what an interesting statement my leader but happend to the normal red and black logo of the party
On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 6:30 AM, Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]>wrote: > > > [image: SACPblackStarSmall.jpg] > > > > > > *SACP Central Committee Statement* > > > > > > *Malesela Maleka, National Spokesperson, **24 May 2009* > > > > > > The SACP Central Committee met in Johannesburg on the 22nd and 23rd May > 2009. This was the first plenary CC meeting after the April 22nd elections, > and the Political and Organisational Reports and ensuing discussion devoted > considerable time to assessing the election campaign and the way forward. > > > > *Victory* > > > > The CC noted the outstanding electoral victory achieved by the ANC and its > alliance. The sustained, nearly two-thirds majority is a remarkable > achievement for a movement that has now been an incumbent ruling party for > 15 years. The electoral victory was all the more notable because it came in > the midst of what was potentially a serious breakaway from within the > leadership core of the ANC. The victory was also notable because it was > achieved against an unremitting and extremely hostile year-long ideological > offensive mounted against the ANC and its alliance from a large part of the > media and the middle class intelligentsia in our country. > > > > The CC agreed that the electoral victory was the victory of the working > class and poor of our country, who mobilised in overwhelming numbers to > defend their movement, and to defend and advance the gains achieved over the > past 15 years. The election victory was also notable for the high levels of > participation by the youth sector, and the ability of the ANC-led movement > to connect dynamically with a new generation of citizens. > > > > *Anti-ANC “public” opinion* > > > > There are, however, important challenges following April 22nd. The > anti-ANC “public” opinion constructed by the media and chattering classes > was roundly rebuffed by the actuality of popular opinion in our African mass > base in townships and rural villages throughout our country. However, the > media offensive did have an impact upon minority communities, including > working class minority communities. This was seized upon by the opposition > parties, notably the DA, which ran a thinly disguised, subliminal racist > campaign in defence of perceived minority interests. Advances in building a > non-racial society over the past decade and a half have suffered. The SACP > calls on its membership and the working class movement to defeat racism, and > to build a principled non-racial solidarity, particularly based on working > class solidarity in the struggle to overcome the crises of unemployment, > poverty and inequality. > > > > We also need to engage actively and constructively with media > professionals, academic institutions and think-tanks in our country. Much of > the anti-ANC ideological offensive over the past year has been framed as a > conflict between “populism” and the defence of various “liberal” > constitutional rights (media freedom, freedom of speech, independence of the > judiciary, academic freedom, etc.). The SACP fully supports these > constitutional rights, but we strongly reject the notion that these rights > can be defended and consolidated without connecting them to other critical > rights – the right of all to access to education, the right to employment, > the right to shelter, etc. Nothing is more distasteful than the former > upholders of apartheid, who had to be forced into our new constitutional > dispensation, now posing as the defenders of constitutional rights. > > > > Our electoral victory, of course, now places a huge responsibility on the > ANC and its alliance partners. We cannot pretend that our comfortable > electoral majority is secure for all time. In the face of the global > capitalist melt-down and in the face of persisting systemic crises within > our own society – deep-seated inequality, crisis-levels of unemployment, and > wide-ranging poverty – the next five years must be marked by a sustained > effort at transforming the underlying factors that are reproducing these > crises of under-development. In particular, we need to place our economic > growth path onto a new job-creating and more egalitarian trajectory. > > > > *We assume full and collective responsibility* > > > > The CC congratulated all SACP members who have been elected as ANC public > representatives in Parliament and in provincial legislatures – overall, some > 14% of ANC elected representatives are SACP members. The CC also > congratulated the many SACP members who have now been deployed into senior > positions in legislatures and executives. While there has been a minor > campaign in some quarters of the media to suggest that these deployments are > controversial within the SACP, certainly in the CC there was unanimous > support for the idea that the SACP, working closely with its alliance > partners, must never position itself simply an extra-parliamentary > oppositionist bloc. We must assume full and collective responsibility for > governance. > > > > This will require, however, that we ensure that Communist deployees in > executives and other senior positions must set an example of activist and > participatory governance – in which popular organisation and mobilisation is > not seen as