Issue 1, Vol 1: 29 October 2010 *In this issue:*
- President's Political Notes: Welcome to Moithuti<http://www.unwembi.co.za/sasco/show.php?include=pubs/moithuti/2010/issue1.html#one> - Editorial<http://www.unwembi.co.za/sasco/show.php?include=pubs/moithuti/2010/issue1.html#two> [image: President's Political Notes]President's Political Notes: Welcome to Moithuti This in is prepared for the online journal of SASCO "Moithuti" and it is an opening input from the office of the presidency and it is the input that attempts to set a tone for the journal for a long time to come. Perhaps before we come to deal with some of the fundamental matters that we may address in this first edition of the journal we need perhaps to highlight the reason why this journal is so important. For starters the use of technology by members of SASCO and the student population in the institutions o0f higher education in general is increasing and can no longer be taken for granted by the organisation and we need to make use of this platform to communicate ideas that are blooming in the organisation and make our humble contribution to the front left ideological offensive that confronts neo-liberalism. We are required to ensure that the set of ideas that challenge what is being presented as an inevitable domination of pro capitalist or liberal ideas are being strengthened and are pursued vigorously. It is true that the duty of SASCO to be a breeding ground for the revolutionary intellectual is now more pressing than ever. The task of all our structures to instil, in members and in all with whom it interacts, the conviction that the status quo politically and economically is both undesirable and unsustainable is an urgent task. The intellectual that we require is the kind that is able to utilise all platforms for the revolutionary cause the kind that is able to link his thoughts and his analysis with the concrete realities that continue to characterise the existence of the oppressed and the working class in particular. The intellectual whose ideas are not a product of thinking performed in a library in the comfort of an armchair but the kind whose thoughts and analysis are produced by his daily interaction with the working class as part of the struggling masses and not as a distant observer of societal contradictions. This is the organic intellectual that is required by the revolution this day as much it was yesterday. The ideas and the analysis that this intellectual must produce must be anchored in the revolutionary theory of Marxism-Leninism. As SASCO we must bear that flag with pride and persuasiveness that is unparalleled. It is true that the possibility that our revolutionary movement may hit a wall in terms of the movement of the NDR. It is possible that the fact of the unchanged conditions of the masses may cause a stalemate that will, quite naturally, cause the revolutionary movement to find itself in a challenging position. It is possible as well that we may not be fully appreciative the evolution of class forces in the ANC, in the Party and in the trade union movement and therefore we may not be entirely spot on in strategy and tactics that we employ to pursue the objectives of the revolution. It may well be true that what once was tactic made and engineered to further interests of the strategy has now turned to be the actual strategy owing to the new state of class forces in the revolutionary movement . It also may well be that the character of the Post Polokwane regime in the ANC was never aligned to the aspirations that many in the left and broader evolutionary movement assumed it was aligned to. The extent to which these factors inform the pace, the direction and the posture of the NDR is extremely important and can never be overstated. These are just some of the debates that we need to really entertain in this platform and alongside these discussion debate the state of the South African higher education and answer a lot of questions in as far as its transformation is concerned. We need to put the spotlight once more on education in our country and ensure that all our tools of analysis are consistently sharpened to enable members of SASCO not as individuals but as a coherent force to occupy the centre once more in as far all these discussions are concerned and give direction. That is our business! Yes, the time has come for us to ensure that internet platforms that are meant for revolutionary theory, debate and thought are kept as such and are not allowed to degenerate to platforms of slander and gossip. It’s important that Moithuti provides a platform for members of SASCO and the Mass Democratic Movement structures in general that will enable us as members to engage on important topics and to revive true political debate and exterminate intellectual mediocrity that emerges in the midst of populist and unprincipled politicking. Many people would ask themselves why SASCO has not used the medium of the internet in the past for communicating with its members and establish and continuous rapport with its members as well as debate platforms. The answer is that this attempt has been made before save for the fact that it became victim of opportunists that used that platform for purposes other than those for which t was initially set up and for that reason the leadership of the time took a decision to temporarily shut it down and it would appear that such temporary measure took a longer time than anticipated. Nevertheless the most important fact at the moment is that we have taken a decision as this National Executive Committee to once again open this platform for debate with a clear intention to curb all abuse within the limits of our ability and that of the technology available to us. This platform is created to cultivate ground for the birth of the new organic intellectual and we are pleased to open it to all members of SASCO and to all who come with good intentions to engage with us. Lets a thousand schools of thought flourish A luta continua! *Mbulelo Mandlana is President of SASCO. This is one of Many instalments he will contribute to the Journal.