No!!! i do get you bcz even myself when i join the forum i was asked who i was, so i will pause but say please use another identity not sasco member the one that we both belong to
On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 2:05 PM, Cakwebe, Ronnie <[email protected]> wrote: > Cdes let us not respond to ghosts. > > ------------------------------ > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *sasco member > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 17, 2009 9:45 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [YCLSA Discussion] Re: What would Sphiwe Zuma say? > > Dalton I'm sorry but it is difficult to disclose my identity bcoz in > this forum the trend has been that of marking the man and not the ideas. I > sympathise with you comrade. I rather put my ideas upfront. Hope u get my > point. > > On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 4:16 PM, Dalton Dan Gama <[email protected] > > wrote: > >> Cde SASCO member thank you for this real politics as you said, i have >> just one request for you. would you please register in this forum with your >> real name and initials because it is not fair for all of us who are also >> SASCO members to see other using our structure to write and equally worship >> their political menthors here in this forum. i am asking this as a young cde >> of the movement, not to spark any debate with you. Amandla!! >> >> On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 6:52 PM, sasco member >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> This is refreshing. Cn we discuss real issues for a while? Copyright >>> SASCO website. >>> ** >>> *Memorial Lecture on the Life and Legacy of our late President Cde >>> Siphiwe Zuma delivered by the President David Maimela on Friday, 14 >>> September 2007 at KK Papiyane. UKZN (Howard College) * >>> >>> ** >>> >>> *Of note, of intellectual pursuit, of organic leadership* >>> >>> ** >>> >>> Distinguished Guests >>> >>> Fraternal Organisations >>> >>> Dear fellow members >>> >>> Dear comrades >>> >>> >>> >>> Today we remember our late President. President Siphiwe Zuma! >>> >>> >>> >>> 9/11 2002 goes down in the history of the student movement as a dark day. >>> A day when our President; the 10 th President Cde Siphiwe Zuma passed on! >>> >>> This memorial lecture takes place three days after the commemorative day >>> of his passing. It has been exactly 1 829 days since the death of our >>> President. This year; he would have been 28 years old. This year we >>> commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of his passing! >>> >>> >>> >>> Lawrence Siphiwe Zuma was born in 1979 (ironically the year of the birth >>> of COSAS) in Newcastle Osizweni here in KwaZulu Natal. During his high >>> school days he served in the ranks and became leader in the structures of >>> COSAS and the ANCYL. He joined SASCO in his first year of study in 1997 and >>> remained a member until his last day. He served in school and university >>> choir, he was in the Student Christian Fellowship (SCF) in the then >>> University of Natal Durban. He served in various governance structures at >>> varsity including as President of the SRC in 2001 and thereafter, his >>> organisation SASCO deployed him to serve the whole of the students of South >>> Africa as President of the SAU-SRC; the predecessor of SAUS. >>> >>> >>> >>> In October 2002, at the former University of the North he was elected >>> national President of SASCO after our disgraceful Belville Congress. In his >>> development and activism in student politics; Cde Zuma was in the first >>> place a student; a final year student of law; we are proud to announce. In >>> this, he led the way in demonstrating in practice; the principle of academic >>> excellence required of all members of SASCO! >>> >>> I personally remember Cde Zuma as an astute brilliant negotiator and of >>> course he knew how to sing and he loved it; hence the nickname "Pavarotti". >>> He dressed and presented himself like a young person, he socialised and he >>> did so excellently. He was energetic, loud and he loved his debates! >>> >>> >>> >>> Three historic dates surround the life of Cde Zuma as he was >>> affectionately known in the ranks of SASCO. He was born the same year as >>> COSAS in 1979. He died a day before the death of Steven Bantu Biko who died >>> 25 years earlier then; Biko is an icon in the liberation history of country >>> and a symbol of excellent student leadership. Indeed his death coincides a >>> year