In just under two decades of liberation, South Africa is now gripped by the deadly politics of character assassination, rapacious self-enrichment and factionalism. The ideals of the anti-apartheid struggle have been lost in public life.

With the legacy of South Africa's 1976 student uprising marked on 16 June, Veli Mbele writes that education is an area in which the ANC has failed South Africa's young black people. 'The situation is so dire that it gives credence to the theory that it serves the political interests of the ruling party to keep a huge section of the population uneducated and trapped in poverty and ignorance.'

‘The best legacy that we can bequeath to our children and grandchildren [is a] legacy of pride in ourselves, and of excellence,’ asserts Veli Mbele.

South African blacks must put aside political affiliations and work together if they are to develop schools that will provide their children with a good education and the freedom to decide their own destinies, writes Veli Mbele.

In a speech marking the 33rd anniversary of Steve Biko’s death in detention, Veli Mbele, president of the Azanian Youth Organisation, looks at the lessons young black people can learn from Biko’s life and ideas.