msimang, Alfred Mangena, Congress Mbata, Lewis Nkosi, Nat Nakasa, J.C. Dlamini, A.H.M. Ngidi, Harry Gwala, Josiah Mapumulo, and many others who struggled to cultivate a political consciousness and vibrant public debate under past circumstances of hardship and oppression, would today surely stand in unison and serve as a human shield in defence of Xubera.

The deafening silence of Black African intellectual voices in the public discourse in KZN is depressing. Meanwhile, a lot shout louder and administer intellectual anaesthesia in the form of archaic political rhetoric. These party-line nostrums silence critical Black African voices, relegating them to the periphery of any real discourse. Subsequently, Black Africans in KZN still find themselves as guests in the intellectual space. The status quo of the meta-narrative is intact.

Those who own the intellectual space possess the real power. It is ironic that those Black Africans who dare to challenge and demystify the grand narrative are vilified and portrayed as enemies. Bafflingly, it is Black Africans who today are on the forefront of strangling Black African voices.

This must not be so. And Black Africans must begin to appreciate the immense value and prosperity that have accrued through knowledge production in open societies. A pen and a paper, research and tested tools of analysis - these are the only apparatus by which to advance intellectual and human development in the province and in the South African nation at large.

True power, influence, and innovation are not located within political parties but outside, in the public space and in the private sector.

Xubera heeds Eskei Mphahlele's warning to Black Africans that we must resist ‘..to sink to the degenerate level of Afrikaans writers in South Africa who have always censored themselves and not dared to challenge the government because it has Calvinist Boer origins, like themselves.

Because they are all a tribe.' Black Africans eagerly want to come out of the fixed Procrustean politics of identity. They seek innovative solutions for a better South African society. As sociological and anthropological inductive analysis proves, no society can progress by being monolithic and promoting conformity. The price of conformity is societal stagnation and even regression. In the recent past, the people of KZN eschewed indoctrination and blind loyalty to a political regime.

They opted to die rather than embracing a cultural, tribal and political misrepresentation of themselves. It is a regression for anyone to consider that kind of intimidation post-apartheid; the abuse of political power to victimise, sabotage careers, and otherwise silence those who would hold government up to public scrutiny plunges KZN backward into the days of tribalism.

We are no longer in a feudal state. In a true democracy, the people are the leaders of society, and elected officials serve the people.

The accords that secured South Africa's ‘liberation' and established the present order were crafted in boardrooms. How is it that Black Africans can abandon forward thinking in the postapartheid era? South Africa is still a highly contested country, and our future prosperity is in no way certain. In the global marketplace, are we worthy contenders? Do we have the best domestic and international strategies in place to not only retain our position, but to increase our competitive edge?

The most progressive nations encourage innovation, nurture young brilliant minds, and embrace talent wherever it can be found. In turn, these patriotic minds lead nations into ground breaking ideas and discoveries that stoke economic growth and create jobs. They are the torch bearers and the dung-beetles of the nation.

Information Age theorists concur that traditional academic institutions are no longer the sole incubators of innovation and intellectualism. In this regard, Xubera public forums wanted to create a vibrant arena of engagement for these kinds of intellectuals. We believe that through public forums of divergent views the nation grows.

It is peculiar that the other Black Africans in KZN would be so petrified by public gatherings that launch books and host seminars. The hostility shown towards lovers of knowledge and books begs a lot of uncomfortable questions. Historically, the South African struggle was characterised by much Black on Black violence. Black Africans killed and burned their own people, libraries, houses and businesses. Those with true class consciousness were perceived as a threat and eliminated. Sadly, history is repeating itself. Today, those with an interest to place Black African voices at the centre are ostracised, threatened, and some even suffer violence.

Who are the beneficiaries if the Black African voice is muted? Paraphrasing Ntongela Masilela, Xubera shall always aim at promoting ‘the intellectuals who in practice and commitment are characterized by a high moral seriousness.' Betrand Russell, a scholar well-versed on the concept of power, argues that ‘power is man's ultimate goal, and is, in its many guises, the single most important element in the development of any society.'

Yet logic also dictates that knowledge is power. Therefore power without knowledge is a mirage. We must ask ourselves hard questions: Are Black Africans a developed and powerful nation? Do Black Africans in KZN have true power? Who dominates the space of public discourse? Can we be proud and claim ownership of knowledge production? Unfortunately, so long as the answers to such questions are negative, Black Africans must accept to be powerless in our province.

They say it is never too late to make amends. Let the governing party extend its hand to the growing class of Black Africans who are initiators, innovators and thinkers. Our province can yield positive results by associating with Black Africans who aspire to nurture and promote a thoughtful and confident Black African voice. We in Xubera shall proceed with the mission of claiming the intellectual space on behalf of Black Africans. The fact is that in KZN there are no public forums and research institutes owned by Black Africans. Xubera tried.

Transit is the phenomenon of political power. It evaporates. However, the achievements of thinkers, innovators, and doers endures. Their collective footprints - and the knowledge they produce - will be preserved in the archive of national progress and civilizational development.

Kind Regards

Mr Benedict Xolani Dube

Senior Research

Xubera Institute for Research and Development  

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