Revolutionary Discipline is an important weapon for Local Government Elections victory.
In the last three editions of the Radical Voice we dealt with key policy questions ranging from the EFF’s conceptualisation of a municipality, plan on jobs, and perspective on land and agrarian reform at a local level. Now that all our candidates have been submitted for Ward and Proportional Representatives candidature in all Municipal Councils, we should take a pause and reflect on the question of revolutionary discipline as a weapon for local government elections victory. Revolutionary discipline for any battalion is important because it makes those in command appreciate and understand their offensive and defensive capacity in a revolution.
We reflect on the question of discipline not because the EFF has suffered massive incidents of organisational ill-discipline wherein members publicly contradict and despise democratic centralism and decisions of the organisation.
If anything, the EFF is the only major political party that has demonstrated high levels of intra-organisational discipline, inter-organisational and public discipline as it relates to other political parties and all people in South Africa. We will deal substantially with both aspects, because we understand that revolutionary discipline guides the revolutionary programme for economic freedom in our lifetime. Without individual and collective discipline, the strategic aims of the struggle for economic freedom will not be achieved.
Thousands of EFF candidates were selected in all the Wards and there was not even one Branch General Assembly of the EFF that was violently disrupted because certain individuals did not make it into ballots. No individual was physically harmed or threatened with violence due to internal election processes and activities of the EFF. This is not due to the newness of the EFF, but due to revolutionary discipline which our movement enhances and harnesses as a weapon to win the war for economic freedom.
Nowhere in South Africa has the Economic Freedom Fighters disrupted meetings of other political parties. EFF Activists and Ground Forces do not attend meetings of other political parties, and will not do so because we have our own campaign and mobilisation programme. EFF Activists and Ground Forces have never prevented any political party from campaigning and conducting door to door engagements, because we know and understand that elections are not a physical duel but an ideological and political war that solely rest on the power of persuasion and presentation of cogent alternate political programme.
On the contrary, the EFF suffers the highest number of meeting disruptions by the ruling party, and our activists and Ground Forces are intimidated, shot at and even killed for performing work of the organisation. In Mpumalanga, particularly Nkomazi, the ruling party has employed all forms of thuggery to prevent the EFF from freely and fairly campaigning. In KwaZulu Natal, EFF Meetings and gatherings are disrupted. In Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province, the EFF has lost two lives of committed Ground Forces who were killed for spreading the message of hope to our people.
In all these instances, there is no visible police and law enforcement actions by the State. In all these instances, the EFF has not taken the law into its own hands, and not because we do not have capacity to defend ourselves, but because we are guided by the spirit of revolutionary discipline. Our Ground Forces always appreciate that we stand a reasonable chance to conquer all enemy forces without shooting a single bullet.
Our strategic enemy, which is white monopoly capital will rejoice if we were to engage in violence against each other as a black nation. As the EFF High Command, we also appreciate the statement of Thomas Sankara that “a soldier without ideological and political training is a potential criminal”.
The sense of organisational discipline which the EFF has demonstrated is one that informs the nature and character of EFF public representatives and Councillors as outlined in our elections manifesto. The EFF Manifesto categorically states that;
EFF Municipality senior officials will not be allowed to have businesses with the Municipality.
The EFF’s People Municipality will employ candidates suitable for positions, while training those who lack appropriate skills and experience to build capacity.
The EFF’s People Municipality will DESTROY ALL APARTHEID SYMBOLS AND STATUES and RENAME ALL APARTHEID STREET NAMES, in the course of decolonising South Africa’s public spaces.
The EFF Councillors will be expected to publish their phone numbers and contact details to all members of the community in the Ward they come from so that they are easily accessible.
The EFF COUNCILLORS RESIDE WHERE THEY ARE ELECTED and must implement an open door policy where members of the community can visit them from time to time.
The EFF Councillors will hold at least one community meeting per month and must ensure that they meet all the communities, sections, zones, and villages in their own wards.
