STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE OF SOUTH AFRICA [UFASIMBA]

The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] held its scheduled National Committee meeting from the 29th-31st May 2009. This is the highest decision making body of the YCLSA in between National Congress, attended by all provincial leadership structures and the 25 directly elected National Committee members.

This was also our first National Committee after the national general elections which were held in April 22. The National Committee applauded the many YCL members who volunteered to be part of the YCL Election machinery, and had also heeded our call to volunteer as part of the ANC elections team. We are proud of the creativity that the youth of the country had invested into these elections. This has added unseen dynamism, whilst all the issues as encompassed in the ANC Elections Manifesto were never lost. We are also proud that the youth conducted themselves in such a way that the IEC was able to conduct Free and Fair elections, and that they managed to distinguish between "constructive political rhetoric" and "infantile rhetorical mudslinging" which some of the political parties got involved into.

The National Committee decided not to dissolve the YCL election machinery as a means to prepare for the forthcoming Local Government Elections in 2011. This Elections Teams will also play a role in ensuring that we continue to go back to our people and not only thank them, but remind them of what the ANC Elections Manifesto says and what their role should be in ensuring that this Manifesto is implemented.

We take this opportunity to congratulate the President of the Republic on his election, and the entire Cabinet team as was announced and already at work. We believe in this leadership. It was brought into place through the sweat of our brow. We will support this leadership through and through.

We would also like to congratulate the Central Committee members of the SACP who were appointed as Ministers and Deputy Ministers. It will be important that as they execute their responsibilities as ANC Ministers, they remember that they are Communists. History is littered with people whose membership of the SACP granted them positions in government under President Thabo Mbeki, and many of those became the worst anti-communists ever. We have faith that those who were appointed now, will never disappoint and that they will carry with them the hopes of the working class youth throughout the country and the world.

We also want to indicate that we see no crises with our General Secretary being appointed as Minister of Higher Education and Training. We could not have imagined a better Cabinet without him. Innuendos around whether his position as General Secretary is threatened can only come to those who wish the SACP the worst in its future. We are confident that as we meet in December at the Special National Congress of the SACP, the matter will be resolved and be laid to rest. The National Committee discussed some of the proposals towards the Special National Congress and will be discussing them with lower structures for endorsement.

The National Committee resolved to establish a Judicial, Intelligence and Military Task Team whose immediate responsibility will be to develop a YCL perspective on the transformation of the judiciary. We believe that the laying to rest of the ANC President matter gives us an opportunity to objectively look into the service that needs to be provided to the youth of the country by the judicial, intelligence and military sections of our State. Part of the responsibilities of this Task Team will be to make proposals on taking further the National Council resolution on youth and the military, and advice on the best ways to implement these. We are aware that since our call for the enrolment of young people in the military, the National Defense Force intends to enrol more than 10 000 young people in their fold within the next few years. This is progress.

The National Committee also decided to engage with the Presidency and the Minister of Justice, together with the PYA and the Alliance on the possible review of the process of the appointment of the Constitutional Court Judges and the various judge president. We are of the view that if judges can make law as a result of their judgment, and as part of our democratic processes, we need to subject judges to a popular electoral system where the electorate directly participate in their election. The Task Team to be established will also look into this.

The National Committee has resolved to write to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications for it to move on the recall of the entire SABC Board. We believe that the Board has proven, beyond the issues of process and representivity, that they are just incompetent and have resulted in the SABC now seeking a bailout. This also includes some of the Board members having violated their fiduciary duties by leaking highly confidential memos on the fracas involving the suspension of then Group CEO, the reported spying by the Chair of the Board on staff and Board members and many other problems that the SABC is confronted with. We believe that some of the senior managers are equally responsible for the SABC being a shame of the public, and a citadel of crises, and that they should not pass the buck on some of the things that they should be responsible for.

We support the call for a bailout. However, this should be done with conditions that the SABC transforms itself into the pride of the nation and execute its functions of informing, educating and entertaining with almost perfect zealousness.

The National Committee received a report on the progress made by the National Youth Development Agency in integrating the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission. We will be engaging with the entire Board as soon as it settles to find ways and means to build an activist, youth based, consultative Board.

The National Committee also supported the strike by doctors and called on the Department of Health to urgently resolve the problems related to OSD and the doctors salaries. We should invest in our public servants, especially doctors, as we combat laziness and reward commitment.

The National Committee resolved to convene a Summit of all our structures in the University of South Africa, which will include students, workers, academic staff and any other interested party to discuss the crises in that University and ensure that we speedily resolve it. We are still committed to our call that the UNISA Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Nyameko Pityana and all senior managers should resign and a new management team be put in place. WE call on the Chairperson of Council, Comrade Matthew Phosa, to speedily release the findings of the Council Task Team Report that was established in February this year.

The YCL Celebrations of the Youth Month will be kicking in full-force from this week. Our main celebration will be in Limpopo province on the 21st June 2009. The entire programme will be released in the course of the week. WE will also be working with the Progressive Youth Alliance [PYA] on this commemoration of the Youth Month.

The National Committee also wished all children a Happy Children's Day as we celebrate the International Children Day. We call on all South Africans to join us in the recognition of the rights of Children as encompassed in the UN Children's Charter. We further condemned the abuse of tradition in the form of ‘ukuthwala' as practiced in parts of the Eastern Cape as part of our remembrance of the International Children's Day.

Statement issued by Young Communist League National Committee June 1 2009

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