earlier, with the US bombings of 9/11 which has had a huge impact on >>> the world. These dates are important to observe as they brought some changes >>> here at home and abroad. They constitute a total sum of the interconnected >>> world in which Cde Zuma lived and struggled. I'm neither a sangoma nor an >>> astrologer; I won't attempt to interpret the irony embedded in these >>> historic dates! >>> >>> >>> >>> We are here today to celebrate a life that was silenced so early and yet >>> echoed through the living and the non-living in great depths. A voice that >>> echoed through the hallowed corridors of student power. Yes, comrade Zuma >>> died in the line of duty! >>> >>> >>> >>> With all of his youth life lived in student and youth politics; his >>> dedication and commitment to serving the youth of South Africa is beyond >>> question. No-one will dare rise to oppose us when we say: >>> >>> Cde Zuma was a youth leader of note; a dynamic student who posed >>> difficult questions in search of solutions to the normal daily lives of his >>> people . In this; Cde Zuma represented the best of traditions in our ranks; >>> the progressive young intelligentsia that SASCO seeks to build! >>> >>> >>> >>> In his life journey; we can extract two facts. The first one is the fact >>> that he served in almost all the structures of the Progressive Youth >>> Alliance. Indeed Cde Zuma was an activist and member of COSAS, the ANCYL and >>> SASCO. This qualifies him as an organic leader of the broad progressive >>> youth movement in South Africa. >>> >>> >>> >>> The second one is the fact that he strove to ask difficult questions. He >>> questioned the order of society and that of our education system. His >>> baptism in the school of SASCO made him appreciate that; ours is the >>> strategic objective to transform society in general and education in >>> particular. He understood and articulated this perspective because he knew >>> that in reality; he belonged to the community before he could be a student. >>> In this regard I personally recall one of his favourite phrases: "if you >>> serve the student; you serve the community!". >>> >>> >>> >>> Out of the entirety of his life and legacy I choose to speak about the >>> two life facts about the person of Cde Zuma. >>> >>> >>> >>> In his intellectual pursuits, the one fact about his life; Cde Zuma once >>> wrote in 2001 as SRC President whilst addressing a graduation ceremony at >>> UND: >>> >>> >>> >>> "I'm not a student of Marx, but I always find pleasure in reading his >>> classics. Marx demands that I have to acknowledge the dialectical >>> inter-relationship existing between the calibre of a graduate that an >>> institution can produce and the culture and traditions of that university. >>> Are our universities, particularly historically white institutions ready or >>> should I say willing and prepared to produce an African graduate? Are our >>> campuses, specifically their attitudes, curriculum and culture bound to >>> produce a well-rounded, universal African mind that can interpret and >>> understand problems facing our continent and act accordingly to contribute >>> to the resolution of such problems? I dreadfully fear and shamefully doubt >>> it; that our institutions are ready for these challenges that are presented >>> at the face of globalisation. Can our universities really produce for >>> instance; a historian who will challenge and confront the colonial, racist >>> oppressive history of Jan Van Riebeeck, John Vorster, Louis Botha and >>> Andries Pretorius and rewrite it to account for the martyrs of our new order >>> with academic ointment. You open a computer today you write Siphiwe Zuma it >>> still asks you questions. You do spell check it says unknown". >>> >>> >>> >>> History (or rather the structure of society) as we all know, is a product >>> of struggle and depending on the dominant ideas represented by the dominant >>> social forces at a given moment; who go on to create institutions and >>> processes after their image including ensuring that scientific research and >>> new knowledge and discoveries of the human mindare conditioned to serve the >>> interest of the dominant social forces and therefore, given this context, we >>> want to argue today correctly so that, universities are also influenced >>> directly by the structure of social relations and that this is a continuous >>> struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed. >>> >>> For example, the status given to universities as