lol gugu,why you saying lazola and that it? On Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 9:04 PM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Cadres let's soilder on....we shall never loose sight,I understand that we > r operating below our political potential. > > Amandla Sotsha > Let's move on aggressively > > Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! > ------------------------------ > *From: *Lazola Ndamase <[email protected]> > *Sender: *[email protected] > *Date: *Wed, 8 Jun 2011 15:55:53 +0200 > *To: *yclsa-eom-forum<[email protected]>; commissar3< > [email protected]>; <[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: *[email protected] > *Subject: *[YCLSA Discussion] Letter to ANCYL delegates to the National > Congress > > *Lazola Ndamase* > > * > * > > *Dearest comrades* > > > I am made aware that some of you will be attending the 24th National > Congress of the ANCYL on June 16. You will be doing this in your capacity as > delegates of the ANCYL. Lucky you; I, together with Neziwe Bangani > (Secretary of my Branch) were also supposed to attend the same conference, > but our branch together with others from my sub-region were not taken to > Calata for Auditing. The explanation given to us was that our Regional > leadership had forgotten our branch files in the cupboard in the regional > office. > > > Some comrades believe that this is deliberate, we do not; at least we hope > not. Apart from the fact that there is nothing that our branch can do about > the exclusion of its delegates from the National Congress, we also have no > wish not to believe the explanation given to us by our Regional leadership. > Our leaders are supposed to be beyond reproach, isn’t it? I was requested to > write this letter by our BGM which was called to discuss the fact that the > views of our branch will not reach the National Congress of the ANCYL. I was > therefore requested to give an account to other comrades about the views > expressed in our BGM. This is in order to lobby other comrades to agree with > our point of view. If these views are objectionable to you, we will > understand. It is your right to hold a different opinion. > > > Having engaged in such serious discussions on what our branch would want to > see in the National Congress of the ANCYL, it is a pity we cannot attend the > National Congress, particularly, because the National Congress is supposed > to map out a clear plan on how to free young people from the yoke of > poverty, unemployment and destitution. These are all things that affect the > greater majority of young people in the villages that make up our branch. > This is the reason why I have had to use means outside the Congress venue to > lobby other delegates on the issues facing young people in my ward. > > > Just to enlighten you comrades, given the rural nature of the areas covered > by my branch, the majority of young people have not passed their Matric. > This is not because we do not like school, but because of the difficult > conditions under which most study. I for example, studied at Tungwini (a mud > school), and classrooms at school ended at grade five, whilst grade six, > seven, eight and nine were attended at people’s homes. Those that have > passed their Matric have found it very difficult to access higher education > because of lack of funds. The fact that the Minister of Higher Education and > Zuma say free education will be introduced gradually means for now they will > remain where they are. It is with this in mind that our branch resolved to > support the call by SASCO for the immediate implementation of free higher > education and the imposition of an education tax on all South Africans that > earn top-notch salaries and on those that rake millions out of the South > African economy as profit, including those that have so much money they go > around eating sushi on the bodies of naked women. > > > Electricity was installed in the villages in my ward last year, but the > majority still prefer using candles and firewood because of the expensive > nature of electricity, particularly given the fact that the majority just do > not have any source of income. The usage of firewood, has already resulted > in the burning of people’s mud huts in some villages and we are crossing our > fingers that the same must not occur in our village. That is why our branch > called for the reversal of the electricity tariffs Eskom imposed on > house-hold users and calls for Eskom to decrease the salaries of its > executives and to increase its tariffs on businesses rather. > > > The majority of the people in my ward are unemployed and live destitute > lives. They sit at home, and as one SASCO document says: “they watch the > sunrise and set”. They live on the meagre pensions of their grandparents, > and those who have kids augment their lives with this, rather than spend it > on their kids. As a result, many of those I grew up with, smoke dagga and > can no longer even play soccer, a sport I love the most. Some have turned to > criminal activity. But because this is a village, some steal cows, whilst > others are robbing spaza shops, and pensioners and selling dagga. This > cannot be allowed to go on. Just two years ago one of our childhood friends, > was