inherently conflictual with the important governance tasks > confronting our country. At the same time, maintaining a strong and > independent SACP is the prerequisite for a Party and for a cadreship of > communists that are able to build a principled mass-based Alliance. To this > end, the CC is also seized with strengthening the organisational machinery > of the SACP. In doing this, we will be building on our activist cadre that > has played such an outstanding role in the election campaign. > > > > *Collins Chabane* > > > > The new Minister in the Presidency, cde Collins Chabane, was invited to the > CC to brief our meeting on the newly reconfigured national executive. The CC > noted that the issues raised in this regard over the past year by the SACP > had been taken into consideration, and welcomed the efforts to ensure that > we build a strategically focused, better coordinated and more effective > developmental state. In particular, we welcome the establishment of a > planning commission, and a cabinet cluster that will focus on economic > policy and specifically industrial policy. The CC agreed that the > reconfiguration needs to proceed in a phased but rapid fashion, and that we > must ensure that reconfiguration does not consume all our energies to the > detriment of actual implementation of our key programmes. > > > > The CC also received a briefing from the City of Johannesburg on its public > transport plans as an innovation that needs to be engaged with in the light > of the coming Confederations Cup, 2010, and the need for affordable, > accessible, safe and efficient public transport systems throughout our > country. > > > > *Public transport* > > > > At present, public transport often remains untransformed, relatively > unregulated and operator-controlled. We need to transform this reality into > public transport that is a publicly controlled and regulated reality in > which the needs of communities are prioritised. The CC resolved to re-launch > our former Red October public transport campaign, beginning here in > Johannesburg. In the coming weeks, working together with a wide > cross-section of commuter, trade union, driver, small operator, and > community formations we will be campaigning for transformed public > transport. It is critical that the future of public transport in our cities > is not left simply to a (sometimes hostile) dialogue between government and > taxi operators. > > > > *Financial sector campaign* > > > > The CC also resolved to reinvigorate our long-running financial sector > campaign. In the light of the current global capitalist economic melt-down > and its impact on South African consumers, households and small businesses > there is an increase in repossession of houses, cars and other items, and > the closure of small businesses and the likely increase of black-listings. > > > > The CC briefly discussed the question of ethics for executive members in > government. The CC commended the Minister of Transport, cde Sbu Ndebele, for > handing back the luxury car that he had received from a group of small > contractors. This episode raises wider questions. The SACP strongly believes > that no-one in government should receive a gift from the public for doing > what is, in any case, their job. What is more, government delivery should > not be seen as personal patronage from an individual government leader – it > is a collective effort and a collective responsibility. > > > > *Vodacom* > > > > The SACP in the past week has supported COSATU in its efforts to reverse > the sale of Vodacom to majority foreign ownership. In the light of the court > decision to decline a ruling in this direction, we will be working closely > with our alliance partners to chart a way forward. One thing is clear; the > problematic way in which this sale has been handled (which the court itself > acknowledged) is just one small part of a much wider problem. Our IT and > telecommunications sector has been badly mismanaged, largely by a former > leading cadre in government (formerly, but no longer, associated with the > ANC). Moreover, this is not just a question of mismanagement. All the > evidence points to a systematic ripping-off of public and national resources > in the interests of an avaricious personal accumulation agenda. In > particular, the future of Telkom has now been seriously compromised. The > SACP calls for a comprehensive ICT plan that places at its centre universal > access and affordable quality service. > > > > *SABC* > > > > With new legislation and a new Parliament in place, the SACP now calls for > the rapid dissolving of the current SABC Board. The imperative of urgent > moves in this direction has been reinforced by the new evidence of massive > financial losses in the SABC, the consequence of gross mismanagement. The > current Board has presided over this implosion of this public resource, and > it must now go. The SABC must be rescued and it must be re-built as a public > broadcaster that serves all the citizens of our country, and not narrow > factional or party political objectives. > > > > Issued by the SACP > > > > *Malesela Maleka, SACP Spokesperson, 082 226 1802, **[email protected]* > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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] . -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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