Launch of the PRC – The Peoples Revolutionary Congress!

The People’s Revolutionary Congres. A party intent on representing Coloured interests in the next elections!

Saturday, 6 September 2008 is a day I won’t forget very easily. I was at the launch of the new political party, the PRC (The People’s Revolutionary Congress) which took place at Noordgesig Community Center in Johannesburg. Led by the charismatic duo Benny Marais and Basil Douglas, the PRC breaths some fresh air into a political arena that reeks with the putrid stench of incompetence, failure and indifference.

What struck me the most about the PRC is its audacious militancy and militarily themed dress code…that and the fact that the party leaves no doubts as to where its commitment lies…the PRC is a party aimed at representing the severely marginalized interests of Coloured South Africans. I can already see the deflated expressions of the neo-liberals and poster-children for non-racialism as they shrug in disgust at the notion of a political party that represents Coloured people…TOO BAD!! There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a political party representing the interests of Coloured South Africans is the only way that Coloured people can exert real influence on government and policy makers to ensure that the interests of Coloured South Africans, like any other minority in this country, are represented and duly considered.

Before you jump on your high horse and start accusing me of a being a filthy racist, etc…etc…stick around for an in-depth article outlining exactly why I feel that the formation of a political party which would represent Coloured South Africans is a watershed event in South Africa today. For now though, just take heart in the fact that the political naivety; catatonic social silence and apathy that has existed in Coloured communities for so long is possibly on the verge of ending. The hopes that many held for a revolutionary change in quality of life as promised by the 1994 elections has been comprehensively dashed, squandered and destroyed. Perhaps a new tact and approach to matters of critical importance in our daily lives is the only way to be taken seriously? The PRC is neither a secessionist, Kleurling homeland party, neither is it advocating a return to racial exclusivity.

Now, before you start accusing me of being partisan, I’d like to emphatically state that I am not a member of the PRC merely that I support the political aspirations of the Coloured community and the seriousness with which the community has begun to take itself. This is a welcome change from previous generations where the community was very content playing second fiddle and the willing victim to the vicissitudes of power politics, impotent and without recourse.

I am under no illusions that leaders of political parties (particularly the PRC) will be subject to intense moral and social scrutiny and their reputations; track-record and the like will come into play in influencing your decision as to whether or not to support them. I find it inconceivable however that there could be any leader in South Africa today that is as morally reprehensible as the current ANC leader, Jacob Zuma…yet Zuma enjoys a groundswell of support and there are threats of war if he is not elected.

If anything, the launch of the PRC has got my mind racing about the possibilities which a Coloured political party represents; what does it say about the state of South African society? What does it say about us, where we’ve come from…and ultimately…where we’d like to be?

These are some seriously interesting times…and you’ve got a front row ticket.