Dear Comrades, I am on the other side of 35 years by a number of years. I am the member of the South African Communist Party and obviously I have an interest in the unity of the left formations in our country, be it Cosatu, YCL, SACP and I will argue the ANC.
It is sad that my efforts to ensure that the left representatives of young people do not find themselves contesting each other seem to have failed. I am unfortunately accused of funding the national chairperson to run a campaign against Cde Bhuti, my comrade and my friend. For the record, when it came to my attention that there might be a remote possibility that there may be a contest, I met with Cde Buti at the OR Tambo airport, he was on his way to Mtata to prepare for Mandela Day function that was organized by the national assembly of our country In that meeting, I communicated my concerns that it will be sad if the YCL will find itself in a the public and dirty contest for leadership in the midst of what was happening to ANCYL conferences in provinces at that time. We had a long political discussion, wherein Buti went into details about their discussions with the national chairperson, Cde David Masondo some years ago. I would urge the two comrades to revive those candid discussions. It pained me to hear that I am accused of funding Masondo to run a campaign. I hope our explanations to Cde Solly Mapaila were communicated to those making accusations. Numsa, the organization that I am humbled to lead as a President want to see a united YCL now and beyond the conference. We will do everything in our to support a successful conference of the Young Communists in our country. We cannot fail the immortal Ruth First who did a lot of work for the potato workers and the workers in general. Thanks to YCL that we have Castro in Numsa, but I cannot be expected to curtail Castro's activism in the YCL. I cannot charge him for that, but I can talk to him as a comrade. I hope senior leaders of our organization will find it in their political consciousness to raise their suspicions with me or Numsa about a divisive role that they think I or Numsa might be playing. I am hopeful that Numsa is going to be able to contribute towards the Conference of YCL as we are currently looking at the request in front of us. We are delighted to have contributed something to the current hosting of the communist parties from all over the world. I am looking forward to the bilateral with our vanguard party as our program dictates. I wish the YCL a successful conference. May they think about what would Ruth First say in this point in time. Comradely, Cedric Sabelo Gina Sent from my iPad On 03 Dec 2010, at 12:48 AM, Songezo Mleqwa <[email protected]> wrote: > By the way, what does it mean to say that the SACP is not supposed to support > a particular "faction" in the league because this is "divisive". Are factions > not already a reflection of division? How does the SACP leadership's support > for a faction become divisive, when there are already factions? Do not blame > the SACP on what you have already done, creating factions within the YCLSA. > DID YOU KNOW THAT THE YCL CONSTITUTION IS AGAINST FACTIONS? I am counting > beans HAPPY, and I am not happy with my count and I hope you will be happy > with the final count if this battle goes to the ballot. > > Why are we not removing this Manamela now because, as you suggest, already > the constitution is undermined and "changed" by him serving in parliament and > being NS at the same time. > > Does insistence on a full-time NS not a reliance on an individual because you > seem to be defining a "the need to develop an internal capacity to coordinate > campaigns and increase visibility and rigour" only on the basis of a full > time individual? > > If you respect Manamela and respects his leadership, why not ask him to come > back from parliament? There is a splendid and thoughtful coincidence on your > part with what COSATU has just said last week about Nzimande and what seems > to be your "happy" district position. Your lame excuse about the growth and > presence of the SACP because of years makes me roll on the floor with > laughter as it is the most of mechanical diatribe I have ever heard. Picking > myself from the floor, can I also ask you (still marvelling at your creative > intellect to justify what you proudly refer as a position of your faction), > is Nkwanyana not a full-time worker at Nehawu? Maybe you will say, but he > will resign (I am now strongly resisting the temptation to laugh), cant you > just go to Congress and argue that Manamela should resign from parliament and > be full-time in the office (and run the revolution from there). We can call > it "The Great Full-Time Office Revolution", it will be our secret. > > From: Linda Jabane <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wed, December 1, 2010 12:28:41 PM > Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] YCL LINDA JOBANE DISTRICT COUNCIL STATEMENT > > The YCL Linda Jobane District Council Statement > > The Young Communist League of South Africa in Linda Jobane (Johannesburg) > held a highly successful District Council on 28 November 2010 in > Braamfontein. The Council thoroughly discussed the state of the YCL at > district, provincial level as well as the upcoming 3rd National Congress. > Linda Jobane has become the biggest District in Gauteng and its membership is > on the increase. > > State of the Youth > > The District Council considered the state of the youth in South Africa, the > prevailing economic inequalities, health challenges as well as the lack of > access to quality public education amongst the vast majority of young working > class people. We also noted the increasing commodification of basic services > such as water, electricity, transport, and health, that this is accompanied > by increasing spate of disconnections and escalation of the cost of living > for the poor. It was observed that townships such as Orange Farm, Diepsloot, > Ivory Park, Alexandra and Kliptown are still haunted by massive levels of > poverty and deprivation, a factor that has led to the working class youth > many areas in Gauteng taking to the streets in protest. The factories, the > mines and the land in South Africa are still in the hands of a white > capitalist minority. Against this backdrop, the Council resolved that there > is a need to build a YCL that can: > > 1. fearlessly