STATEMENT OF THE 12^TH PLENARY SESSION OF YCL GAUTENG PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, March 10 2010

The YCL Gauteng 2^nd Congress Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) convened in its 12^th Plenary Session three days ago, 7 March 2010. The PEC discussed issues ranging from the state of the organisation, socio-economic and political situations that obtain in Gauteng and have dialectical linkages with national and international developments. The 12^th Plenary Session focused on the role of young people, particularly the YCL in the province in deepening, defending and advancing the National Democratic Revolution (NDR).

The many unwanted and catastrophic problems and challenges that capitalism imposes on both society and nature firmly reaffirm our accurately developed world view. That is, there is no other solution to the ever multiplying, complicating socio-economic and political crises endemic and ecological destruction caused by the capitalist mode of production than the overthrow of the system itself. This requires more than the NDR, but the struggle for a Socialist Revolution (SR) in our life time. As the YCL we remain firmly committed to this strategic objective that would lay the basis for the goal of a classless, communist society in which all forms of oppression are eliminated.

We declare to develop and deploy our capacity in order to succeed in decisively dealing whatever stands on the way of the working class and its youth towards complete liberation. As part of this determination we among others resolved as follows on the challenges of the day.

1. COMMUNITY PROTESTS, CORRUPTION, TENDERLUTION AND TENDERPRENEURS

The YCL supports the mass actions as embarked upon by communities in Orange Farm, Sharpeville, Palm Ridge, Diepsloot, Soshanguve and Mamelodi.

The black (embryonic) capitalist class utilises among others local government to gain access to tenders in order to accumulate as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Many who clinch tenders through which services in our townships are privatised have identified local government as a terrain for the exploitation of the masses our people, the working class and the poor in particular, rather than service delivery.

We are opposed to this operation that seeks to turn our revolution into a tenderlution through which to fulfil self-centred interests underpinned by the private accumulation of millions. Those involved in this tenderlution, the tenderpreneurs, also serve as an intermediary between white capital and the working class.

The Black elite encompassing the emerging and established capitalists, the bureaucratic and political elite, has something that the white monopoly capital lacks. That is the "newly found right" skin colour and a direct, unmediated access to the African National Congress (ANC). It is within this context that the working class in our communities is up in arms contesting for its rightful share of resources.

The working class in Gauteng has had to stand on and look as the capitalists-serving local governments sell off prime land for the benefit of the rich whilst the urbanised proletariat lives on the fridges of cities in what can best be called shanty towns.

The working class in its local struggles reveals a number of trends:

1. These protests are a result of numerous complaints ignored by the petite bourgeois government officials. These petite bourgeois elements have a monopoly of control over a number of resources including projects and access to employment in public service and community development initiatives. These resources are among others used to dispense patronage, advance corruption and entrench factional power bases within our movement and society.
2. The proletariat faces the challenge of tackling this phenomenon in our movement as it spends most of its "free time" commuting to and from work under conditions of human settlement that is yet to be transformed along the lines of race, gender and class rather than concentrating on factional battles for the control of the ANC and the efforts to build an empire for ascendance to the state. 
3. Community protests are important as they also challenge the core of neoliberal policies pursued by government in serving the interests of the capitalist class rather than the electorate. The anti-poor policies of neoliberalism and Washington Consensus have led to an increased commoditisation of basic services including water and electricity.
4. Mass protest proves to be the only power if not the main tactical instrument that the working class has over the axis of corrupted government officials, politicians, the petit and established capitalists.
5. A significant proportion of the protesters is unemployed and therefore not in a position to withhold labour-power in order to assert its voice. Unlike the capitalist class, the working class does not have the money to buy influence through corrupted politicians and government officials. Mass action is, therefore the way to go!!!

The importance of mass protest notwithstanding, as the YCL we don't support violence within the working class. We therefore condemn to the contempt it deserves, the burning of the home of comrade Sello Maetso, one of our members and local ANC leaders in Sedibeng. We are extremely concerned that this could have been prevented had some of the leaders in our movement and different spheres of government acted promptly after being alerted. In a similar manner, we condemn the use of violence against fellow victims of capitalism as a means of highlighting or solving problems.

2. STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS AND BUDGET SPEECH

The YCL in the province of Gauteng (which is the economic hub of our country) takes issue with the neoliberal and Washington Consensus tenets of the State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech. This includes the reluctance to increase corporate taxes, the religious commitment to the policy of inflation targeting, privatisation in the energy sector and the resurrection of the two-tier labour market targeted at the youth. The latter will make the already cheap youth labour even cheaper. Combined with the exploitation of the skills levy, capitalists are sure to be laughing all the way to the bank if this scheme is introduced.

