MKMVA dismayed by the withdrawal of the motion on full public owners of the SARB in the National Assembly

6 March 2018  

The Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) is utterly dismayed with the un-mandated decision of the ANC's Parliamentary Caucus to withdraw the motion on “full public ownership on the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in line with International practice”. The motion was schedule for debate this afternoon in the National Assembly.

When the National Executive Committee (NEC) of MKMVA met during the past weekend, on the 3rd and 4th of March, we expressed our happiness about the adoption of the motion in the National Assembly in favour of the restitution of land without compensation, and we expressed out excitement about the motion that was due for today about ensuring the full public ownership of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

To our minds this very unfortunate withdrawal is highly suspect, and creates the impression that there are some of those among us who are now so arrogant and triumphalist as to think that they are above the decisions of the ANC National Conference. We have to ask ourselves who do they want to consult with about a clear and unambiguous Resolution of the ANC National Conference that the Reserve Bank must be wholly owned and controlled by our democratic state? The unsettling question arises whether they want to consult with White Monopoly Capitalist (WMC) 'stakeholders' in order to water down, and literally whitewash, our National Conference Resolutions in order to appease White Monopoly Capital.

MKMVA concurs with the ANCYL that this withdrawal suggests that some of the leading figures in the ANC remain “captured”, and abuse their positions of power to advance the interests of White Monopoly Capital.

This sad and unacceptable situation actually reveals the real truth about state capture:

White Monopoly Capital through their massive media empire, and through their surrogates within our own ranks, continue to create a narrow view of state capture trying to reduce it to one family and few people that they have targeted because it suits their intention to divert attention from the true state capturers who are the White Monopoly Capitalists. In reality the only truth is that the economic base and the superstructure of our society is predominantly in the hands of white male Afrikaners collaborating with (primarily British) international monopoly capital. Ultimately the real culprits of state capture are those who defend these apartheid socio-economic relations.

In the media statement that the MKMVA NEC issued on Sunday the 4th of March we emphasized the important role that MKMVA played in the promotion and adoption of the Resolutions in favour of Radical Socio-economic Transformation (RET) of the ANC National Conference. We pointed out that the Resolutions of our 5th National MKMVA Conference of June last year, found expression in the Resolutions of 54th National Conference of the ANC, and as such MKMVA - as a critical stake holder and joint custodian of these Resolutions - have a duty to protect their integrity and secure their full and effective implication. MKMVA therefore "resolved to develop a research and monitoring capacity to trace the implementation of the Resolutions of the National Conference, which will [also] have the capacity to identify any obstacles in the process of implementation and work together with the ANC to address such and remove them" (quote from our MKMVA NEC media statement of Sunday the 4th of March).

While MKMVA obviously foresaw that there will be attempts to place obstacles in the way to frustrate and block the implementation of the National Conference Radical Socio-economic Transformation (RET) Resolutions we are shocked that so quickly into the life of the new NEC and administration these kinds of subversive actions are already happening.

Any attempt to subvert or undermine the democratic decisions of our 54th National Conference, whether it is with regards to the leadership that were elected OR the Resolutions that were adopted, should be resisted. No-one can - or should be allowed - to try and pick and choose what they want to accept and what not. It definitely can't be the case that all members of the ANC are expected to accept the new leadership elected at the Conference, but the same norm/standard is not applicable to the Policy Resolutions that have been adopted at the very same National Conference. Such an approach is hypocritical and unethical!

The discipline of democratic centralism is overarching and universal and equally applicable to the policy Resolutions that were adopted, similar to the expectation that all disciplined ANC members must accept the National Office Bearers (NOB’s) and the whole ANC NEC that were elected. Thus, the President of the ANC, all the National Office Bearers and all the NEC members have an inescapable duty to implement ALL the Resolutions of our 54th National Conference fully with commitment and vigour.

Any attempt by any member of the ANC not to do so will be the subversion of democracy, and indeed counter revolutionary and a betrayal of the commitment for the attainment of Radical Socio-economic Transformation that the ANC made to our people at the 54th National Conference. MKMVA herewith give notice that we will resist any such attempts to the fullest, and will make sure that those who want to commit such treasonous betrayal will be exposed for the sell-outs that they are.

Through the Radical Socio-economic Resolutions of our 54th National Conference the ANC "is the sole owner of these important policy decisions, and must always be seen as taking the lead in securing their implementation" (another quote from our MKMVA NEC media statement of Sunday the 4th of March). In this regard we are in further agreement with the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) that we cannot claim to be the leader of society, but "then egg walk on the key resolutions taken at the watershed 54th National Conference, as part of our radical socio economic transformation agenda" (quote from the ANCYL media statement of earlier today).

MKMVA finds the manner in which the EFF is opportunistically trying to take ownership of the Radical Socio-economic Transformation Resolutions of our National Conference hypocritical, unethical and entirely unacceptable. In this regard we are concerned that the withdrawal of today's Reserve Bank motion is a terrible strategic blunder that played directly into the EFF's hands. As a matter of political principal the ANC should never allow itself to be led by the opposition when it comes to tabling and implementation of its own policy resolutions in Parliament.

We therefore call on the ANC leadership to proceed with the utmost urgency to implement the commitment that was made in the ANC media statement today, concerning the withdrawal of the motion, to the effect that the Reserve Bank motion will be re-tabled. MKMVA will carefully monitor such a re-tabled motion in order to ensure that it will indeed be fully aligned with the Resolution that the 54th National Conference took on the Reserve Bank.

The importance of the urgent adoption and implementation of the ANC National Conference's Resolution regarding the Reserve Bank must be understood in the overall context that the banking system in South Africa remains untransformed, and the nationalization of South African Reserve Bank is a step in the right direction to lead a transformation effort, also by issuing banking licenses to institutions such as the Postbank.

In many cases, the policies advanced by the Reserve Bank have been miss-aligned to the developmental agenda of the country, and ended up serving the interests of White Monopoly Capital, rather than interests of the majority of black (especially African) South Africans who continue to be subjugated and exploited by White Monopoly Capital (WMC).

Evidently there is much at stake to try and protect for White Monopoly Capital and their captured agents within the ANC, and that is why there are such concerted efforts to subvert the National Conference Resolution on the Reserve Bank, and if at all possible to even prevent it's implementation.

MKMVA reaffirms again that as the vanguard of our struggle and liberation fighters, who have dedicated our lives to the full liberation of our people, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the ANC remains the leader of society and the vanguard for the poor.

The ANC must always, and without hesitation, be seen to be implementing policies that will liberate the poor from the shackles of economic apartheid/hardships without fear or hesitation.

Issued by Carl Niehaus, NEC Member of MKMVA and National Spokesperson, 6 March 2018