stabbed to death in my village for completing the roof of a house that > was being built by another young person. That is the extent to which > competition for already scarce resources has turned young people against > another and has turned our people into criminals who can do anything for > money including murder. > > > Every year, in my branch, we have seen young men and women leave the > village travelling distances as far as Grabbor, next to Cape Town (to work > in snake filled apple farms), Stanger in KZN (sugar cane fields – risking > snake bites), Johannesburg and its surroundings looking for work in the > Mines, and we have seen them come back with little more than just money to > go back again because of this barbaric capitalist economic system which > advances accumulation at the expense of people’s survival. When these young > people are either injured or grow old, their pensions amount to just enough > to buy a handful of cows and some clothes. So indeed, we have seen > mine-workers who have retired still struggling to send their children to > school because when working they earned peanuts. That is why our branch > resolved to support the Nationalization of all South Africa’s industries and > not just mines. > > > As a consequence, our branch has also called for the abolishing of tenders > within the South African state which have already resulted in the > impoverishment of thousands of young people in my ward – past and present. > These young people are often employed as casual labor during construction of > roads by tendering companies. They are often made to work their lives off > whilst they receive peanuts in return. We hear that our President, and some > NEC members of our organization are deeply involved in this type of > exploitative business activity. So long as our leadership continues to > clothe and live off these businesses, we do not see it possible that they > would be able to lead a struggle that seeks to abolish this kind of business > activity. We would prefer that our President not just resign as a director > in these companies, but renounce his shares in them and lead a most > ferocious struggle to ensure that government brings an end to the system of > tenders and instead builds internal capacity. > > > The increased reports of corruption and the awarding of tenders to a small > connected elite which gets recycled raised the ire of some members in our > branch who complained that Black Economic Empowerment and indeed > Tenderpreneurship have resulted in the accumulation of an elite at the > expense of the greater majority of South Africans, many of which include > them. > > > Side by side, with the growing levels of poverty and destitution amongst > people in our ward, we have seen, a small elite of connected individuals who > do not know the hustle of job-hunting because their friends either won the > Regional Congress of the ANC, its YL or the District Congress of the SACP or > YCL and in other higher structures. We have also seen the marginalization > and indeed pauperization of those whose views did not win the day in these > very same congresses. We have also received complaints from a number of > people in our ward some of who refused to vote during the recent local > government elections who complained that the problem with our movement is > that we employ each other. If you are not in the ANC or the MDM and you are > just an ordinary citizen, you will not smell a job anywhere near you, goes > the complaint. > > > Our leadership has written wonderful documents towards this National > Congress and for that we would like to congratulate them. We have our > misgivings about some of the issues contained in these documents but these > do not take away the wonderful nature of the discussion documents. We are > particularly delighted by the aspect that calls for expropriation without > compensation, in the process of nationalizing mines. But it is difficult to > understand the fact that our leadership is happy to see the expropriation > without compensation of mines from mining capital while it is not willing to > ensure the expropriation without compensation of areas where it has business > interests such as construction. Surely, our leadership, is playing double > standards here. This is one of the issues our branch intended for its > delegates to raise in the ANCYL national congress. > > > Our BGM noted that, for an organization to wage a relentless battle against > poverty, unemployment and pauperization, our movement needs strong branches. > Branches are essential. Our organization in order to succeed, it requires to > exist in each and every locality. It requires attracting young people to its > ranks in each and every locality. It requires to have fully-fledged branches > in every corner of our society. The presence of delegates when there are no > branches presents a picture of an organization full of life when in essence > this is nothing but an empty shell. Apart from electing leadership in the > National Congress, bogus branches will contribute nothing to the achievement > of the above-mentioned goals. The poor will suffer as a result. > > > An example of how these bogus branches have not been helpful to the NDR was > the situation of the Western Cape, when