* [image: President's Political Notes]Editorial In a society where access to information and intellectual development is also determined by your class position, it is important for the organisations of the people to create their own alternative information dispensation methods and debating platforms. The Student movement is not exempted to this general rule. This is done with full knowledge that the organisation belongs to its members in particular and the South African student mass in general. With the reason above we are pleased to present to you the first copy of MOITHUTI (student) our Bi-weekly online journal. Unlike many, both within and outside the Mass movement, we do not believe that the views of those elected into positions of responsibility are gospel truth after which all of us ought to sing (of course with exclusion of the official positions of the organisation). On the contrary we believe that we must at all given point in time make scientific inquiries on matters affecting the society, their impact and communicate such discoveries or beliefs. In our attempts to find solutions to prevailing socio-economic conditions we must evoke both our experience and that of other people and use our revolutionary tools of analysis. We do this with an understanding that at the centre of any living organisation there are contradictions. The only issue is that they ought to be constructive. It is therefore not in the interest of the organisation to prevent contradictions. In course of our discussions we must also take some time to reflect on the political economy of the country and its impact on access and success in institutions of higher learning. Some of the questions to be asked are as follows: 1. Why is there such huge gap between the rich and the poor? 2. Why are students from poor families the ones struggling to complete their degrees? 3. What about the gap between Urban and Rural? 4. How does it affect education? In the recent past we experienced a much polluted political environment where intimidations, threats and patronage where used to influence the views of comrades in conferences and outside. Instead of dealing with the problem most of us just decided on condemning the tendency and labelling it as counter-revolutionary. The major problem is that our people (especially the poor) are more reliant on the state to provide means to reproduce their lives. The state has further more created bourgeoisie that relies on the state for tenders to quench their ever-lasting thirst for profit. The problems of ill-discipline and uncultured comrades in the movement are therefore bound to exist. Until we decisively transform the economy in the interest of the poor and the working class we cannot be able to deal with the problems in our very own movement. The history of the liberation movement also had to witness the third National General Council of the African National Congress in Durban recently. While the NGC was able to deal with growing tendencies relating to ill-discipline in the movement, it fell short of the most important task of adopting an action plan to implement those resolutions which were not implemented. The reluctance of government to provide free, quality public higher education in the country cannot go unnoticed and actions taken against it. The minister of higher education has since promised us a response to the NSFAS report by the end of August but to date the minster remains lip-sealed on the issue. No indication has also been made that the minister is struggling to formulate a view on the NSFAS report. SASCO has also made an input on this matter. We believe that our input is very practical and therefore that if the minister had no view on the matter he should have simply taken our input as his. The student populace and the society in general must also note that free-education will never come on a silver plate. Our structures need to mobilise the society in general and students mass in particular for the noble cause of free education. As our NGC sits to review progress made since Durban later this year, we ought to ask compelling questions about the state of the organisation. We ought to ask if the growth in the number of branches has also translated to growth in the quality of members in these branches. Are we not in the danger of behaving in the same manner we condemn everyday in our meetings or through our statements. We also ought to make review the current situation in both our university campuses and the FET sector. Matter is in a constant state of motion. It is therefore understandable if what was considered normal and progressive yesterday will be considered conservative and retrospective today. The NGC therefore must not only be concerned with advancing the already existent agenda, but must also assist in crafting new agenda for the student movement. This December young people from all over the world will meet in Nasrec in Johannesburg in the World Festival for Youth and Students. The Festival is convened by the World Federation for Democratic Youth under the theme: *Let’s fight imperialism for the world of peace and social transformation*. This festival is historic in the sense that it will be sitting in Africa for the second time and for the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa. As an organisation we are an affiliated structure of WFDY and will continue to participate in its activities to fight imperialism. Our comrades are therefore required as a matter of must to popularise the festival wherever they are found and also to participate in the festival itself. Our contribution to a battle against imperialism must also not be limited to sloganeering and media statement, we ought to adopt through our coming council practical programmes to fight imperialism for Imperialism as Thomas Sankara figuratively put it, is "An arsonist of our bushes and savannas!" The people of Zimbabwe, Cyprus, Western Sahara and the Korean people are part of the people in question. As we enter both the festival and our council let us not forget the struggling people of Swaziland who in their majority are still suffering for the last absolute monarch in the region. Our energies and sympathy must always be with them. Our intervention on the Swazi-question must not be based on our zeal to benefit materially from the resolution of the question. On the 01st of December we shall once more celebrate the international HIV/Aids day. As an organisation we ought to ask ourselves whether we are able to make a tangible impact on the struggle against this disease. As we enter the day we must fix it in our minds that poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment makes a major contribution to this both infection and prevalence of the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. This journal is neither mine nor does it belong to the NEC, It belongs to the student mass of the country and members of SASCO in particular. Feel free to make contributions. Matimba!!!!!! *Ngoako Elmont Selamolela* *Editor MOITHUTI* *This Journal will come out every second week on Wednesday’s and all members of SASCO and other interested people are invited to write articles for the Journal.* -- Gugu Ndima +27 76 783 1516 -- 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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