Well said! On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 7:57 PM, Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]>wrote:
> *ANC YL PRESIDENT RESPONSE TO JEREMY CRONIN* > * > 18 November 2009* > > The opinion article by Cde Jeremy Cronin, a renowned analyst and poet is > openly reactionary, clothed in quasi-Marxist rhetoric, with potential to > make a sorry and sad reflection of the true character of the South African > Communist Party’s ideological steadfastness. What is worrying though is that > Cde Cronin’s anti development and counter progress sentiments are projected > as views of South African Communist Party. It is highly unlikely that Cde > Cronin represents the views and true character of the Communist Party > because the Communist Party we know is one that was able to mould Nelson > Mandela from an anti-communist radical into a true revolutionary who did not > only embrace the Freedom Charter, but was willing to take up arms to defend > it. > > Communist Party activists played an important role in the ideological, > political and organisational configuration of the ANC Youth League in the > early 1940s and early 1950s, despite the hostility they encountered from the > Youth Leaguers, particularly Nelson Mandela. When Nelson Mandela rebuked the > Communist Party and physically disrupted its meetings, it was the longest > serving General Secretary of the Communist Party, Moses Kotane who paid > particular attention to the ready to fight anti-communist militant (Mandela) > and transformed him into fighting nationalist revolutionary against the > white bourgeoisie and the British imperialists. William Nkomo, Walter > Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Joe Matthews and many of our predecessors in the Youth > League matured within the revolutionary national liberation movement to > accept the ideological guidance from the Communist Party. Practical joint > programmes of what is now understood to be the alliance between the ANC and > the Communist Party were pioneered by the founding generation of the ANC YL > amidst condemnation by the Senior and older leadership of the ANC. > > These realities about the Communist Party and many others make us to > earnestly believe that Jeremy Cronin could not be writing about the ANC YL’s > call for the Nationalisation of Mines in the manner he did if he truly > represents the Communist Party. But because Jeremy Cronin chose to write > about the Nationalisation of Mines in response to the ANC YL, we are left > with no choice but to respond and expose the reactionary undertones that > characterise his input. It is very sad that Jeremy Cronin decided to isolate > me from the ANC YL 23rd National Congress resolution that “the Stateshould be > custodian of the people in its ownership, extraction, production > and trade of mineral wealth beneath the soil, monopoly industries and > banks”. We thought that it is only rightwing Newspapers and their attendant > analysts who recurrently isolate me from the organisation, and indeed amazed > that Jeremy Cronin has joined the band. > > *Socialisation vs. Nationalisation* > > Cde Jeremy Cronin takes issue with the fact that the ANC YL has called for > Nationalisation of Mines, instead of socialisation. He says “this is why > the SACP also prefers in general to refer to "socialisation" rather than > "nationalisation". This is quite odd because in the same opinion article, > Cde Cronin re-asserts the Communist Party’s call for the Nationalisation of > SASOL. The SACP 12th National Congress resolved amongst other things, “to > campaign for and ensure the re-nationalization of companies in strategic > sectors such SASOL and Mittal Steel with an ultimate aim of nationalizing > and socializing the commanding heights of the economy in line with the > vision of the Freedom Charter”. It appears from this resolution and many > others that contrary to what Cde Jeremy says, the SOUTH AFRICAN Communist > Party has never preferred socialisation as opposed to nationalisation, and > neither did it narrowly prefer nationalisation as opposed to socialisation. > > In August 2009, the ANC YL released a Nationalisation of Mines conceptual > framework on what our understanding of Nationalisation is, so as to avoid > the confusion and misinterpretations that seem to dominate Cronin’s input. > In the conceptual framework, we amongst other things said, “Nationalisation > is not a panacea for South Africa’s developmental challenges, but it should > in the manner we are proposing it, entail democratising the commanding > heights of the economy, to ensure they are not just legally owned by the > state, but that they are thoroughly democratised and controlled by the > people”. What is vital and important in the immediate is that > Nationalisation of Mines should happen and the question, methods and > approach of socialisation is directly consequent of the decision to > Nationalise. Comrade Jeremy does not appreciate such, he instead > philosophises the entire question so that he can reach reactionary > conclusions. > > In the ANC, “transfer of mineral wealth beneath the soil, monopoly > industries and banks to the ownership of the people as a whole” was > correctly understood as nationalisation if the government that nationalises > can justly claim authority and based on the will of the people. In the > aftermath of the ANC’s adoption of the Freedom Charter, the leadership of > the ANC recurrently affirmed “transfer of ownership to the people as a > whole” as amounting to a legitimate government’s control and ownership of > the commanding heights of the economy. Various evidence points to the fact > that ownership by the people as a whole was construed to be meaning > Nationalisation. Cde