‘There are things you can’t spin’

MAC Maharaj has a slightly disarming presence. When you first meet him, you’re nervous. He comes with such a history. And then he peers at you from behind his big glasses before offering a hand and a comradely smile.

He has the ability to be both forthright and listen. That combination may come with momentary gruffness, but also wit and confidence, which is probably why it’s difficult to think of Maharaj as being nearly 80. His birthday is on April 27, the same day as the birth of democracy in South Africa. Yet Maharaj, like Nelson Mandela, is a poster child for ageing. Few knew Maharaj was moving into his eighth decade, because he has never seemed to have an age. In the ANC and SACP, he’s been simply a legend.

Like those created by a pebble dropped into water, the circles Maharaj has created have grown ever wider over his political life. But outside the movement, reflections on his career on the eve of his retirement as President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman are polarised.

Many loyalists say he’s been the greatest cadre of them all. But the opposition is united, too. They say, while Maharaj is to be profoundly admired for the often quiet, but highly effective role he played in bringing about democracy, he’s ending his public life on a low.

Former ANC spokesman, now an MP, Jackson Mthembu wouldn’t agree. His opening view on Maharaj was: “Satan.”

“That’s what he always called me... a devious thing,” he said, wryly. “That’s how playful he will be – not showing he is a veteran, a stalwart of our movement. Being just down to Earth. Not wanting to be showered with all sorts of praise because of what he has sacrificed.”

He has a particular admiration for Maharaj as a spokesman, having himself fielded one of the toughest assignments.

“People have said to me, you look so bright and wonderful ever since you left the demands of the spokesman job, which is true. Being a spokesperson means you always have to be there, always having to articulate a particular position. So, for him to have done that at his age, I honour and salute him, that he was able to do this at the highest office in the land – not at Luthuli House like some Jackson Mthembu.

“He was doing it for the president, who gets attacked on a minute-to-minute basis. Mac would come out in defence, but without insults.”

The EFF’s national spokesman, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, also a firebrand MP, shares the admiration for Maharaj’s skills, saying young revolutionaries like himself “are precisely where we are because of the contribution of the stalwarts like him, because of their legacy”. But he’s disappointed that Maharaj’s more recent role “fails to pass ethical muster”.

“He resisted and persisted. He was tried and tested. He played such a very important role in the negotiations. He was absolutely critical at Codesa. He was critical when it came to handling (former Bantustan leader Lucas) Mangope... all these things. His contribution in the history of the liberation struggle was really very good, very colourful.

“But Mac Maharaj also typifies the ANC. The way in which he’s making his departure is what the ANC is: an organisation that has no moral authority.

“It is precisely because we have an ethical problem in the South African political landscape that one concludes this is a sad exit to his political life. The only thing we can hope is that Zuma learns from him, and also takes his leave of his own political life, saving all of us the trouble of having to do it for him.”

Freedom Front Plus leader Corne Mulder vividly remembered Maharaj in the parliamentary gallery in December 1993 when a debate on the interim constitution was being held. He’d already worked with Maharaj at Codesa, and had come to know him as a significant player.

“I think the two people behind the scenes, steering the process, were Maharaj and the National Party’s Fanie van der Merwe. Their co-operation was most often to our frustration because we were not in that circle, but we knew his excellence.

“So I remember when we were debating in the house that December, and the NP were the government and filled with a sense of power, but I made the point that we actually had no idea what was happening, and said, ‘Look up at gallery – that’s where power will reside very soon.’ And there was Maharaj sitting there, quite lonely at the time, making sure everything was happening according to plan.”

Mulder now believes Maharaj is bowing out as part of the ANC’s “D-team”.

“Nelson Mandela and senior people in the ANC trusted him unreservedly, and he was a great member of Mandela’s cabinet, which was the ANC’s A-team – the best of the best. Now we feel he’s tarnished his reputation, even though we see that, from his perspective, he’s been a loyal cadre.

“It’s just that there are certain things you can’t spin, whether you like it or not.”

DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane, who has been his party’s national spokesman, put out a tweet the day Maharaj announced his retirement, giving a similar view.

“He was really one of the true South Africans you could look to as an anchor, and those South Africans are running out.

“Maharaj really made a contribution, but obviously there have been some bad decisions, and his work with Zuma has been one of those.

“When I was national spokesperson, we had a lot to do and debate with each other but he only carried his ANC card on his sleeve; that was always the most prominent thing there. It also became tricky to debate Mac as a presidential spokesman because he had this calling card of the struggle that he could bring out at any point.

“He could and would say, if we argued: ‘But where were you?’

“At the same time, his defence of Zuma was unforgiveable.”

Maimane – like Mthembu, Ndlozi and Mulder – believes the “original morality” of Maharaj was immense, “but as the sun sets on Maharaj’s generation, we’re unconvinced about this one”.

Mthembu, as a member of that new generation, would take emotional issue with that, remembering how Maharaj, when he was minister of transport, berated young cadres over greed.

“That’s not always what you get these days from people who’ve been in high posts. He disowned us when we bought those BMWs, to the point that some of us rebought those cars and repaid the debt to the public purse.

“He was tough on us and, like a Govan Mbeki or your Baba Mlangenis, he was one of those leaders who would tell you when you were in the wrong. He told us to remain humble.

“Really, Mac Maharaj lives and breathes struggle, and no matter what, now that’s what we need to carry forward.”