My Authors
Read all threads
@RaymondSuttner poses an interesting question: Today, 65 years after its adoption, how should we discuss the Freedom Charter? A Thread based extracts from an excellent @RaymondSuttner article in the @dailymaverick
Personally, I am not in favour of ticking boxes, in the sense of asking whether the ANC-led government implemented this or that, and whether or not the ANC has been “true” to the ideals of the Charter.
What the words of the Freedom Charter mean are not set in stone, frozen in the year 1955. The document needs to be understood contextually. It needs to be understood within the conditions in which we find ourselves.
What South Africa’s distinguished liberation theologian, Father Albert Nolan, says of religious texts is applicable. The gospel is not meant to be interpreted by the letter, he argues, but its spirit must be carried through with due regard to changing contexts.
Likewise, the Freedom Charter must now be addressed in relation to a number of questions that had not arisen then or were not critical issues in the same way as they are today.[end of extracts]
Interestingly President Mbeki both in a tribute to the late Fidel Castro and in @MarkGevisser’s The Dream Deferred says, Castro warned us about the Freedom Charter.
According to President Mbeki, Fidel Castro said: ‘You see, in the Freedom Charter you talk about nationalisation of banks and mines and all of this. Will you have the capacity to do that, and simultaneously defend the revolution?
Read with the article by @RaymondSuttner I think it's clear that the #FreedomCharter is not necessarily a destination we arrive at...overnight
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with Chrispin Phiri 🇿🇦

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!