Statement of the 5th Plenary Session of the 4th National Congress National Committee
Sunday May 8, 2016
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] convened its 5th plenary session of the 4th National Congress National Committee from Friday May 6 until May 8 in Johannesburg.
The meeting receive and discusses the political, financial and organisational report. It also assessed and discussed the political situation both nationally and internationally. The meeting had the pleasure of being addressed by the 1st Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party [SACP], Cde Jeremy Cronin, who spoke extensively on the challenges of working class organisations and mobilisation in contemporary South Africa.
We also received a presentation on the international balance of forces by our former Deputy National Secretary and the current Spokesperson of the SACP Cde Alex Mashilo. He spoke extensively on the situation in Brazil, Venezuela and the state of BRICS. His input also focused on how the instabilities in these countries have an effect on South Africa especially how they exacerbate the triple challenges of abject poverty, unemployment and inequalities.
The Meeting was convened just as we concluded our Chris Hani Month Programmee. This year’s programme was advanced against a backdrop of on-going legal battles by the unrepentant murderers of Cde Hani who are hell-bent on being liberated from jail without divulging all the details pertaining to the assassination of Cde Hani.
We feel very infuriated by the fact that Clive Derby-Lewis is still alive and kicking even though when he was released on medical parole we were told that he had a few weeks to live. Our wish is to see him return to jail as soon as possible. Our society has no space for the integration of unrepentant murderers.
We continue to call for the denial of granting parole to Janus Walus. Walus is not a sincere character and his release on parole has the adverse potential of destabilising our efforts of nation building and reconciliation. In this regard we will be intensifying our efforts of persuading President Jacob Zuma to open an official inquest into the assassination of Cde Hani.
The National Committee Meeting was also convened just as Stats SA released the social profile of the South African youth. The profile paints a very bleak picture of the living conditions of the youth and their future prospects. The profile reveals that:
- In the last 5 years the number of young people living below the poverty line has increased across all Provinces
- More young people die from the HIV/AIDS pandemic
- The percentage of unemployed youth remains extremely high
- The percentage of youth headed households is still at an eyebrow raising 27,5%
As the YCLSA it is our objective to struggle against all social ills that are tormenting the youth and we shall redouble our efforts in ensuring that we advance and deepen youth development. We shall continue to find relevance by taking up issues that adversely affect our constituency which is young people. The YCLSA will soon release its response to the Youth Profile informed by the League’s standing resolutions and other progressive strategies that will alleviate the plight of youth.
The YCLSA also takes this opportunity to congratulate everyone, particularly youth, who graduated in our various institutions of higher learning. We remain alive to the reality that access to such opportunities continues to disadvantage many other young people and we will continue to play an active role in ensuring that the doors of learning are opening.
We will be intensifying our “Read to Lead” campaign as a matter of urgency in order to improve literacy levels among South Africans and inculcate a culture of reading. We will also be seized with a rigorous campaign to make books tax-free and more accessible to the poor. Another facet of this campaign is for YCLSA branches to adopt libraries in their respective communities and ensure their functionality.
Burning of Schools in Vuwani
The National Committee condemned the burning of schools in Vuwani, in Limpopo. The YCLSA calls on the community to condemn and reveal those who perpetrate violence and anarchy in the name of voicing out grievances. Burning and torching a school is an act of vandalism and must be condemned by society at large. We call on law enforcement agencies to apprehend those who continue to destroy infrastructure that is meant to uplift our communities.
However, government must assist us by listening to our people whenever they have concerns. It shouldn’t be that people are only taken serious when they have vandalized property. Again the media should assist us too, because it seems as if the stories of vandalism are the ones heating headlines whilst genuine issues of our people are given cold shoulder.
We are deeply concerned about what it seems to be a deficiency in the intelligence ministry. This ministry seem to be reactive rather than being proactive. To table one in many examples of such deficiency was the manner in which this ministry handled the #FeesMustFall Campaign which was a noble call by our students in the country but also with attempt by renegades to hijack it.
