Speaking ahead of the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown, Gauteng, Ntuli said the country had abandoned the Charter’s transformative vision in favour of self-enrichment and power.

“Neo-colonialism crept back in and took over the ruling elite,” he said. “It’s no longer about justice or development. It’s about self-serving interests, greed and corruption.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the keynote address at Thursday’s official ceremony in Kliptown, where the Charter was originally adopted in 1955 during the Congress of the People. Long seen as the foundation for SA’s democracy, the Freedom Charter called for equal rights, land redistribution, access to education, and decent housing.

Ntuli warned that while the Charter once inspired national unity and hope, its promises now ring hollow for many.

“We came up with brilliant ideas like the Reconstruction and Development Programme,” he said. “But what are we really reconstructing? What are we developing? The blueprint was there, what’s missing is the political will to follow it through.”

He also pointed to the country’s Chapter 9 institutions, meant to safeguard democracy, arguing that they too have been weakened by a failure to stay true to the Charter’s spirit.

--ChannelAfrica--