Chris Hani Baragwanath

There are a number of commendable points in the budget speech, including sustainable spending on elements of the public wage such as education, transport and health. The prioritisation of Chris Hani Baragwanath is commendable. We hope that this hospital which caters for communities as disparate as Soweto, Daveyton, Kathorus and many others can be given the attention that Johannesburg General (Charlotte Maxeke) has been getting. As it stands currently, apartheid budgeting still remains intact with the former black hospitals being financially neglected.

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is neglected on a number of fronts. The morale of the medical staff (particularly nurses) remains super low mainly due to their hostile working environment, shortage of staff and lack of adequate resources. Many of these workers have to double up as potters, clerks etc. The Batho Pele principles can never be achieved under this arrangement. Thus apart from budget injections, more dedication must be paid to issues around the de-corporatisation of the public health system.

3. ANC ATTACKS ON TRADE UNION FEDERATION COSATU

The YCL notes with disgust the recent statements attributed to the ANC about COSATU and its affiliates. We view these statements accusing COSATU of espousing "oppositionist politics" as malicious and uncalled for. If COSATU's opposition to the inhumane capitalist system, the corruption of some of our leaders; the neoliberal economic policies of the government and the disdain for decent work currently displayed by the government and the ANC is deemed "oppositionist" to the ANC, then so be it.

Working class leaders should not expect standing ovations when they critique the system of capitalism, particularly from those who benefit from it.  As the YCL, our message is that if the ANC shelves its working class bias in favour of becoming a conveyor belt for capitalist (business) interests then working class leaders should happily volunteer the label of being oppositionist. COSATU should never bow down to attempts to reduce it to a boardroom player. Our defence of COSATU is a defence of the working class against capitalist hegemony in the ANC!

We also reject an agenda of factionalism that seeks to limit the responses of our working class leaders and formations to public attacks to behind-the-doors sessions.

4. PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA'S STATE VISIT TO BRITAIN

The YCL condemns British media's Afro-pessimistic and value infused judgement of President Jacob Zuma. We urge British media to look inwards into its own country which embraces a monarchy.

President Zuma's cap in hand investment begging tactics to imperialist Britain are disappointing. The political elite use the working class as mere voting fodder. The desperate urge to account that nationalisation is not the policy of the government is a clear sign that the political elite do not derive its mandate from the electorate, the majority being the working class, but from the ruling capitalist class. Under these circumstances, the political and economic sovereignty of South Africa will remain an illusion.

However, we appreciate that the silence to President Zuma's stance as presented to imperialist capital in Britain has exposed the fact that the debate on nationalisation has been adopted as an instrument of factionalism by some quarters in our movement.

We call on all young people in our province to rally behind genuine struggles for the transformation of ownership relations in our economy as stipulated in the Freedom Charter. This includes the transfer of ownership structures of the Reserve Bank of South Africa to the people as a whole. 

5. MR MONEYBAGS

We adopt the term Mr Moneybags as applied by Karl Marx in Capital Volume I with reference to a capitalist, and we make use of the term capitalist to refer to Tokyo Sexwale with reference from his own address and self-proclamation to our SACP Special National Congress (December 2009, Polokwane) in which he told us, delegates, that ‘there are big capitalists in the ANC' and that he is ‘one of them'.

We reject Mr Moneybags and the big capitalist's report circulated in the media about our SACP Special National Congress. We view this rejected report as part of a factional agenda against communists, trade unionists and working leaders who are ANC leaders in their capacity as ANC members, and as part of a factional battle for the control of the ANC by a handler who was forced to come out from behind the scenes. This capitalist agenda is ultimately an agenda targeted at the working class for class exploitation and domination. We shall do all in our capacity to fight this class struggle and defeat the capitalist class.

We call on all within the alliance and the broader movement as led by the ANC to refrain from divisive conducts that threaten the destruction of the ANC from within.

6. MEDIA AND THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN

The PEC met a day before the 08^th March 2010, which is International Women's Day. The YCL dedicates this month to also challenging the manner in which the media portrays women. We resolved to stand firm against advertisements that seek to naturalise domestic labour as women's labour as well as portraying women as brainless sex objects existing solely for male pleasure. The message in these ads is that domestic labour is the natural labour of women and that capitalism is so kind that it creates better and more sophisticated products to aid women in fulfilling this god-ordained duty!

The subjugation of women through sexual objectification and the emphasis on domestic labour as the labour of women is a multi-billion rand industry. Cleaning and cooking products from brands such as McCain, Mr. Muscle etc depend on this sexist depiction to sell their products. This month, the YCL vows to challenge the capitalist and patriarchal subjugation of women in South African media.

Issued by Alex Mashilo, YCL Gauteng Provincial Secretary, March 10 2010

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