We heard of a report from the Ministry of Intelligence about the involvement of a third force but nothing was ever done about such allegations. Today the same Ministry is purported as if they are intervening in Vuwani but yet victimising people. This is an important Ministry and it should be taken serious and act properly to defend and protect this country but most importantly our hard-earned democracy.
Higher Education
Following the 2nd Higher Education Transformation Summit held late last year, the Ministry of Higher Education and Training is expecting implementation plans based on Summit resolutions from Universities. While such a process will assist in monitoring the acceleration of higher education transformation, YCLSA and PYA structures in institutions of higher learning should be vigilant in monitoring the situation in their respective institutions.
Also of serious concern is the extent to which outcomes of the meeting that brought about a temporary solution to fee increases in universities, convened by the President of the Republic, Cde Jacob Zuma, are implemented. A number of University managers are backtracking from such decisions and they should be taken to task.
Unity of the Alliance towards 2017
The tendency of discussing the succession debate of 2017 in corridors and not in formal organisational meetings is worrisome. We note the strategy to capture the ANC long before 2017 and to turn it into an apparatus to advance a path of wealth accumulation and state capture. We condemn the use of money and other favours to buy conference delegates at all levels of the movement, the league and the alliance at large with the view of pursuing factional agendas.
We also note the use of gate keeping tactics especially in Branches and Regions with the aim of destabilising the alliance on the ground. As the YCLSA we are vehemently opposed to the politics of slates and call for its immediate obliteration. We are now convinced that its only taboo to discuss succession only for the left axis as Cde Baleka Mbete recently spoke publicly on the matter without condemnation from the ANC.
We hereby make a call for inclusive leadership as we approach 2017. The inclusive approach is that the President of the ANC will lead together with the Alliance leadership. This approach that will unite the Alliance and strengthen the ANC. History is a good teacher, we must be good students, and learn from the mistakes of Polokwane. We believe that a united ANC and united Alliance is a united South Africa.
Oakbay and the banks
The YCLSA reiterates the call by our mother body, the SACP, in calling for full disclosure by Absa, FNB, Nedbank, Sasfin and KPMG on why they have decided to end their relationships with the Gupta owned businesses and to close down their accounts. It is worrisome that all these institutions have not been forthcoming with facts surrounding the matter.
In the meantime we are opposed to the use of job losses in order to pursue illegitimate business practises. We also condemn the silly stunts by the New Age Newspaper who deliberately distorted the statement made by Cde Cronin at the May Day Rally in Durban and to try using that to divide the SACP.
As the YCLSA we challenge Oakbay to state whether the accounts of their subsidiary companies have also been closed because every subsidiary is a company on its own and has its own accounts and both internal and external auditors in compliance with the companies act. In most cases holding companies are not the ones that pay the wages of workers who are employed by subsidiary companies but those subsidiary companies have their own accounts and pay workers.
Oakbay must also explain why there may be workers who went to maternity leave only to find that their UIF deductions were not paid to the relevant authorities and thus found themselves stranded. We condemn the use of workers or the name of workers to conceal the truth and exploit them.
We are also waiting with bathed breath for the release of the findings by the ANC of Gupta state capture after the revelation by Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas and former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor who both claimed to have been offered ministerial jobs by the Guptas, and the issue of Themba Maseko who claimed that the Guptas demanded that he meet them to ensure The New Age could get government advertising.
Reprimand Letters from President to Ministers
The YCLSA is still highly exasperated by the unfair and uncalled for decision to reprimand Public Works Minister, Thulas Nxesi, over the handling of the Nkandla matter and the abuse of public funds even though the report of the Public Protector did not have adverse finding on him personally. It goes over our heads that he is reprimanded even though he joined the Department when the contracts for the Nkandla were already sealed and his first task as the Minister was to apply remedial action.
Our question is why Minister of Police was not reprimanded as well considering that he was involved in the matter at the same time as Nxesi. This does not sit well with us and we are still going to raise it very sharply with the SACP at the next Central Committee Meeting.