being autonomous and >>> enjoying academic freedom reflects the triumph of the liberal discourse both >>> in society in general and higher education in particular. Academic freedom >>> and institutional autonomy as currently articulated by both institutions and >>> government is clearly reactionary and anti-transformation! >>> >>> What is it that Cde Zuma was trying to communicate to us besides merely >>> being who he was: a youth leader of note; a dynamic student who posed >>> difficult questions in search of solutions to the normal daily lives of his >>> people! >>> >>> >>> >>> In the trail of his intellectual pursuits, the current leadership of >>> SASCO continues to assert in the same manner that Cde Zuma would: >>> >>> >>> >>> "We hold that education is a socio-economic right and not a privilege. >>> Our call for free education is consistent with our principle to increase >>> access and transform the education system. Indeed it is consistent with the >>> pursuit of the view we share with the ANC to ultimately establish a people's >>> education for people's power (Atleast we want to assume that the ANC still >>> holds this vision). And we believe this view is consistent with the >>> provisions or at least the sentiments of the Freedom Charter. (2007 SASCO >>> Policy Submission to the ANC on Education). >>> >>> >>> >>> This we believe could have made Cde Zuma proud that SASCO; the >>> organisation that he served all his varsity life; the organisation to which >>> he died in the line of duty; the SASCO that he loved; is still consistent >>> ideologically, politically and programmatically. And certainly, had he been >>> alive, he would have said these things and perhaps problematised them even >>> further, true to his character! >>> >>> It is in the nature of young people to ask questions all the time and >>> about everything. If we stop doing this, then we must know that we acquired >>> education only to be conservative and therefore we are not worthy to be >>> called the progressive young intelligentsia of society. Young people must >>> ask questions when things are bad to make them good and, when they are good, >>> ask more questions until they are better and when they are better, they must >>> ask some more questions to make them even more better and when they appear >>> to have reached the pinnacle; they must broaden their horizon further afield >>> and start all over again! >>> >>> Dear comrades; indeed I'm still speaking about this youth leader of note; >>> a dynamo who dared to ask the most feared questions in search for a better >>> life for his fellow human beings. And when we say so; no-one dares to >>> object; even behind our backs! >>> >>> >>> >>> This is one fact about Cde Zuma. The questions arises: who among us is >>> bold enough to stand up and be counted as one to emulate the good that Zuma >>> represented; and in this regard; in the area of intellectual enquiry! >>> >>> >>> >>> The second and equally important fact about Cde Zuma was his undivided, >>> loyal and organic service to the Progressive Youth Alliance both in stages >>> and dynamically. >>> >>> >>> >>> The ANCYL, YCL, COSAS and SASCO were not born out of flashy congress >>> resolutions. They were born out of concrete and real struggles. The >>> conditions at different stages of our revolution demanded varied responses >>> and one of those was indeed; the birth of the progressive youth movement in >>> SA. These youth organisations have always sought to propel the liberation >>> movement and society forward and often in difficult phases of the >>> revolution. Therefore the relevance of youth organisations and youth >>> politics must always be assessed against time and space; in other words, >>> against phases and reality on the ground. >>> >>> With this context in mind, we are obliged to borrow from the wise words >>> spoken to the youth of 1968 by the late General Secretary of the >>> Communist Party Cde Moses Kotane: "At this hour of destiny, your country and >>> your people need you. The future of South Africa is your hands and it will >>> be what you make of it". >>> >>> >>> >>> Indeed when SASCO needed Cde Zuma he was there for us. He heeded to the >>> challenge of his time. He understood the fact that he constituted the >>> future; the future that was in his hands and; he sought to make it what he >>> believed, unwaveringly, to be a better future! >>> >>> >>> >>> As an organic member of the PYA, Cde Zuma understood unequivocally that >>> the struggles of COSAS