The EFF Councillors will be expected to be available for 24 hours per day to assist all people in the communities they serve.
The EFF Councillors will be expected to be the Mother/Father figure to all Orphans in the Wards they serve.
The EFF Councillors will make sure that there is no one in the Wards hey serve who go to be without food.
The EFF Councillors will assist in the burial of all poor people in their Wards,
The EFF COUNCILLORS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ASK FOR MONEY AND SEXUAL FAVOURS in order to give basic services such as houses to the people they serve.
The EFF Councillor will make sure that there is no school and no clinic in their wards which operate without water and electricity.
These are the values and norms that will define all our Councillors, and we have demonstrated thus far that as an organisation, we do not tolerate and will not accommodate opportunists and power mongers whose mission is that it is either they are elected or there is no organisation. There is no member of the EFF who will, in the name of the EFF, burn schools and infrastructure as a means to impose their individual and personal will and aspirations on the people.
We have stated to all Councillor Candidates of the EFF, most of whom will be elected as Public Representatives that their confirmation as Councillors will come out of hard work, dedication and revolutionary discipline. There is no member of the EFF or any external force that will be parachuted into the organisation even when they have not performed the tasks that are expected from all members of the organisation.
Being a revolutionary Fighter is a full time job and all our Ground Forces must intensify the work of the organisation and constantly report to the Task Forces established for purposes of elections.
Amidst difficulties, we still stand tall to encourage all EFF Ground Forces to be guided by the spirit of revolutionary discipline. Prior to election of members of the EFF as Councillors, we already had communicated that those who accept nomination must be defined by the values and norms that define and Revolutionary Fighter. We said and reaffirm here that;
A Revolutionary Fighter is an organiser who knows how to move crowds towards mass revolutionary action.
A Revolutionary Fighter is a well-informed/knowledgeable professional in the way he/she approaches the political question of revolution.
A Revolutionary Fighter is the one who abolishes his/her ego and his/her attachments to personal success and achievements; s/he is selfless and one with the people.
A Revolutionary Fighter is the one who believes that Revolutionary morality is the core of the revolutionary belief-system, revolution by any means necessary.
A Revolutionary Fighter is never depressed, bored, and sad; there is always something to do, there are always revolutionary actions to take up and advance.
A revolutionary Fighter does not hold grudges and always complaining about unnecessary matters.
A revolutionary fighter always reads and listens to people to understand the struggles and suffering of the people on the ground.
A Revolutionary Fighter knows his community, neighbours and details of the challenges they confront on a daily basis.
A revolutionary fighter that is charitable, and practices the principle of the left hand must never know what the right hand is doing.
A revolutionary fighter is the one that does not dwell in the conspicuous consumerist practices that seek to blindly show-off privilege.
A revolutionary fighter leads by example and does everything with integrity.
When we speak of revolutionary discipline, we basically say that a Fighter must be defined by all these values, and must always do organisational work not because they stand to individually benefit, but for the sake of the people of South Africa. The EFF’s Founding Manifesto states that, “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 most practical illustration of revolutionary discipline during the local government elections campaign will be Ground Forces, Branches and Candidates campaign programme that seek to speak to each and every voter in the Wards. The most practical revolutionary discipline will be to commonly read, internalise and localise the EFF Elections manifesto so that it speaks to the people on the ground. The most practical illustration will be to simplify to the people that the EFF is the only Movement and organisation that has a concrete plan on Land, Economy, Jobs, Anti-corruption and basic services to our people.
Let us soldier on and not fall into the trap of provocations by the ruling party and other enemy forces. We have nothing to lose as a movement and as a people, but the chains of poverty, unemployment and suffering that defines majority of our people. Revolutionary discipline is important because without this value and conduct, we will not be able to achieve our manifesto commitments. Revolutionary discipline is not a side issue, it is a weapon that will carry the EFF into decisive victory in the local government elections. Victory is certain!
Julius Malema; EFF President and Commander in Chief.
This article first appeared in Radical Voice, the online newsletter of the EFF.
