“Building a conscious, fighting soldier for socialism”
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] Provincial Committee in Mpumalanga province held its first plenary session of the 4th Congress on Sunday, 06 September 2015 at eMalahleni. The meeting was graced by the National Committee deployee to Mpumalanga comrade Sabelo Mgotywa.
The meeting dealt with contemporary political developments in the province, nationally and globally, including taking forward the congress resolutions with an emphasis on organisational building and political education.
On the National Democratic Revolution:
The YCLSA is of the view that the revolution is facing external threats from imperialists’ agents and within our ranks from those who have set their sights on liquidating it from within. As the YCLSA we are deeply concerned with the emergence of a program of the corporate capture of our movement through institutionalised factions that rely on money and state patronage to propel preferred members to positions of leadership, suppress dissent and to undermine organisational democratic processes.
This subversion of organisational democracy makes a mockery of established organisational processes which have always placed a premium on internal democracy, member control and the centrality of the branch in defining the direction and momentum of the revolution including the selection of its leaders.
The rise of factionalism, gatekeeping, slate politics, personality cults, palace politics, and the use of patronage presents a real and unavoidable threat to our revolution. The YCLSA is concerned with the emergence of a phenomenon where members are denied the opportunity to critically assess the suitability of leaders to lead the revolution by taking them “through eye of the needle” to one when this task is abdicated to an elite that assesses the eligibility of candidates “through the eye of the master.”
The YCLSA notes the emergence of an elite of strongmen, operating in the shadows of the liberation movement that seeks to undermine its organisational democracy and cohesion.
This group has further adopted a unity pact based on its shared contempt for any critical voice that may arise from within the movement from progressive workers, students, the youth movement and communists that wishes to expose its immoral agenda. It is for this reason why the SACP and its leaders have become the raison d'etre of this grouping.
The YCLSA has resolved to combat institutionalised factionalism and corruption on all fronts, as these vices ultimately lead to the erosion of the legitimacy of all elected organisational structures. The legitimacy and standing of any structure which is seen to be a product of flouted organisational processes is diminished, even in cases when capable leaders are elected. Products of such a process are perceived to be nothing but the limbs of those who they are perceived to be serving. This understandably harms the standing of such a structure in the movement and by extension in society.
As an immediate response to this threat in the Province of Mpumalanga, the YCLSA will work towards building unity amongst young people as a response to and based on their shared exploitation.
On the Alliance:
The Provincial Committee noted with concern the state of alliance relations in the province and how these have in turn have affected relations with the Progressive Youth Alliance.
The YCLSA is concerned with the lack of political will to convene alliance meetings, including the provincial alliance summit which is a national alliance resolution, in an effort to work towards the normalisation of relations.
The YCLSA calls on the national leadership to urgently attend to the challenges in Mpumalanga, starting with the release of the investigation done by the Committee of ANC Veterans on the KaNyamazane attacks which took place earlier this year. Left unresolved they present a threat to the 2016 local government elections effort.
In spite these challenges, we commit towards working to the fostering of unity within all components of the PYA in the province in order to advance struggle for young people and fight against the unresolved triple challenges which they are facing. As part of the program adopted we will convene bilateral meetings with the different PYA components in our attempt to revive, strengthen, and consolidate a common action plan to address these challenges which will culminate in a Provincial PYA Summit.
On Youth Development:
We congratulate the NYDA for getting an unqualified audit an exemplary achievement which should be exemplary to all young people serving in state institutions in the country.
Since its existence, the Agency has been achieving qualified audit opinion reports from the Auditor General. This achievement, demonstrates that the NYDA Board under the leadership of the YCLSA National Chairperson Cde Yershen Pillay, have been able to make progress towards turning around this important institution one characterised by good governance and proper systems of financial accountability.
The YCLSA further commends the NYDA on its performance results as it achieved 93%, a 7% improvement, of its key performance indicators in the previous financial year. Over this period the NYDA was able to award 1 034 youth-owned enterprises received grant funding, while 300 students were awarded scholarships to study at South African universities through the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Programme. In keeping with the YCLSA’s resolution for the expansion of national youth service, 12 490 young people were enrolled in various National Youth Service (NYS) volunteer programmes.
The YCLSA calls on the Treasury to strengthen the work of the NYDA by increasing its budget allocation in order to increase its footprint throughout the country and to touch more lives of young people.
On Education:
The YCLSA is concerned with the current state of the NSFAS. We are however encouraged by recent appointments made in the administration of the scheme in an effort to turn it around. We reiterate our call for free public quality education till undergraduate level and this will be pursued in alliance with all the PYA structures and individually as an organisation.
Education remains a site of struggle, including the battle of ideas. Therefore our conception of free education is not limited to the elimination of financial barriers that prevent large sections of our communities from attaining education. But more importantly “freeing” of education from its neo-colonial and liberal persuasions.
We are concerned with widening of inequality as well as the poor articulation between Secondary Schools, TVET and Universities. We will be embarking on programs towards encouraging young people toward registering to TVET colleges as the preferred institution of learning and training.
On 2016 Local Government Elections:
The 2014 General Elections have painted a worrying picture of trends especially in metropolitan areas and in this province where the ANC lost support quite heavily. We will be lending our unconditional support to the ANC elections campaign. We will develop our elections programme that will be incorporated to the SACP and alliance electioneering action plan.
We encourage all our members and components of the MDM to work together to and claim the victory together. We caution against the use of the elections process as another way of extending patronage and the imposition of candidates as ward councillors that do not enjoy the support of communities.
We further call for the process to be inclusive of all alliance structures and not for alliance to be used for campaigning whilst there is anti-communist offensive.
On Organisational Building:
The meeting as mandated by the constitution elected the Provincial Working Committee and further resolved to strengthen its capacity by co-opting comrade Thando Sambo and Sifiso Bhaduza Makhabani respectively.
The elected PWC is as follows:
Tinyiko Ntini - Secretary
Sandile Khumalo - Chairperson
Hendrick Kabine - Treasuer
Nthabeleng Ramashoai – Deputy Secretary
Maldun Thete – Deputy Chair
Nkosiyabo Mnguni
Fikile Malandule
Lucky Zitha
Zandile Lefifi-Phasha
Kabelo Ben Monepya
On International front:
Swaziland:
The committee condemns the inhumane behaviour portrayed by King Mswati who went ahead with the reed dance whilst there are innocent girls who died travelling to the same event for him to satisfy his fleshly pleasures. Culture and religion has been used to oppress the masses in that country. We reiterate the call for cultural boycott, release of the political prisoners and for democracy in that country.
We will be forming part of the Swaziland Global Week of Action, which will include planned border blockade on Wednesday, 09 September 2015 in Matsamo and Oschoek border gates head by COSATU.
China:
The meeting notes with concern the plan for Mandarin to be incorporated into our curriculum. The YCLSA acknowledges the significance of the bilateral relations between the two countries and the importance of China as a counter hegemonic force against the global west. However, the YCLSA encourages the South African government to take a cautious approach and ensure that relations should be for mutual beneficiation. We must discourage at all material times the germination of a big brother/smaller brother relationship. History has taught us well that language, remains the foundation of every form of colonisation.
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed i have sown will never be uprooted” - Vladimir Lenin
Issued by Tinyiko Ntini, YCLSA Mpumalanga Secretary, 8 September 2015
