End of an era for Zululand political legend
ZO's RONELLE RAMSAMY chats to charismatic leader SV Naicker - who has bowed out from the political arena after 40 years
SELFLESSLY dedicating his life towards championing the needs of the poor and ‘softening’ the suffering of people, a Zululand political legend has gracefully bowed out after more than 40 years in the evolving South African political sphere.
Following this year’s national general election, ex-cabinet minister and member of provincial parliament, SV Naicker (84), announced his official retirement from the political arena.
Looking back on an arduous journey propelled by the injustices of the time, Naicker was a public servant determined to turnaround the adversity of people and build thriving communities along the KZN north coast.
It all began with Naicker becoming the first Indian salesman to secure a permit to work and reside in Zululand. During this oppressive era, persons of colour were not allowed to reside north of the Tugela River according to the Group Areas Act of 1969.
Hardly seen as a victory for his fledgling career, it was instead the ‘trigger’ that propelled him to fight the restrictive laws prohibiting free movement.
He decided to move to Tugela where Indians were allowed to live legally and this became his base to later change the course of history.
Born in Nkwalini in 1930, he witnessed his father toil as a sugar cane labourer in slave-like conditions and was later to find himself at the coalface of the struggle for survival by this community.
‘The government of the day decided to canalise Indians and Coloureds south of the Tugela River. This was a very sad period as the hardships of these particular communities intensified,’ Naicker told the Zululand Observer.
‘About 87% of the population lived between the Umgeni and Tugela Rivers as a result of the restrictive measures,’ Naicker said.
With the absence of representatives and a movement to lobby on behalf of these affected communities, the Zululand Indian Welfare Association (ZIWWA) was formed with dedicated colleagues and Naicker at the helm.
Politics was never his passion so when he was approached by Minority Front leader, Amichand Rajbansi, to enter the main political stream, he was less than enthusiastic.
‘But after much thought I realised that my involvement led me to associate with activists. I therefore decided to use any forum available, as long as we were able to soften the intensity of this hardship,’ Naicker recalls.
Parliament
And this decision proved invaluable as Naicker’s rise to politics made an indelible mark on the country as a whole and the Zululand community in particular.
He became the first Indian on the Executive of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce, actively engaging with Zululand corporates including Mondi, Bell, Alusaf and Sappi to employ persons of colour.
He later took a seat in South Africa’s segregated political system when he was appointed as the first person of colour in former president PW Botha’s Cabinet in the 1908s.
From holding ministerial office in Housing, Agriculture to Deputy Minister of Environment, he also played an influential role alongside former president FW de Klerk.
But his enthusiasm and passion for Zululand brought him back home where he used apartheid coffers to fast-track housing, education and agricultural development.
Visiting communities door-to-door, Naicker is responsible for the establishment of thriving Indian, Black and Coloured communities in Richards Bay, Empangeni, Felixton, eShowe, Mtubatuba, Gingindlovu and Entumeni among others countrywide.
Temples, churches, mosques, houses and schools stand as testimony today to the tireless work of the hands-on minister who went beyond political shenanigans and bureaucracy to improve the lives of thousands.
He was responsible for the reversal of the decision to remove Indians and Coloureds from Zululand – a task which took 10 years to achieve and which was undertaken at a tremendous personal cost.
Build bridges
From the New National Party to the Inkatha Freedom Party under the democratic dispensation, politics was always seen as a vehicle to build bridges between different racial communities and improve the plight of the disadvantaged.
Leaving a legacy that will remain alive for generations to come, it is unlikely that Naicker, in his ripe old age, will keep mum on the atrocities, injustices and corruption of the day.
‘We cannot live in the past. We have to reassess how we are living now and decide the direction to take. I worked with dedicated men around the clock in my time. The political ego mind set and gain has to go in today’s political set-up. The future generation must now pick up the baton’
