ANC Youth League Western Cape Press Statement
15 April 2016
The African National Congress Youth League in the Western Cape distances itself from comments made by its Provincial Secretary cde Andile Mbali in the media 14/04/2016.
We would like to remind our broader movement that the ANC in the Western Cape doesn’t only need leaders in its project towards reclaiming back the WC; It (ANC) needs leadership that both privately and publicly espouse such ideals. The Leadership that both in private and public spaces behaves in a manner befitting of the name, culture, history and traditions of the ANC. The ANC in the WC is particularly important in that it needs to show residents of the WC the best of what the ANC represents, and thus the importance of the behaviour of leaders of the ANC as an exhibition of ANC leadership to the public.
We reiterate that during our last Provincial Executive Committee meeting held on Saturday 13 February 2016, the ANCYL (WC) discussed at length the state of the ANC in the Western Cape following the intervention of the ANC National Working Committee (NWC).
The ANC Provincial Chairperson asked to step aside until all investigation and process pertaining to the sexual harassment allegations against him are concluded and Provincial Secretary (then) suspended and placed before a disciplinary process for his alleged assault on a staff member, the ANCYL remained concerned about the state of the organisation but we welcomed the intervention by the NWC and consider this the most appropriate action and a helpful means to address the divisions that continue to beset the ANC.
We continue to call on all our members and leaders to abstain from any involvement in any attempt or campaign to divide, weaken or undermine the ANC and we will not hesitate to act against any member or leader who defines him-or herself outside the discipline of the ANC or ANCYL.
We also wish to condemn Johan Rupert on his comments attributed to the President of the ANC that he must resign, Shortly after the scheduled ANC NEC meeting held on the 18-20 March 2016 at the St Georges’s conference centre in Irene media through its sources had reported that the President told the meeting he was willing to resign. To these news Johann Rupert jumped like a mad cow to comment “yes for the sake our children resign, please”.
We are not surprised by such calls coming from white business people. It is not only Rupert who holds that view. President Zuma made enemies to the white business world especially after the 2015 SOPA when he first mentioned the Regulation of Land Holdings Bill which seeks to cap Land Holdings at 12 000 hectares for farmers. Shortly after this announcement, Rupert, in defence of white land and criticizing the Zuma administration, expressed the view that “One of the marks of a successful society is free and unlimited access to the ownership of land and protection of private property“
He is a proponent of white supremacy and privilege, that is why in a summit in Monaco he said the thought of the poor rising up and overthrowing the rich keeps him awake at night. It is not surprising for a man who is the richest in the country and top 5 in Africa, who owns large portions of land in Karoo and a number of farms at Stellenbosch to want to defend the status quo. His reckless statement which we view as means to destabilise ANC and a plot for regime change was said in defence of status quo.
If this petty tyrant who still misses apartheid, whose survival was funded by his family for many years knows what is right, he should change his statement to Yes for the sake of your children I will return your land.
The Stellenbosch Land Compliance Audit of 2005, a private and confidential document in the possession of the ANCYL WC found that land was stolen in Stellenbosch in the sense that there was non-compliance with the procedures on a number of long leases for agricultural land which were entered into during the period preceding 1994 by the farmers and Stellenbosch Municipality, some of which are for fifty year periods expiring in 2041.
The document also found the council had not applied a fair and equitable policy when it approved the leases, and most damning was that some files of the municipality relating to lease agreements do not contain the actual lease agreements; others do not have relevant information on file, while others contain no records at all.
In one of the files examined during audit, the [audit] team found a correspondence on file number 7/2/1/B: the council took a decision to alienate a sell of public land privately on 11/8/1992 after a letter dated 10 July 1992 was written by a farmer, Kallie Kirsten urging the municipality to sell the land to him in view of the fact that in the “new South Africa”, the municipality will not be the owner of the land. It was pointed out in minutes that the municipality have to take the opportunity to in view of the “changed circumstances” The municipality subsequently supported the view.
This shows clearly that property in the Cape Winelands is ill begotten, - thus the audit had recommended the cancellation of these leases. It must be borne in mind that the issue of availability of land is crucial importance not only substantively, but also at the level of fundamental human rights.
The town belongs to Johann Rupert and friends, the “Stellenbosch Mafia”. The Rupert Museum is located in Cape Winelands. Rupert wine production, the Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons is in the historic French Huguenot farm Fredericksburg, at the foot of Simonsberg Mountain which is located between Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Whitey Basson, Shoprite boss owns Klein DasBosch, a wine estate also in the Stellenbosch area. GT Ferreira owns a farm Tokara in Stellenbosch. Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg, Johann Rupert’s Sister, owns La Motte wines also in the Cape Winelands. Markus Jooste, Steinhoff boss, and Jannie Mouton jointly own a wine farm in the area.
We call upon Johann Rupert and friends for the sake of our children to return our land.
Statement issued by ANC Youth League Western Cape Head of Media and Communications Siyabulela Tom 15 April 2016
