--- On Mon, 3/29/10, Tom Nkosi <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Tom Nkosi <[email protected]> Subject: Re: anarchy To: "Ndinisa Maviyo" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 10:46 PM To me, the so-called service delivery protests that are taking place in the country and the province did not come as a surprise. While a comprehensive analysis of the protests still needs to be done, it will be at our peril if we rule out the possibility of a "social revolution". Social revelations can take various forms, they can either be orchestrated from top down (planned) or they can be spontaneous (anarchistic) from bottom up. Those in charge of government in Mpumalanga have reached a conclusion that the protests are orchestrated from Luthuli House. In certain instances they blame those who have ambitions to lead local government. I may not agree with the Luthuli House analogy, but there may be some element of truth on the assumption that the uprisings are orchestrated by those who have ambitions to lead local government in 2011. This is not a new phenomenon. Following the mass deployment of comrades in provincial and national legislatures, there was a vacuum created at local government levels. Those people that were deployed in this tier of government were not our best cadres, at least in terms of skills. This group, however, carried with it the history of struggle and revolutionary morality. A peaceful "revolution" took root. Led mainly by the middle class, teachers and other professionals. Their ascendance to power mainly happened through character assassination and they successfully dislodged comrades and took over. They may not necessarily have introduced the culture of accumulation, however, the ground was fertile for accumulation. It was during this period that the new politics of money flourished. The people realised that all they needed was R1200 to recruit membership. To do this successfully, however, they had to be in control of the regions, particularly the regional offices and ultimately the provincial offices of the African National Congress. It was through this process that the professionals were also dislodged. New alliances were forged, depending on which faction had more money to influence the voting patterns. I dealt with some of these in my pamphlet, "Hugging the hyena - the politics of horse trading in Mpumalanga". However, I suggest that comrades read, "Is the revolution safe in your hands" - a very futuristic pamphlet that was issued by the ANCYL under the leadership of Mthandazo Ngobeni. For those who are orchestrating these uprisings, the possibility exists that they are engaged in a "ping pong" struggle for the control of state resources, while that same cannot be said about the thousands of followers, who may be genuinely frustrated by the pace of service delivery. The uprisings may not bring about regime change, because Mpumalanga has never waged a successful "insurrection". If anything, we have a history of selling out. For example in 1999 when the NEC imposed Ndaweni Mahlangu, our leaders in the province sold out by accepting that bantustan leader, even in the face of opposition by the membership throughout the province. The same happened when Thabang Makwetla was imposed in 2004. WHAT MUST BE DONE? This is not a blue print of what needs to be done, but my own view on how we can move out of the impasse. On the uprisings: The uprisings must be dealt with by isolating what are genuine community grievances from opportunistic quest for control of state power and resources. The current leadership, however, cannot achieve this because they are part of the "pin-pong" struggle for the control of state resources. On the current intervention: The NEC/ NWC intervention is a good start to curb their control of the structures of the movement, because there is no way in which anyone can influence genuine ANC politics when they control the sub-regions, regions and the province. Currently they are able to determine who can or cannot be a member of the organisation. Organisational tasks: The dissolution of all the structures of the organisation at all levels, including the leagues, and the establishment of appropriate interim structures to include politically advanced members of the ANC, as well as the current factions, to assist the NEC/ NWC in its effort for organisational renewal. The development of an intensive organisational renewal programme which will be characterised by an intensive political education for all the members who join the organisation, as well as a massive recruitment campaign. The establishment of local government elections task teams to start mobilising for the 2011 local government elections. Track all the resources which are acquired in the name of the organisation and remove them from the hands of individuals and place these under the control of the organisation. The organisation must develop and engage in a political team building programme aimed encouraging the cessation of hostilities between the various factions that are operational in the province and all the levels of the organisation. Conclusion: As stated earlier, this is not a blue print, because no single individual can resolve the problems of the organisation as massive as the ANC. The input is intended to continue the debate that you and many other comrades have started. Aluta continua Tom On 28 Mar 2010, at 11:35 PM, Ndinisa Maviyo wrote: please edit my views <ANARCHY.docx> -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. 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