Statement of the NEC meeting of the ANCYL
26 September 2016
This Press conference comes following an ordinary ANCYL NEC meeting held in Burgers Park hotel on the 23rd to 24th of September 2016. The ANCYL collective would firstly wish to send a strongest message of caution to all students in institution of higher learning against the ongoing burning of University property. The NEC reiterates its long standing support for Free Education and wish to plead with the commission to fast track its investigations in finding modalities of funding free education. The NEC wish to caution against this mushrooming celebrity wannabes who want to use this noble course for their own selfish interest.
The NEC of the ANCYL is concerned with the growing tendency of the ANC to dismiss its Youth League to the extent that it has no confidence on its youth to lead government in various structures. We are concerned that this behavior might extend to the youth being ignored just like we are observing with the call for free education for the poor and needy. We call on the ANC leadership across its structures to respect the guidelines that were issued to all structures for local government elections. Part of the guidelines issued from the ANC SGO was 20% representation of the youth in local government. We make this call fully aware that many structures of the ANC did not do what the guidelines said. We cannot keep quite when the youth is being ignored, not when we are expected to lead young people into the future.
The ANCYL welcomes the decisions as made by the Supreme Court Appeal in relation to the SABC COO. Having acknowledged the judgment, the ANCYL holds a view that the court made it lucid that the issue in relation to the COO was how he got to the office. In view of this, the ANCYL calls for SABC to conclude the issue of filling the position. We therefore call on the former COO to apply when the post is advertised since we hold a view that the former COO has assisted SABC greatly in maintaining itself without bailout from government. We want to affirm our confidence in both the former SABC COO and the Chairperson of SAA DUDU MYENI in their quest to transform this SOEs.
Its becoming a very disturbing norm that, any deployee or employee who seems be touching on the nerves of Monopoly Capital in advancing economic transformation seemingly becomes an enemy to the opposition and the Media. The progressive forces across the globe are under attack from imperialist forces. These attacks have been systematic through setting people against their own governments.
We cannot keep quite when progressive forces are taken out of government by imperialists who have no interest in any of the countries beside extracting the wealth of those nations. What is happening in Lesotho, Brazil and other countries is a sign that all progressive forces need to come together and wage a war against imperialist forces. We need to defend the people and their nation right to self determination.
The unity of the alliance is sacrosanct and it cannot be compromised. Whilst differences are allowed in the movement given the fact that the alliance is an alliance of independent parties who at their core values have got difference interest but we cannot promote the public denouncement that have been happening recently. We would like to invite all those in the progressive youth alliance that have some views about us as the ANCYL whether good or bad to make an attempt to invite us to meetings so that we can clarify each other on matters of difference and agreement.
We equally call on the alliance partners of the ANC to call us on meetings if there are matters of concern. We say and do this as an attempt to minimize public disagreement which at times serve no one within the movement. Whilst we say this we will not keep quite if one PYA or alliance partner calls us into a meeting but enjoys communicating with us in public.
In line with our congress resolution as the ANCYL and having considered the ANC resolution on participations of the youth in economy and procurement in government. We call on Treasury to review its position of 30% procurement to 40% and above. We equally want to extend this call to all State Owned Enterprises. SOE have been largely benefiting white people who for many decades have been benefiting even before the dawn of democracy.
This cannot continue anymore not in a democratic dispensation where the ANC program is to change the lives of our people. We cannot maintain the old forms of benefit from the SOE and government as whole. If those that are deployed to Treasury are not doing what is expected by ANC resolution and people they must be removed and give opportunity to those that will be patriotic to our call for economic transformation. We cannot, and the ANC must never, be controlled by white capital.
The NEC meeting noted the ongoing public interaction between the HAWKS and Minister Pravin. We want to reaffirm our call, that if there is anything that Pravin did wrong, it must never be taken into public discourse but rather the matter be handled between the parties concerned.
We equally call on Pravin not to fall into trap of wanting to be Jesus Christ of our times claiming that in the entire movement, he is the only one committed to fighting corruption. Pravin must stop using this matter to seek public sympathy and project himself as a victim in the public eye. His business interests versus his current position of responsibility also seems to, of late, surface as a hinderance in our quest for economic freedom and therefore any hinderance or hiccup of these noble call becomes an enemy.
As part of self correcting we call on the ANC across its length and breath to consider engaging independent candidates particularly those that left the ANC during the past local government to come back at home. It is our considered view that this will help the organization to gain back its members who are now homeless. We know that this might be viewed by some that it will encourage ill discipline of people leaving the movement when they are not happy with the decisions of the ANC. Our thinking is that in an event some come back, there will be nothing new besides correcting and listening to disgruntled members of the ANC.
The ANCYL has noted malicious intent of the Fica Bill perpetuated by the Monopoly White Capital. The proposed amendments as a package seek to undermine Chapter 2, of Bill of Rights section. The ANCYL strongly feels that BANKS should not be allowed to be prosecutors, judges and Executioners at the same time. Banks do not have the moral authority to be entrusted with this responsibility.
Government should not surrender/Abdicate to the banks its right to protect the citizens of this country from any illicit financial dealings. We therefore recommend that, the constitutionality of these amendment be subjected to a constitutional test at the Constitutional court. We will write to the President of the country not to sign the bill into law. As the ANCYL we reject this bill.
The NEC Collective has also robustly deliberated on the doubtful investigation of the state capture by the outgoing Public Protector, Thuli Mandonsela. The investigation itself and the rate at which this investigation is been conducted calls for concern. Be that as it may, the NEC is equally perplexed as to what exactly is this Mandosela investigation given the fact that, a State is Characterized in three spheres which is Judiciary, Legislature and Executive.
The investigation however seems to have focused on the Executive only. The question posed now is that, is Mandonsela going to investigate the likes of Judiciary, and the parliament in the process. We therefore demand answers from the Public Protector and appeal to her not to use our own institutions to please her alleged handlers.
Recently her office indicated that, it ran out of funds to process outstanding cases. Surprisingly the Treasury has now found money from somewhere to fund a probe of state capture in the midst of all pending cases. This calls for a serious concern between Treasury and Thuli Mandonsela.
Issued by Mlondi Mkhize, Spokesperson, ANCYL, 26 September 2016