champion and advance extra-parliamentary (workplace and > community) struggles where capitalist brutality is most felt by the working > class > 2. assert its independence and raise issues sharply such as the SACP’s > contestation of state power as a political party of the working class and > questions about the ownership and control of the means of production, private > property, and particularly the nationalisation of the key sectors of the > economy such as land, mines, and banks. > 3. has the capacity to undertake campaigns such as free education, free > sanitary towels, youth cooperatives and youth access to land > > The Council was also unanimous in its support for COSATU’s Growth Path > Towards Full Employment. > > YCL Constitutional Provision for a Full time National Secretary > > The Council noted the attempts by some to campaign for a change in the > constitution of the YCL in order to allow the National Secretary to remain in > this position whilst serving as a member of parliament. The District Council > resolved that a change in the constitution of the YCL would not be in the > best interest of the organisation, the working class as well as the struggle > for socialism. Whilst we are not opposed to communists playing a role in > bourgeois parliaments and using the parliamentary rostrum in a revolutionary > manner, we are nonetheless convinced that the YCL needs to develop an > internal capacity to coordinate campaigns and increase its visibility and > rigour when it comes to extra-parliamentary struggles and should therefore > have a full-time National Secretary, a readily available crop of cadres who > tirelessly engage in the work of building the organisation As such the > Council was unanimous in declaring that the position of the National > Secretary should remain a fulltime position. We therefore believe that > Comrade Buti Manamela must continue his role as an ANC MP and that the 3rd > National Congress must elect a leader willing to serve as YCL National > Secretary in a full-time capacity. > > The YCL is not the SACP > > The District Council also noted the mischievous attempts by some in the YCL > to compare the YCL with the SACP by arguing that the National Secretary of > the YCL must be allowed to serve both as an MP and as a YCL National > Secretary. The Council vehemently rejected this view on the following basis: > > 1. The SACP has a far bigger membership and profile than the YCL. The > Party continued to operate underground whilst the YCL only was only > reestablished in 2003 since its banishment under the Suppression of Communism > Act in 1950 > 2. The Vision 2010 of the YCL remains unrealised and this is a major > disappointment. Moving forward, there needs to be a concerted effort to > launch structures of the YCL in every ward so that the young working class is > not in want of this organisation’s leadership and direction. > > There was also an attempt by some in the leadership of the Province to > advocate the case that Comrade Buti Manamela must be pushed for a Ministerial > position in the current cabinet. The view of the Council was that this is an > opportunistic manner of doing things. Not only is this view foreign to YCL > structures, in particular the PEC which has never resolved on it, but it > further tempers with the prerogative of the President of the Republic to > appoint ministers. > > As much as we respect Comrade Buti Manamela and are grateful for his > leadership throughout the years, we cannot nonetheless relegate the entire > fate of the organisation to one individual. The YCL is a vibrant organisation > of young people and has no leadership crisis. There are certainly many young > communists that can be able to takeover the YCL’s leadership with fervour and > tenacity. In this regard the Council nominated the following comrades for the > National Committee Office Bearer positions. > > Nominations for Leadership > > The District Council resolved to forward the following comrades for the > leadership of the YCL > > · National Secretary – Khayelihle Nkwanyana (KwaZulu Natal) > · National Chairperson – Mesuli Nqondwana (Eastern Cape) > · National Treasurer – Nhlakanipho Zuma ( Mpumalanga) > · National Deputy Secretary – Phindile Kunene (Gauteng) > · National Deputy Chairperson – George Raphela (Limpopo) > > We are open to engagement by other structures of the YCL about these > leadership proposal. > > The Role of the SACP > > The YCL in Linda Jobane expressed disappointment at the manner in which > certain leaders of the SACP chose to enter the YCL succession debate through > supporting a particular faction in the league. This is divisive and > unconstructive. It is probably fuelled by the perception that those who > prefer leadership change in the YCL also have a problem with the current SACP > leadership. This perception is of course untested, but is has been employed > extensively by those who prefer to keep the status quo, to lobby for support. > The Party must be very careful not to fall into the trap of perceiving > certain comrades in the YCL as ordained with the inalienable right to defend > the Party or as the correct and anointed leaders of the YCL. We all love the > SACP and we all have the right to defend and strengthen it and advance its > revolutionary programme. The Party should desist from painting YCL members > who are opposed to a change in the constitution of the YCL with all sorts of > counter-revolutionary colours whilst elevating the faction which is > pro-constitutional change to the level of being angels or mini-Gods. Whatever > happens in the 3rd National Congress, the SACP must still retain its > legitimacy as the leader of the working class in South Africa. > > As the biggest District in Gauteng, we will do all in our powers to ensure > that the views expressed in the District Council find expression in the > structures of the YCL. We also urge that discipline, transparency, and > fairness prevail in the 3rd National Congress. Attempts to commodify > democracy through enticing delegates with money, five star accommodation, > whiskeys, and other expensive gifts must never find expression in our YCL and > must be exposed whenever they rear their ugly heads. > > Issued by the YCL Linda Jabane District > > Contact – Happy Molobye – District Secretary – 079 534 1530 > > > -- > You are subscribed. 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