‘Desperate’ Cope ‘losing the plot’ over Afrikaans

The Congress of the People’s (Cope) latest move in announcing its commitment to protect the Afrikaans language shocked analysts, who suggested they might be “losing the plot” and becoming politically desperate.

Its leader Mosiuoa Lekota yesterday expressed the party’s intentions to prioritise the Afrikaans language and culture in a bid to convince Afrikaans speakers to vote for Cope.

He said: “Afrikaans is an African language and has the right to exist, [be] protected and defended, just like all South Africa’s official languages and cultures.”

In the same breath, he said his party would also “uplift and promote all the Khoisan languages and ensure that they are part of South Africa’s official languages.

“Cope is about matters of bread and butter, security, and peace and stability,” he said.

“We need to come together and tell those who wish to do harm on South Africans that, united, we will successfully pave a path of prosperity for all South Africans and that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black or white, Indian or coloured.

“And we strive to build a nation that is vibrant, successful and united.

“Our opponents are stuck in the past, self-entitled, and have fallen back into a routine that ensures that we as a nation do not move forward,” said Lekota.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said he found it difficult to understand what Cope’s agenda was.

He said: “We have never known them to be activists around the Afrikaans language. The Afrikaans community already have the Freedom Front Plus and Steve Hofmeyr, so why would they look to Cope to protect their language?

“What about the Zulu language and other South African official languages that are not used fully and officially in the same level as Afrikaans? This seems like political desperation by a party that stands the chance of possibly being kicked out.”

The party is currently at 0.67% in parliament from the 2014 elections.

Mathekga questioned what they would do if this move failed them.

Political analyst Zamikhaya Maseti shared Mathekga’s shock, and said he suspected Lekota had lost the plot, because Afrikaans was not a language under threat.

He said there were nine other languages recognised in the Constitution that faced oppression during apartheid through various laws that also needed preservation and that cultural diversity was important.

“Afrikaans is not under threat … it’s guaranteed in the Constitution. They are actually saying the same thing the Khoisans are saying so I think he’s misleading the public,” said Maseti.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.