Slovo was firmly opposed to corruption & nepotism, says daughter

Shawn Slovo, daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, spoke at the event, sharing the three life lessons her father gave her before he passed away.

“Before he died Joe gave me three pieces of advice on how to live your life. Number one: Never get into debt, pay off what you owe every month. Very easy for him to say, I’m not sure he even had a bank account and owned a credit card until he got the job as a minister.

“Number 2: Never take out life insurance, it’s a complete rip-off and I have no idea where that came from. Number 3 and most important: Learn to make a great salad dressing, oil, vinegar, mustard and then you have to mix the salad with your hands, not with spoons or forks, you have to mix it with your hands so that every piece of lettuce is covered with dressing.“

Slovo said the type of advice he gave shows the type of character he was.

“These things, although they may sound frivolous, give a picture of who Joe was. He was never interested in personal or material gain, a life of big houses and fat bank outs and fancy cars, was never the life for him. 

“He was against corruption and nepotism, he wouldn’t even arrange ticked for the Mandela concert because he didn’t want to be seen dispensing special favours to his children.”

Joe Slovo was a long-time leader and theorist in the SACP and an activist against the apartheid system.

The commemoration was also attended by SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande and representatives of the ANC as well as Cosatu.

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