Jeremy Cronin is the one speaking English, not > politics, and does not even provide a conceptual foundation of what is meant > by socialisation. > > Responding to a critique of the Freedom Charter by a Jordan K. Ngubane, who > was against the economic clause of the Freedom Charter, President Albert > Luthuli said in June 1956 that, “In modern society, even amongst the > so-called capitalistic countries, nationalisation of certain industries and > commercial undertakings has become an accepted and established fact. Only > the uninitiated and ignorant would suggest that the Union of South Africa is > going to Moscow because its Railways, Broadcasting and Post Office services > are nationalised”. President Luthuli further illustrated that > nationalisation as called for in South Africa and in the Freedom Charter did > not amount to the Moscow style command economy, and this point is > categorically stated in the July 2009 ANC YL’s conceptual basis on > nationalisation. > > Again in 1956, a leader of the ANC, Nelson Mandela said, “It is true that > in demanding the nationalisation of the banks, the gold mines and the land > the Charter strikes a fatal blow at the financial and gold-mining monopolies > and farming interests that have for centuries plundered the country and > condemned its people to servitude. But such a step is absolutely imperative > and necessary because the realisation of the Charter is inconceivable, in > fact impossible, unless and until these monopolies are first smashed up and > the national wealth of the country turned over to the people”. There is > absolutely no confusion on the understanding the leadership of the ANC had > on the Freedom Charter, and the contemporary interpretations should not > confuse us. > > Former ANC President Oliver Tambo said in the 1969 political report to the > National Consultative Conference in Morogoro that, “At the moment there are > vast monopolies whose existence affects the livelihood of large numbers of > our people and whose ownership is in the hands of Europeans only. It is > necessary for monopolies which vitally affect the social well-being of our > people such as the mines, the sugar and wine industry to be transferred to > public ownership so that they can be used to uplift the life of all the > people”. In his first public address after release from prison, former > President Nelson Mandela said, “nationalisation of the mines, banks and > monopoly industry is the policy of the ANC and a change or modification of > our view in this regard is inconceivable”. Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, > Chief Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela played critical role in the > consultation for the Freedom Charter and adoption by the ANC, and they could > not be mistaken. > > *Beneficiation of Minerals * > > Again, Comrade Jeremy deliberately provides incomplete information about > the Minerals that are beneficiated in South Africa, clearly with the hope > that we will not have information to disapprove him. Indeed COAL is used for > electricity generation; SASOL uses certain Minerals to produce oil and the > Aluminium Smelters smelt Aluminium. The Mineral Wealth in South Africa that > is not beneficiated locally far exceeds the ones that are beneficiated in > ESKOM, SASOL and the Aluminium Smelters. South Africa is home to vital > minerals reserves in the world, and this includes Platinum Group Metals > (70%), Gold (40%), Manganese (70%), Chromium (70%) and 54 other minerals. > What exactly happens to these Minerals is not known, yet Comrade Jeremy > knowingly avoids this question because his main interest is centred on > protecting and defending the existent property relations. The only thing we > can do, as he suggests, is to transform the pattern of capital accumulation, > not change it. We will never say that Comrade Jeremy is reformist because > the Youth League will be considered as and labelled BEE funded > anti-communist, only obsessed with shiny objects. > > We said before that, “Our call for nationalisation is based on the Freedom > Charter, but also on the fact that such will enhance and harness the State’s > capacity to create jobs and open economic opportunities for majority of our > people. The State control, ownership and expansion of our mineral processing > and beneficiation will play a critical role in labour-absorption of many > other workers into the South African economy. Buttressed by a comprehensive > social security strategy and industrial policy, South Africa needs high > labour-intensive programmes to decisively deal with the unemployment and > poverty challenges”. This call in Comrade Jeremy’s books is reduced to the > ANC YL’s obsession with bling to the extent that we can never think anything > developmental, but bling. It is sad that previously, those who look like us > were considered intellectually inferior by the white supremacists, and today > Comrade Jeremy reflects the same sentiment, even before he interacts with > the views of the ANC YL. > > The ANC’s 52nd National Conference resolutions re-affirm that “the use of > natural resources of which the state is the custodian on behalf of the > people, including our minerals, water, marine resources in a manner that > promotes the sustainability and development of local communities and also > realises the economic and social needs of the whole nation”. This requires > resolute leadership and decisive intervention into South Africa strategic > economic sectors. There are lots of industrial beneficiation programmes > South Africa can initiate and/or cause to happen despite jewellery. We are > very aware that value can be added to Minerals not through jewellery only, > but through