Economic Freedom Fighters' response to ANC national working committee's madness and false alarms

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

The Economic Freedom Fighters notes the venting of the African National Congress National Working Committee contained in the media statement they issued on Tuesday, the 29th of July by its Secretary General Gwede Mantashe. Amidst patently sick observations, the ANC NWC statement says, "South Africa has also witnessed the entering of a fascist movement into our parliamentary politics. This movement uses uniform to mobilise in the same way that Hitler used brown shirts in 1930s. The worrying factor in this regard is its use of anarchy and destruction as their modus operandi. This anarchy and destruction fits in to the paramilitary content of their strategy, which shows early signs of a rebel movement; designed and calculated to undermine democracy and state institutions".

This statement is a result of the ANC to politically and ideologically characterise the Economic Freedom Fighters, which is the only Left political movement, a vanguard of community and workers struggle with an internationalist outlook. It is not the first time the ANC, and particularly Gwede Mantashe attaches labels to political movements that challenge the ANC's ideological bankruptcy. When the Association of Construction and Mineworkers Union (AMCU) was formed as a result of his expulsion of the current leadership of AMCU, Mantashe claimed that AMCU is created by foreign elements.

Today AMCU is leading in all critical sectors of the Mining industry, will grow into the biggest Mineworkers union, particularly due to the mess with which Mantashe left the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in. When the 23rd National Congress of the ANC Youth League gained momentum in the politics of the ANC and on almost all political and ideological battles, Mantashe claimed that the generation was an extension of ZANU-PF and went on to isolate and banish that generation because he was fearful of the power that generation possessed.

Since its inception, Mantashe has been desperately trying to give different labels to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and still such labels never stuck on our revolutionary movement. Every day, Mantashe manufactures derogatory labels and tries to stick them to the EFF and he is continuously failing because the EFF is growing stronger and stronger. The EFF is not at all perturbed by all these attempts because we know Mantashe suffers from cognitive clarity to understand political and ideological developments defining South Africa since the formation of the EFF.

How on earth can a committee of people who are supposed to lead South Africa come to a characterisation that the EFF is Nazi inspired organisation and movement? The EFF has nothing to do with Nazis and is not inspired by Hitler. During elections, the ANC imitated the EFF's red berets and when such failed, they turn and label the EFF as fascist because of its proudly red colour and political party regalia.

Gwede Mantashe and ilk fail to acknowledge that all political parties in the world have political party symbols and there is completely nothing wrong with that. The EFF chose to associate with workers, hence we proudly and unashamedly wear red overalls and all clothes that are used by the working class and the poor. Such an act is not fascist and does not represent Hitler as suggested by the intellectually lazy National Working Committee of the ANC.

Intellectual laziness is always reflected and exposed through failure to politically and ideologically characterise developments, and the ANC has always failed to understand that EFF. The EFF is not what the ANC say we are; the EFF's true character is correctly and cogently is paragraphs 26, 27 and 28 of the EFF Founding Manifesto. These say,

"The EFF is a radical, leftist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movement with an internationalist outlook anchored by popular grassroots formations and struggles. The EFF will be the vanguard of community and workers' struggles and will always be on the side of the people. The EFF will, with determination and consistency, associate with the protest movement in South Africa and will also join in struggles that defy unjust laws.

The EFF takes lessons from the notation that "political power without economic emancipation is meaningless". The movement is inspired by ideals that promote the practice of organic forms of political leadership, which appreciate that political leadership at whatever level is service, not an opportunity for self-enrichment and self-gratification.

The EFF draws inspiration from the broad Marxist-Leninist tradition and Fanonian schools of thought in their analyses of the state, imperialism, culture and class contradictions in every society. Through organic engagement and a constant relationship with the masses, Economic Freedom Fighters provide clear and cogent alternatives to the current neo-colonial economic system, which in many countries keep the oppressed under colonial domination and subject to imperialist exploitation.

Now, any political leader who uses proper ideological tools of analysis and guide to action will know and understand that a movement that draws inspiration from the broad Marxist-Leninist and Fanonian schools of thought cannot be associated with Hitler and Nazis. To be Nazi is to massacre workers when they go on strike to demand a living wage. To Nazi is to build mansions with private clinic, using taxpayers' money when the poor are without houses and decent healthcare. To be Nazi is to violently disrupt other political party's meetings during democratic elections.

Gwede Mantashe is the epitome of a leadership crisis that has made it its business to destroy every hope of the working class in all formations that mobilise for its emancipation. Each organisation that Mantashe has laid hands on has collapsed; the NUM is today on its knees, the SACP only exists to facilitate Blade Nzimande's factional interests of being ANC President, and Mantashe is now busy undoing COSATU. To be fascist is to go all over undoing the formations of the working class by diluting their agenda and destroying their collective independent voice.

We are however not shocked by the ANC National Working Committee because generally they lack proper ideological tools of analysis, but only rely on commentary from liberals and components of the white academic Left, who believe that Left organisations are only those that they puppet master.

The EFF will grow as an economic emancipation movement and will lead South African society, and when true freedom is here, the people of South Africa, Africa and the world will rejoice that a movement that represents the people is leading South Africa.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, July 30 2014

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