THEMBA J NKOSI
Durban — “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work and change a small portion of events and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” Robert Kennedy.
At last! On September 1 Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s Foundation was launched. It was a sense of great relief to him and a source of exciting news to his band of admirers.
Like all other statesmen of Shenge’s calibre, he deserves a foundation that would serve as a catalyst in reminding society about what his leadership encapsulated, and preserve his legacy and make conscientious future generations know about what he did to make South Africa a better place, mainly through his bravery and commitment to serving his people.
This foundation will face countless challenges but is expected to weather all storms and never opt for quick-fix solutions or be tempted to cut corners, but remain principled like Shenge in whatever he pursued in public and private life.
Before approaching a wide net of potential funders, its trustees should adopt Prince Buthelezi’s twin-pillar principle of self-help and self-reliance.
Each trustee should identify at least 10 individuals and encourage a R50 cash donation. This donation might sound like too little, but securing at least 130 people offering that amount throughout the year could go a long way because a hundred-mile journey begins with baby steps.
Large business corporates could donate in kind instead of injecting money into the coffers of the foundation. The foundation should think clearly about owning land where it could build its headquarters. Does it need vacant land in the city or just outside it for developing a satellite of the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Museum and Documentation Centre? What about erecting a statue of Prince Buthelezi somewhere within the premises of his foundation?
This foundation should take centre stage in churning solutions and practical ideas on various challenges facing respective communities. Unemployment and poverty continue to rise 28 years after a democratic government was elected.
The apogee of the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation will be in naming August “Prince Mangosuthu Month” in showcasing his landmarks. This foundation should carve its niche through sports, arts and cultural activities to remain relevant. The Prince Mangosuthu Marathon hosted in Dundee should be adopted towards ensuring that it reaches the levels of Two Oceans and Soweto marathons.
Rural women should be supported to weave tapestries reflecting various milestones of Shenge’s life as a rural boy, son and father. Sculptors and painters need to be considered too in producing artwork on him. Shenge could be approached to autograph his books and documents and sell them in raising funds for the foundation.
An award could be named after him, conferred to various layers of community and national leadership, young and old, in rural and urban areas. Sponsoring community-based organisations and identifying young leaders who pursue Buthelezi’s teachings and philosophy should be a priority. No government permission will be needed when it comes to prioritising August as “Prince Mangosuthu Month” because, throughout the world, there are days that are observed but not gazetted as public holidays.
This foundation should spread its wings widely to reach every nook and cranny of society in ensuring that its programmes and exhibitions move in pari passu with the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Museum and Documentation Centre. Its mission should remain a developmental tool and leadership barometer that identifies with the downtrodden: the blind, the physically challenged and the deaf who are all a broad constituency and political powerhouse of Buthelezi.
The Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation should not only be an institution that houses his documents and focuses on past events juxtaposing them with how his principles ushered in the current political dispensation but should serve both as an instrument and moral compass that gives people direction and inspires them to make contributions in their unique ways in building bridges of co-existence, political tolerance and social acceptance.
It should be a mirror reflecting that it is willing to provide fertile ground for anyone itching to serve, make a difference and impact positively each community in a very special way.
Another mammoth task facing the foundation’s inaugural board of trustees and successive ones, is turning their meticulously written minutes and drafted plans into chewable chunks of pragmatism, jealously guarding against embezzling funds and avoiding the ubiquitous temptation of using wrongly Buthelezi’s name – immensely loaded with integrity and servant leadership.
Themba Nkosi is a freelance journalist based in Durban.
Daily News