ANC YOUTH LEAGUE MOSES MABHIDA REGION MEDIA STATEMENT
The African National Congress Youth League Moses Mabhida Regional Congress successfully took place from 7-8 August to Sunday 8 2015 in Howick West Sports Centre under the theme that: “Regenerating the power of the ANC YL to take forward the struggle for socio-economic freedom”.
We view our Congress as the parliament of all young people in our region meant at reflecting on our political and organizational challenges including issues affecting young people in general majority of whom are African and live in rural areas.
In other words, our Congress was an opportunity to provide clarity on challenges confronting young people, who are victims of structural challenges including although not limited to poverty, inequality, unemployment, social ills, lack of relevant skills, and HIV/Aids.
We note that at times, the afore-mentioned challenges are used by different forces against revolutionary progress to try and exploit the situation for their own counter-revolutionary agendas. Hence, we resolved that we are ready to confront these challenges head on while striving with all our capacity and/or capacities to enforce progress or advance the interests of young people generally and rallying them behind the strategic goal of the African National Congress.
Informed by the African National Congress Youth League Resolution of the 24th National Congress coupled with the African National Congress 2012 National Conference resolve that, in simply terms, ours is the translation of political freedom into socio-economic freedom in our lifetime and that political freedom without economic freedom is sterile, we add that the content of economic freedom that we are calling for must include financial literacy.
We re-affirmed all the previous 2015 ANC YL Provincial Congress of KwaZulu-Natal resolutions especially on set-asides. We however want to add that the exploitation and abuse of young people as, amongst other things, part-time workers and prostitutes also needs to be dealt with as we quicken the pace towards building a democratic developmental state.
We further agreed that the over-reliance on tenders for everything, procurement and delivery of public goods and services must be reviewed since there is a significant number of areas where the state can play a direct role in terms of ownership and democratic control which would further give practical meaning to the spirit of the economic clause of the Freedom Charter.
As a strategic direction, the democratic developmental state must develop capacity in terms of ownership and control to directly produce and deliver public goods and services which will assist to curb the escalating costs and commodification of basic services.
Provided that capacity is not yet developed in certain areas, procurement must be consolidated from departments and all the three tiers of government, with intermediaries or the so-called middlemen, fronting, all corrupt tender brokers not utilized in supply chain management processes.
As the Regional Leadership of the ANC YL, we believe that the ANC is a very democratic organization that, amongst other things, believes in Constitutional Democracy with all its principles. It is therefore problematic to note that the judiciary appears to be playing a role that seeks to undermine the will of the people of South Africa. Our understanding is that the judiciary must interpret the law; Parliament must pass laws that must be executed by the Executive.
Therefore, we believe that it is against the spirit of Constitutional Democracy to have an unelected butch of people called Judges undermining decisions taken by a democratically elected government. Equally, we note that the Public Protector-cum fully-time oppositionist politician, Thuli Madonsela, is beginning to venture into the political space that does not belong to her which is not surprising because she publicly committed her office to assist the EFF branch led by her daughter. This confirms that she is now being political. Therefore, she must equally be investigated.
We further resolved that collective forms of ownership with a specific reference to co-operatives must be prioritized, encouraged, supported and advantaged through state policy. Youth-owned cooperatives must be prioritized. We have also noted the factionalist manner in which the Youth Directorate, located in the office of KwaZulu-Natal Premier, led by a useless man has not brought any tangible solution to the plight facing young people in KwaZulu-Natal except bankrolling a bunch of few people who were rejected the majority of ANCYL branches in Lower South Coast ANC YL KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Congress of the African National Congress Youth League.
This regional parliament of young people in our region further resolved to:
To revive the programme for Economic Freedom, add a social component to it and translate it as "Socio-Economic Freedom in our Life Time".
Embark on financial literacy campaign with an attempt to transform the financial sector.
Call for Government to build it own capacity to provide goods and services, de-tenderise core Government functions, and consolidate procurement system.
Call government to advantage and prioritize youth owned Cooperatives.
Campaign for second chance opportunities for those who didn't complete secondary education.
Campaign against abuse of children as farm workers
Awareness campaigns on Social Ills
By way of conclusion, this Congress declares that we should not lose sight of the fact the world is getting younger and that Census report after another confirms that majority of our population is made up of young people therefore we declare that young people must be represented in all structures found in our society with a specific reference to the ANC structures and all three tiers of government starting with 2016 Local Government Elections. As the ANC YL, we are an integral part of the African National Congress hence we have a very serious interest in the affairs of the ANC.
Therefore, while we note that the exact date for the Provincial Conference of the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal is yet to be officially announced but we strongly believe that leadership assessment is continuous. Hence, we believe that our assessment at the Regional Congress led us into resolving that when the leadership succession of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee begins, we will strongly support Cde Sihle Zikala and Cde Super Zuma as Provincial Chair and Provincial Secretary respectively.
We also want to call upon all ANCYL members to fight against a tendency that those who contest leadership positions and couldn’t emerge victoriously are more principled and politically disciplined than those who get elected. Indeed, organisational democracy doesn’t produce victors and/or the vanquished but it produces leadership that are equal to task in a given epoch as per the assessment of branches through delegates at the elective meeting or Congress.
Additionally, we call upon all MKVA structure in our region to act line real “advanced detachment” instilled disciplined militancy thereby desisting from reducing themselves to lobby groups within the body politics of the African National Congress.
The issue of young people having to be represented in structures of the society is more urgent given the fact that the opposition itself is getting younger thus our outlook beginning with 2016 local government elections must resemble the society as whole. After all, ours is to adapt to forever changing material conditions without necessarily betraying our historical mission simply defined as the twin task.
Lastly, as we approach the 25th National Congress of the African National Congress informing the fact any house or formation needs a period to self-correct or correct mistaken tendencies, we therefore share a popular leadership perspective led by the incoming President Collen Maine, Deputy President Desmond Mwena, Secretary General Njabulo ‘Mzimela’ Nzuza, Deputy Secretary General Thandi Morara and Treasury General Reggie Nkabinde.
Statement issued by ANC Youth League Moses Mabhida regional secretary, Thembinkosi Zondi, August 27 2015
