Dear Comrades

The Congress of the People is at the crossroads.  We are called upon to make a choice:  Take charge of our organisation and return it to our historic mission, or allow it to continue in path where members have no say and democracy becomes a foreign concept.

On the 31st of October the CNC once more postponed an elective congress scheduled for the 5th of November.  This was a third postponement for reasons best known to the CNC but which remain elusive to ordinary members of the Congress of the people.  Just as members were ready for the May congress, they were ready for the November congress.

Questions has been asked as to why those of us who believe in the need for an elective congress, not as a means to an end, but as a start of a renewal programme could once more have succumbed to the decision, thus become accomplices to thwarting the will of our members. 

This is a legitimate question especially as some of us had predicted that new excuses would be found to once more delay the congress.  It becomes even more pertinent as members were ready to go ahead with the congress regardless. 

It was important to allow for the postponement to ensure that South Africans are able to judge for themselves as to whom the people are who preach democracy, but are unable to walk the path of democracy.  Furthermore, plans have long been afoot to frustrate the will of the masses so that they can give up on their organisation, thus allow a bloodless coup to take place. 

It could easily be argued that well, they became impatient; they were not willing to give us an extra month to finalise the audit, thereby ensure an inclusive congress.  That excuse will ring hollow as they try to wriggle out of the December congress. 

The call of our members is loud and clear:  Woza December!  Amaqhinga aphelile.  Let democracy prevail!  In fact a song against the CNC is doing the rounds:  Sininikil'u May, saninik'u November, ngokusenifun'u, December!  Aniyazi into eniyifunayo!

When we converged in our thousands in the Sandton Convention Centre almost two years ago we pronounced to our people and world that democracy would be our political platform. We did so because we could no longer identify with a new undemocratic tendency that had just take over our movement and, by extension, the government of our people.  

We could no longer identify with the purges that were being meted out against those who disagreed with the new mandarins.  Many who had never participated in politics or had become disillusioned saw the new initiative as a way to put in place an alternative rooted in struggle politics, but willing to chart a new direction where what mattered most was not your place in the struggle trenches, but commitment to the principles enshrined in our democratic constitution.

We therefore rallied on the clarion call to defend our much-admired constitutional and democratic dispensation, which we correctly identified as under attack.  Increasingly, even those who disagreed with our decision to form a new political organisation accepted that the issues we were raising have now come to pass.

The media is under attack.  Space for democratic engagement is slowly being closed.  Corruption is slowly becoming the norm.  service delivery has ground to a halt.  Inequality, poverty, unemployment, decay of social and economic infrastructure continues unabated.

Interestingly, it is now our newly found movement that has been besieged by the same undemocratic tendency that seeks to circumvent democracy and the will of the people.  It is as if we led our people out of Egypt, only to allow them to perish in the desert, with the promised land a distant memory.  We have a duty to take a stand.

Our resolve to hold an elective congress is informed by the resolution of the inaugural national congress of COPE held in Bloemfontein in December 2008.  Overwhelmingly, our people directed that in no more than two years the interim leadership of COPE had to reconvene in a national congress and take stock of the work that the party had done.

Over the past two years the leadership and membership of COPE has been hard at work giving effect to the resolutions and mandate of the Bloemfontein conference. Our mandate has now expired - our term of office has now run out.  It is now incumbent on all of us who claim to carry the mandate of the COPE masses to fully account on what we have been doing over the past two years. 

When we were chosen to lead this new movement our party was riding the crest of the South African political wave. Whilst we were entrusted with a political phenomenon that promised to change the political landscape of our nation and end one party dominant system - we must never be scared to go back to our members and the nation to explain the mess into which we have turned this party.

• We must go back to the congress and account for the perennial divisions that have torn the party over the past two years.
• Let us go back to explain the circus into which we have turned our organisation COPE.
• We must go back to face those who initially had confidence in us but we unashamedly let down.
• Let's go back to the congress on December 15 to explain why we dropped the ball.
• We must go back to those people who lost their jobs, livelihood and business opportunities by being associated with COPE - how could we.

Comrades, there's no alternative to the December 16 congress. Our commitment to organisational unity and democracy persuaded us to allow those who are bent on indefinitely postponing the congress to do so ONE MORE TIME.

Our determination to hold the congress is informed largely by our respect for the COPE congress resolution and our constitution.  Over the past few weeks, we have reiterated our commitment to the congress by demonstrating why certain provisions were inserted in our processes.

They were to ensure that COPE is a democratic organisation that belongs to the masses. Our belief, therefore, on the congress is because the occasion will give the party an opportunity to renew itself and elect a leadership collective capable of carrying out the mandate for which COPE was formed.

The congress will allow us to craft a political strategy, programme of action and democratically elect an inspiring, capable and credible leadership to guide the organisation in the many years that lie ahead.  We have a once in lifetime opportunity to show that it is possible to break away from a dominant political party and go on to become an alternative majority party.

This is not going to be an easy task.  It requires dedication, patience, leadership and a willingness to trust young people with leadership while mentoring them.

We must regain the confidence of the membership and the electorate ahead of the local government elections, which are crucial if the dream of a better South Africa committed to quality service delivery are to be realised. We therefore allowed them in the name of the party and its unity to postpone. 

Since the beginning of the year a litany of recycled excuses were always on hand for why we could not have an elective congress.  This time, once again we say, as I said before: Woza December - it's now or never.  

We are convinced comrades, that as they have never been prepared for an elective congress throughout the year - there's nothing they would do in a month.

Our intention is to demonstrate to the people of South Africa that we are reasonable and matured people who, unfortunately, are confronted with irrational and selfish people who do not have the interest of the organisation at heart.

This foolishness has been demonstrated in formal meetings of the party structures where senior members of the party have used divisive language and dubious methods aimed at splitting our movement.  This group has become so power drunk that they now contradict the COPE constitution, ignore due processes and create new unconstitutional and parallel structures as their power base.

This group also plans a series of mass "expulsions" and "suspensions" aimed at weakening those who oppose the candidacy on one of the presidential contestants and hold on to the party resources.

Even if they suspend the whole organisation, those illegitimate decisions will be defied because they are of no force or effect. The plan to split COPE will fail as South Africans will not allow that eventuality. 

Whereas it may be hoped that we will simply leave; we are going nowhere! Ons phola hierso!

Lately, a scheme recently hatched has emerged which seeks to postpone the congress to 2014.  This plan, written by one of the trusted lieutenants on the other group, entails allowing Mr Lekota to continue as president during what is called a transitional period.

The plan suggests that the CNC convenes during the second week of December, taking the decision to postpone the congress and replace it with a meeting of a few branches tasked with setting up a new structure to be appointed by the president. 

This we will not allow.  We re ready to go to the congress regardless. There time for dubious deal is over.

We must go to an elective congress, and to do so will require that all branches that have passed the audit engage in a process to nominate delegates, arrange transport and be ready to go to the congress even if it is postponed.  In any case, the CNC would have lost its legitimacy by December.  This will now be an opportunity for the party to rise up from the bottom.

We are more than ready for December 15. Nothing can stop us now.

Amandla! Ngawabantu!

Woza December! It's now or Never!

Mbhazima Shilowa

Deputy President - Congress of the People

Source: http://copetown.org/

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