and SASCO in the education front were complimented by >>> the broader struggles of the ANCYL as an organisation for all young people; >>> for the school going and the rest. This was not a theoretical dogma or >>> prescription from an induction manual from SASCO but, it is a concrete >>> understanding based on concrete reality about the interconnected nature of >>> our struggles hence, we are members of society before we are students. >>> >>> >>> >>> One can only assume that Cde Zuma would have asked the question: What is >>> more important to see and appreciate between the ANCYL, YCL, COSAS and >>> SASCO? Is it the objective struggle in which we share a terrain and somewhat >>> similar objectives or the different names, logos and the leadership, all of >>> which may perish in a minute? Which side of the question would Cde Zuma have >>> preferred? >>> >>> As a youth leader of note; a dynamo who asked the questions that he did; >>> do we think he would have been happy about the state of the PYA today? Do we >>> think he would have agreed to SASCO contesting the Youth League or put >>> differently, the Youth League contesting SASCO? >>> >>> >>> >>> I want to argue that, Cde Zuma having served almost all the PYA >>> structures, he would have preferred to be called a youth activist, only if >>> being identified with one of the PYA structures meant indifference to the >>> others! >>> >>> So as we celebrate the life and legacy of Cde Zuma: We must ask the >>> question: How do we strengthen the PYA as a progressive youth voice in the >>> South African society. How do we continue to make it relevant today? I'm >>> posing these questions because; I know for sure that Cde Zuma would have >>> demanded of us to attend to these questions. He would have done so as an >>> organic leader of these organisations and; not as a paper member! >>> >>> >>> >>> Indeed, we all know that, with his legacy, no-one can dare to challenge >>> us when we say: Cde Zuma was a youth leader of note; a dynamo who dared to >>> ask the most feared questions in search for a better life for his fellow >>> human beings! >>> >>> >>> >>> As he lies underground, we are dead sure that he still does, just like >>> the 19thcentury Cuban Revolutionary, author and poet; Jose Marti echo in the >>> hallowed corridors of student power to say: >>> >>> "I have lived: It is to duty that I pledged my arms. And not at once did >>> the sun drop behind the hills that did not see my struggle and my victory". >>> >>> >>> >>> Today once more an untold story is told. >>> >>> Once again the song sings. >>> >>> Today it sings a different tune. It is a story of two facts! >>> >>> And the song says: 'Behold students! Here in this land of Zulu lies a >>> youth leader of note; of intellectual pursuit, of organic leadership'. >>> >>> When the untold story is told. Others would ask: But who was this man? >>> >>> Would it be enough to say he was a comrade? >>> >>> A leader of note? >>> >>> A dynamo? >>> >>> A brilliant negotiator? >>> >>> Would it be enough to say he was all of these things? >>> >>> One in a lifetime. Once in a life; upon this time Cde Zuma lived with us! >>> >>> Cde "Pavarotti" was a youth leader of note; a real dynamo. Our >>> President…My President! >>> >>> Long live SASCO! >>> >>> >>> >>> End. >>> >>> Volkswagen of South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (Reg No. 1946/023458/07) >>> Chairman: Dr J Heizmann* >>> Managing Director: D Powels >>> Directors: M Glendinning (Sales & Marketing), S Mund* (Finance), S >>> Macozoma, PJ Smith (Human Resources), N Maliza (Corporate and Government >>> Affairs), T du PLessis (Production) >>> German* >>> >>> DISCLAIMER : Volkswagen of South Africa (Pty) Ltd >>> >>> Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender. >>> No liability shall attach whatsoever to VWSA from this communication >>> except >>> where the sender is acting on specific authority of VWSA, such authority >>> being public record and acknowledged by VWSA by nature of the employee's >>> functions. This document may in no way be photocopied, printed, scanned >>> or >>> electronically duplicated for any purposes other than that for which it >>> was originally >>> intended. >>> If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, please >>> discard >>> this message and notify VWSA immediately at >>> [email protected]<[email protected]> >>> >>> VWSA's anonymous toll free ethics number is: 0800 11 53 54 >>> >>> >>> >>> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
