As scores of South Africans commemorate International Workers Day, many have gathered in celebration of the victories won through decades of sacrifice, struggle and solidarity.
We remember the workers who stood firm against exploitation, who organized under impossible conditions and who helped shape the democratic South Africa we know today.
Yet in our province, this day arrives under the shadow of political fractures and growing frustration.
Ours is a province blessed beyond measure. Beneath our soil lies immense mineral wealth that has powered industries and generated fortunes for decades. Across our vast landscapes lies agricultural potential capable of driving food security and economic participation. Our natural beauty and cultural richness position us as a tourism hub waiting to be fully realized.
And yet, despite these undeniable advantages, the North West remains one of the provinces hardest hit by unemployment, inequality and economic stagnation. This stagnation must disturb every resident but especially every worker.
How does a province so richly endowed remain unable to create meaningful opportunities for its people? How do communities continue to grapple with poverty while wealth extracted from their land rarely translates into tangible development? Why do the dreams of young people continue to shrink in a province with such extraordinary potential?
This week I was reminded of the words of former President Nelson Mandela during his final address as President of the ANC delivered ironically, here in the North West. He was warning us against the rise of “Com-Tsotsis” within the movement who cloak themselves in the language of liberation while eroding the moral fabric of the organization for personal gain.
Today as ordinary people bear the brunt of leadership failures Mandela’s caution echoes with painful relevance. The greatest threat to the aspirations of workers is not only external economic pressure but internal decay, the corrosion of ethical leadership and the abandonment of revolutionary discipline.
This Worker’s Day must call us to reflection. The famous rallying cry remains as urgent today as when it was first declared:
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS!
For the people of the North West, those chains are no longer the shackles of oppression but unemployment, corruption underdevelopment and the betrayal of public trust. To honour the true spirit of Workers Day we must commit ourselves to breaking those chains.
We must insist on ethical leadership and demand economic justice. We must stop being complacent in the face of dysfunction because our province has all it needs to prosper. What we now need is the political courage, moral clarity and the collective will to ensure that the wealth of our province serves our people.
Only then can Workers Day become not just a remembrance of passed struggle but a celebration of victories still to come!
Gomolemo Mothibi is a Mahikeng based activist and co-founder of the Maftown Book club. She writes about people and the continuous democratic project that is South Africa.
