7Oth Anniversary of the Freedom Charter: The Loadstar of the National Democratic Revolution

7Oth Anniversary of the Freedom Charter: The Loadstar of the National Democratic Revolution

(Extracts of a Document titled “Revolutionary Programme of the African National Congress: An Analysis of the Freedom Charter as Adopted at the National Consultative Conference, Morogoro, 1969”).

The South Africa of today is the product of the common labour of all its peoples. The cities, industries, mines and agriculture of the country are the result of the efforts of all its peoples. But the wealth is utilised by and for the interests of the white minority only. The Freedom Charter was adopted at the Congress of the People representative of all the people of South Africa, which met at Kliptown, Johannesburg on June 25 and 26, 1955. Thus the Freedom Charter became the common programme enshrining the hopes and aspirations of all the progressive people of South Africa. What we believe is that the Charter may require elaboration of its revolutionary message. But what is even more meaningful, it requires to be achieved and put into practice.

The Preamble of the Freedom Charter

The first lines of the Charter declare that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people. No government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will, not just of the whites, but of all the people of the country. The Freedom Charter thus begins by an assertion of what is and has been a cardinal democratic principle that all can live in South Africa, whatever their origin, in equality and democracy – that the South Africa of the future will not be a country divided unto itself and dominated by a particular racial group.

The People Shall Govern!

The Parliament of South Africa will be wholly transformed into an Assembly of the People. Every man and woman in our country shall have the right to vote for and stand as a candidate for all offices and bodies that make laws. The present administration will be smashed and broken up. In its place will be created an administration in which all people irrespective of race, colour or sex can take part. The bodies of minority rule shall be abolished and in their place will be established democratic organs of self-government in all the Provinces, districts and towns of the country.

All National Groups Shall Have Equal Rights!

A democratic government of the people shall ensure that all national groups have equal rights, as such, to achieve their destiny in a united South Africa. There shall be equal status in the bodies of State, in the courts and in the schools for the African, Indian, Coloured and whites as far as their national rights are concerned. All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs; all national groups shall be protected by laws against insults to their race or national pride; the preaching and practice of national, racial or colour discrimination and contempt shall be a punishable crime; and all laws and practices based on apartheid or racial discrimination shall be set aside.

The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth!

A people’s government shall restore the wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, to the people as a whole. The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole. At the moment there are vast monopolies whose existence affects the livelihood of large numbers of our people and whose ownership is in the hands of a few. It is necessary for monopolies which vitally affect the social wellbeing of our people, such as the mines, the sugar and wine industry, to be transferred to public ownership so that they can be used to uplift the lives of all the people. All other industry and trade that is not monopolistic shall be allowed, with controls to assist the wellbeing of the people. All restriction on the right of the people to trade, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions shall be ended.

The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!

The indigenous people of South Africa, after a series of resistance wars lasting hundreds of years, were deprived of their land. Today in our country all the land is controlled and used as a monopoly by the white minority. … The Africans have always maintained their right to the country and the land as a traditional birth right of which they have been robbed. The ANC slogan “Mayibuye i-Afrika!” was and is precisely a demand for the return of the land of Africa to its indigenous inhabitants. At the same time, the liberation movement recognises that other oppressed people deprived of land live in South Africa. The white people who now monopolise the land have made South Africa their home and are historically part of the South African population and as such entitled to land. This made it perfectly correct to demand that the land be shared among those who work it.

All Shall Be Equal Before the Law!

No one shall suffer imprisonment, deportation or restriction without fair trial. The democratic state shall create courts representative of all the people. In a new South Africa, imprisonment shall be for serious crimes against the people only, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance. It is the major aim of the armed revolution to defeat and destroy the police force, army and other instruments of coercion of the present state. In a democratic South Africa, the army and police force shall be open to people of all races. Already Umkhonto we Sizwe – the nucleus of our future people’s army – is an armed force working in the interests of people drawn from the land for their liberation. It consists of people drawn from all population groups in South Africa.

All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!

All discriminatory Acts and regulations will be swept away by a people’s government. The law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, to publish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children. The privacy of the home from police raids shall be protected by law. All shall be free to travel without restrictions from countryside to town, from province to province and from South Africa abroad.

There Shall Be Work and Security!

The Democratic State is determined to achieve, all who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers. The State shall recognise the right and duty of all to work and to draw full unemployment benefits. Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work. There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, sick leave for all workers and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers. Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work, to form trade unions and join political organisations. The use of child labour, the housing of male workers in single men’s compounds, the system whereby workers on wine farms are paid tots of wine as part payment on their wages, contract labour – all these pernicious practices shall be abolished by a victorious revolutionary government.

The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened!

It is not only that non-whites are virtually debarred from the cultural production of mankind, but in addition, everything has been done to prevent them developing their own national cultures. Publishing is strictly controlled. The Democratic State shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life. All cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all by free exchange of books, ideas and contacts with other lands. The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace. Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit. Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan.

There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort!

The Democratic State established after the victory of the revolution shall ensure the right of people to live where they choose, to be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security. A preventative health scheme shall be run by the state. Free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with medical care for mothers and young children. Slums, which have to some extent been demolished in the nine major centres of the country, shall be eliminated in the middle of towns and rural areas where the majority of the people live. New suburbs shall be built where proper facilities shall be provided for transport, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres. The aged, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state. Every person shall have the right to leisure, rest and recreation. Fenced locations and racial ghettoes shall be abolished and laws that result in the break-up of families shall be repealed.

There Shall be Peace and Friendship!

In the wake of the victorious revolution, a Democratic People’s Republic shall be proclaimed in South Africa. This shall be a fully independent state that respects the rights and sovereignty of nations. South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of international disputes by negotiation – not war. Peace and friendship amongst all people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all. Democratic South Africa shall take its place as a member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and work to strengthen Pan-African unity in all fields. Our country will actively support national liberation movements of the peoples of the world against imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism. Diplomatic relations will be established with all countries regardless of their social and political systems on the principles of mutual respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The revolutionary struggle is in its infancy. It will be a long, hard road. To accomplish the glorious task of the revolution, maximum unity among all national groups and revolutionary forces must be created and maintained. All South African patriots, whatever their race, must take their place in the revolution.

Source:
Umrabulo Editorial Collective, “Revolutionary Programme of the African National Congress: An Analysis of the Freedom Charter as Adopted at the National Consultative Conference, Morogoro, 1969”, Umrabulo, Issue No. 11, 2nd Quarter, 2001.

Castro Khwela
Good day fellow Compatriots!