6 Murray x Zackie Achmat

On 17 May 2024, the members of 6 Murray hosted a Conversation Dinner with Zackie Achmat as their esteemed guest. It is no secret that Zackie is standing as independent candidate in the 2024 elections. There was a feeling of excitement as everyone awaited his arrival so that we could get the opportunity to gain his insight into the political sphere and to find out why he decided to stand as an independent candidate in the elections.

At the core of the discussion, and the framework that shapes all the other discussions in the 6 Murray community, was Global Goal 16: “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”. The focus was on peace and justice and how strong institutions should go about promoting the former two legs of this goal. The host of the dinner, Tendani Tsauambea, thus started the conversation by asking Zackie how we should go about engaging in a dignifying manner with the people that we work with in any projects inspired by this Goal. Towards the end of this dinner, it became more and more apparent that Zackie’s advice is to continuously involve those whose rights we aim to promote in our activism. He enlightened us as to the reality that global politics heavily influence South African politics and that we should be conscious of this fact. He used several examples illustrating how tensions between various countries could lead to inflation which subsequently has an adverse impact on the rights and livelihoods of South Africans. Young people, according to Zackie, should know how certain factors in politics influence their lives and should participate in our democracy so that they are part of the change.

The atmosphere during this discussion encouraged free thinking and provided a safe space for any comment or opinions that the attendees felt they wanted to express. The floor was open for any sort of questions that the attendees may have had. This was seen when one individual asked Zackie why he stood as an independent candidate when he could have joined an already existing party. Zackie expressed that he did not want to join a political party because they did not represent issues that he believes should be highlighted. The inspiration that he left us with in this statement was that where we see no change in a situation, we should step in and be that change.

The conversation continued to stay on this high note when Zackie also prompted us to think of ways in which we can encourage people to participate in our democracy. One important way is by encouraging people to read up on current issues and to find out what the full truth is on a set of facts. There was some soul-reflection happening during this evening. Some attendees admitted that they felt they could show more interest in politics so that they cast more informed votes in the future. The honesty in these remarks was appreciated by and encouraged other attendees to also admit that they felt they could do more to be active citizens. There is power in having conversations about the current issues that our society is facing. Zackie encouraged us to host more of these conversations where we invite more people outside of our community to attend. This is one way in which one will hear the lived realities of various citizens and how one can discover what leads to a lack of participation in our democracy.