various labour absorptive and developmental programmes. > > The ANC YL said in August 2009 that “One of South Africa’s greatest > challenges is its high levels of unemployment. Added to the low skills > reality, the South African economy is not sufficiently labour-absorptive to > the extent that even if the entire workforce would be skilled, the economy > would not absolve all workers into decent employment. So the creation of > various labour absorptive job opportunities is vital to deal with the > unemployment and poverty challenge. Mining as a critical component of the > South African economy should necessarily be used to expand and industrialise > the South African economy in a more developmental, instead of parasitic > mechanism pursued by the current owners of Mining activities in South > Africa”. Comrade Jeremy did not read this, and instead suspects that myself > as President of the Youth League “and others are missing this bigger > systemic picture because when they speak of mineral beneficiation they are > thinking of bling...sorry, jewellery”. Can it be possible that we dedicating > our struggle against prejudices elsewhere whilst they exist within the > organisation? > > Black people and particularly Africans in Mining do not own anything above > 10% of the Minerals extraction, production and trade in South Africa. Even > those who think they own, do so on behalf of white owned and controlled > Banks. It is an open secret that majority of shareholder capitalists in > Mining are heavily indebted, and why is it that the main concern for Comrade > Jeremy is the Youth League’s imagined efforts to save blacks and Africans in > the economy through Nationalisation. > > Cde Jeremy’s silence on the wealth that will be transferred from the white > minority to the black and particularly African majority is very loud. It > appears that the only concern Comrade Jeremy has is that these black > indebted shareholder capitalists will be saved by the call for > Nationalisation and nothing else. The Nationalisation that should happen > should never be a blindly driven programme, but extremely cautious as it > might impact on the government fiscus and disable the ANC government’s > capacity to build better lives for all. If Indeed Gold Mining will cause > more cost instead of benefit South Africa, then we will not concentrate our > energies on Gold. Platinum, chrome, manganese, diamond, coal, and most of > the other 54 minerals continue to be strategic minerals and their > extraction, production and trade should benefit the people as a whole. > > *Expropriation?* > * * > The question of expropriation does not arise and squarely falls within the > conceptual framework we previously raised, that “depending of the merits > of the each case based on “balance of evidence”, nationalisation may involve > expropriation with or without compensation”. This is vital and should be > decided on a case by case basis. Part of the models we are considering as an > approach to Nationalisation of Mines is the Botswana model where De Beers is > a 50% partnership with the Botswana government and still pays royalties and > tax. None of the Mining Licence Holders in South Africa currently have more > than 30 years licence, and a substantial part of the country’s platinum and > other vital minerals is not mined, entailing that if the partnership model > is the one endorsed by the ANC National General Council in September 2010, > the people of South Africa will be benefiting from as soon as new > partnerships are entered into. > > *Conclusion* > > The Constitutional Court will not be involved in all these because our call > for Nationalisation and its ultimate realisation will never violate the > Constitution. We have sufficient political power and the question is whether > we have the capacity, courage and will to use political power for the > benefit of the people as a whole. Whilst important for the life of the > organisation, debates should not seek to undermine the intellectual capacity > of other comrades, but should be used as contribution to the development of > our movement. Ideologues of the movement should never be tempted to fall > into an arrogant trap and believe that they are the only ones capable of > expressing views, and completely not care about engaging with (or at least > read) official perspective positions of the component organisations of the > National Liberation Movement. > > The ANC YL will interact with all discussion documents of the movement, > including the SACP Special National Congress documents, but will never agree > to be co-opted to reformist programmes and projects of anyone. South Africa > in 2009, more than in other period in its history, is strategically in a > space and period to Nationalise Mines. The Communist Party should in this > instance always seek to enrich the debate and discussion on the > Nationalisation of Mines and avoid joining reactionary and > counter-revolutionary forces who believe the status quo in terms of property > relations is acceptable. No amount of bickering from both Right and > fake-Left forces will diminish our efforts to ensure that Mines and other > strategic sectors of the South African economy are nationalised. We also do > not need the permission of white political messiahs to think. > > *ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ANC YL, Julius Malema:* > > * * > <http://groups.google.com/group/anc-yl-media?hl=en> > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.707 / Virus Database: 270.14.73/2513 - Release Date: 11/19/09 > 09:51:00 > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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. 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