The YCLSA continues to believe that if the President followed advice by our movement to take the Public Protectors for court review we would not find ourselves in a situation whereby the Constitutional Court had to rule that he failed to protect and uphold the constitution and that his non-compliance was inconsistent with it.
Local Government Elections
The 2016 Local Government Elections are going to be the most difficult to date. This is largely due to the own goals of the movement. If we are to remedy the situation we must revisit the report by Cde Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on the irregularities of candidates lists in the May 2011 Local Government Elections.
As things stands we might just need another report commission by the President as the habits of old are refusing to die. The movement stands to lose serious ground if we continue on the current path. We call on the ANC to carefully deal with the issue of candidate’s lists and ensure that we do not have cases of recalling councilors like before.
Our revolutionary duty as the YCLSA is to encourage all South Africans to vote for an overwhelming victory of the ANC. The YCLSA continues to hold a very strong view that the ANC is the only organization that holds the best interest of the working class at heart. We are further reiterating that we will not support candidates which are imposed to our communities. ANC processes should not be raped particularly not by its leaders. These processes are clear and they should be respected by all. If they are respected we can assure the ANC that its can win all wards in the country.
Recent utterance by the EFF
The YCLSA notes the sensational and delusional utterance by EFF about guns. It is clear that they are preparing to bombastically cry foul when they are resoundingly defeated in our democratic local government elections. Indeed when EFF are defeated they will have expired their political careers.
Our country has entertained hooliganism too patiently, the law must follow its course and he must be reminded that we are in a constitutional democracy where actions and utterances have consequences. Such irresponsible statements have no space in our budding democracy. We strongly condemn such reckless statements as they have a huge potential to incite violence.
On International matters
The Meeting receive an input from the National Secretary of his recent participation in an international youth program hosted by comrades of the Basque Country, a people that were affirm our full support and solidarity. The YCLSA also re-affirmed its solidarity with the peoples of Cuba, Swaziland, Western Sahara and all other victims of capitalist imperialism.
The YCLSA further noted that comrades in leadership, particularly in government must implement consistently the resolutions made by the ruling party. To this end the YCLSA called for the DG of International Relations to be reprimanded for his meeting with Israeli authorities during the recent Israel Apartheid Week, additionally for the South African ambassador to Israel to be removed for directly undermining the ANC policies in an interview where he spoke of normalizing relations with Israel.
The YCLSA views the policies set out by the ruling party, the ANC, on International relations and solidarity as easy to adhere to. All in all leaders of the movement and its deployees must not talk left and walk right.
On rape and rape culture
The issue of rape in institutions of higher learning is nothing new. Female students continue to be victims of rape and sexual assault not only at Rhodes University but in other institutions of higher learning in the country. This can be attributed to poor security and lack decent accommodation on campuses. We will be engaging the Minister of Higher Education and Training on the matter and find tangible solutions to the matter.
It is society’s duty to teach all young men both old and young that a ‘No’ is a ‘No’ and that a mini skirt is not a ‘Yes’. The YCLSA, as an immediate measure, calls on the SAPS to ensure that at least one police officer in every police station must receive extra training around rape and sexual violence. It is abhorrent that in this day and age, reports surface of smirk remarks, by some police officers at police station level, when women report rape. The police have a constitutional and moral duty to rape seriously.
We are also calling for dedicated team of SAPS members permanently deployed to institutions of higher education and training since they are vulnerable to crime. Criminals take advantage of our brothers and sisters in the institutions of higher education and training. Institutions must also STOP outsourcing services in general but security service in particular because the lack of proper security in our institutions is as a result of outsourcing. The YCLSA committed itself that to this end, its structures will be working together with the police at various levels to take this forward.
The YCLSA also expresses itself strongly against the emerging tendency of “blessers” (a euphemism for sugar daddies) as it seeks to encourage transactional sex and victimization of young women. The vulnerability of our sisters should not be preyed on by older men with an unlimited desire for sex with young women, in exchange for money and related favours.
Statement issued by the 4th National Congress National Committee, YCLSA, 8 May 2016
