The people of Bekkersdal must have a full confidence in the collective leadership of our national liberation movement in the province to resolve their problems.

Next year our country will be holding the fifth national general elections that will coincide with our twentieth anniversary celebrations of our democratic government. These historic elections will signify an important turning point in the history of the struggle of our people against imperialism and Apartheid colonialism of a special type. 

We therefore take pride that the new improved conditions of our democracy, are affording our people with the opportunity to use elections as an effective political instrument to shape their own destiny. We all have the collective responsibility to ensure that we take forward our common objectives of improving the living conditions of our people.

Our national general elections are taking place against the background of a phenomenal violent service delivery protests sweeping the western townships of Bekkersdal and many other parts across our country. The mounting social upheavals emanating from the increasing socio economic contradictions facing our society, require the urgent attention of our national liberation movement. 

In the year 1920 one of the world leading theoreticians Vladimir Lenin expressed the following profound words about the leadership role of a political party in society" 

A political party attitude towards its own mistakes is one of the most important and surest way of judging how earnest the party is and how it fulfills in practice its obligation towards its own people.

Frankly acknowledging a mistake, ascertaining the reasons for it, and thrashing out the means of rectification, is the hallmark of a serious party,  that is how it should perform its duties and how it should educate its people".

Consistent with the revolutionary theoretical formulations by Vladimir Lenin, our revolutionary document the "eye of the needle" says the following about the requirements of an ANC leader" 

A leader should constantly seek to improve his capacity to serve the people; he should strive to be in touch with the people all the time, listen to their views and learn from them. He should be accessible and flexible; and not arrogate to himself the status of being the source of all wisdom.

A leader should win the confidence of the people in her day-to-day work. Where the situation demands, she should be firm; and have the courage to explain and seek to convince others of the correctness of decisions taken by constitutional structures even if such decisions are unpopular. She should not seek to gain cheap popularity by avoiding difficult issues, making false promises or merely pandering to popular sentiment".

In the cause of executing our revolutionary responsibilities, individuals and the collective leadership of our revolutionary movement will make mistakes and even know how to correct itself. Over the years of our struggles for liberation, our movement has demonstrated its ability to correct its own mistakes, resolving its own contradictions and that of our society in collaboration with our people themselves. 

Our people must combat the aggressive offensive by the enemy forces that seek to depict wrong perceptions that the leadership of our movement is walking parallel with the masses of our people. Our movement is the leader of the whole of our society. 

The complains by the community of the western townships of Bekkersdal about the deteriorating state of service delivery in the area and the recent allegations that the  Premier of Gauteng province Cde Nomvula Mokonyane rebuked their vote as a dirty vote, are issues that must be resolved once and for all.

It will be in the best interest of our movement, the provincial government and the people of the western townships of Bekkersdal that an amicable solution to the problems confronting the people of the area is found.  Maybe it is time that our Premier rises to the occasion and renders her unequivocal apology. Unity and cohesion of our movement and the people of our country is a precondition for the success of our national democratic revolution.

It is the task of the collective leadership of our movement across the levels of our structures to understand that the way of life of our people and their thinking about their way of life have to be nurtured to elevate their political consciousness. Revolutionaries are the most humble servants of our people. 

The political responsibility of the leadership of our liberation movement is to ensure that we win the confidence and trust of the people, making ourselves to be accountable to the rank and file and therefore articulating their wishes and aspirations. Political consciousness of our people cannot only be reached simply by admonitions in the wake of the volatile situation in the area. 

We borrow the words of wisdom from Vladimir Lenin about the leadership role of a revolutionary movement in society fully aware that within our own specific objective circumstances, imperialism and neo colonial forces,  are bankrolling  millions of rands to some of the unscrupulous political parties, NGOs and some of the social movements in our country, in a futile attempt to take over the leadership of our national democratic revolution. 

We are fully aware that some of the sporadic and spontaneous violent reactions by the masses of our people may be as a consequence of the work of agitation by agent provocateurs.  Not withstanding the absolute truth that  some of the service delivery  protests are as a result of the genuine concerns of the aspirations and wishes of our people.

It is the political responsibility of the leadership of our revolutionary movement  ensure that our people become conscious and are organized in a manner that they are able to counter pose counter revolutionary tendencies in our society. Our people are entrusted with the task of combating any other tendencies that seek to erode the unity and cohesion of our rainbow nation.

The momentous task facing our people in the current phase of our transition is how to grapple with the growing seedbed that seeks to nourish counter revolutionary activities within our society. The increasing barbaric criminal acts and hooligans perpetuating looting, destruction of infrastructure and lawlessness within our communities, is a growing cancer that seeks to eat the heart of our hard won freedom.

It is becoming increasingly evident that counter revolution wants to interrupt the forward march of our people for socio economic transformation. What our people should understand is that violence is a principal characteristic and a dominant feature of any counter revolution. Where there are forces opposed to a revolutionary situation, there is always violence.

It is our common task to separate chaff from wood. We need to assist the people of the area to distinguish between their legitimate demands and the acts of counter revolution. There are no responsible South Africans who can deny our people to exercise their democratic rights to vote in the coming national general elections.

We are making  a glaring cal to our law enforcement agencies to take drastic steps against looming hooligans who want to hold back the positive development of the people of our country. Our ministry of police and justice should consider establishing special courts to deal immediately with those who want to be at the crossroad with the laws of our country. 

It is equally the responsibility of the whole of the people of our country to defend this glorious movement that has over the years of our struggle for national liberation become the fortress of our freedom and dignity. Our people are the fortress of the noble traditions and values of our national liberation movement.

We will always cherish the heroic role of the people of the area during the struggle for the liberation of our country against imperialism and colonial domination. Bekkersdal is the historic base of the ANC. The people of Bekkersdal are the ANC and the ANC is the people of Bekkersdal.

There is no any other political formation in our country with the capacity to spearhead the socio economic transformation of our society rather than the ANC. We are confident that the people of Bekkersdal will register themselves and ensure that the ANC gets an overwhelming majority in the forthcoming national general elections.

Phatse Justice Piitso is the former Ambassador to the republic of Cuba and the former provincial secretary of the SACP writing this article on his personal capacity.

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