one of our fraternal structures in > its National Congress had hundreds of delegates from the Western Cape, > purporting to represent hundreds of branches. Unfortunately, because the > majority of these branches were bogus, and only existed to install certain > people to leadership positions, these branches – and their members - were > nowhere to be found when the movement needed them most during the election > campaign. > > > At the end, our BGM paused and reflected at the strengths of the ANCYL > leadership in order to come to a conclusion whether or not there is a > need for a change in leadership. Our BGM concluded that our leadership did > very well in advancing nationalization. Our leadership is “radical”, we are > told. Our BGM noted that the radicalism of the ANCYL leadership has only > been seen on TV. We have not seen our leadership mobilizing young people and > society towards any of the things they have announced they will do on TV. > Surely, our leadership does not seem serious about any of the things they > claim to want to achieve. They just use them to score political points. We > need a leadership that will not exist only on TV and in newspapers, but one > that will mobilize on the ground. That will require that they should > exchange their suits for tracksuits in order to march. > > > We are indeed happy with the fact that the ANCYL leadership has come out in > support of decent work and has expressed its opposition to the youth wage > subsidy. But our BGM wondered whether our national leadership in their own > businesses. If this is not the case, surely our leadership supported decent > work and opposed the youth subsidy simply for the purpose of scoring > political points and ensuring that they appear progressive. Of course, we do > not agree with those that say everything about our leadership has been > disastrous. That’s super-factionalism. Unfortunately, those who want us to > believe that everything is rosy about our leadership are as equally > factional. You were poor before the leadership was elected, you are poor > now, and you might be poor after it is re-elected, but you support them > anyway. That is class suicide. > > > In the past three years since the election of our national leadership, we > have seen the suspension of comrades for nothing else but expressing a > differing view. We have seen the disbandment of the hardest working > branches. In the past year alone, our sub-region (Nyandeni) was disbanded by > the regional leadership just because its branches did not support a > candidate in the provincial congress which was preferred by the national > leadership. Many of the branches in our sub-region were also disbanded. > These are branches and structures which were not accused of breaching > discipline, or acting in manner that brings the name of the organization > into disrepute. Rather than strengthen our branches in order to advance the > struggle for economic freedom, our leadership has been weakening them in > order to get delegates to the National Congress. The so-called struggle for > economic freedom desirable as it is, it can never be achieved with the > presence of a national leadership that is willing to kill structures in > order to maintain its presence in office. > > > Since the election of the current leadership, we have seen foreign > tendencies taking centre stage. The National Democratic Revolution is > essentially about resolution of the class, racial and gender contradictions. > Our revolution is not about deepening but resolving racial contradictions. > One of the most racists statements was made by the President of the ANCYL > when he called SACP stalwart Jeremy Cronin a “white messiah”. If this kind > of racism is allowed, what will follow next? Is it “Xhosa messiah” or “Zulu > messiah”? This kind of behaviour has to be nipped in the bud. The attacks > against leaders of the MDM has to come to an end, particularly the attacks > against the leadership of the SACP. Our branch does not say that SACP > leaders must not be criticized, but there is a clear difference between > insults and criticism. > > > Our President and our National Leadership must bear some responsibility for > contributing to the creation of a picture in society that our MDM is a > movement at war with itself. They were the first to fire the first salvo > when they went on every platform attacking ANC Secretary General Gwede > Mantashe as early as 2009. Surely, an innocent by-stander asks themselves > what type of a movement goes to war as soon as elections are done. > Zwelinzima Vavi, Blade Nzimande, Zola Skweyiya (the list is endless) all did > not escape insults and innuendo from our leadership. We are not saying these > comrades and others must not be criticized but the culture of insults and > disruption of meetings owes more to our National leadership than to anybody > else. This must also come to an end. > > > Our comrades in other branches going to their BGM’s were forced not to > express their opposition to the re-election of the current President for > fear of their branches being butchered before even reaching the National > Congress. This climate of fear is exactly what our movement fought against > in defeating apartheid. It is the same climate that they fought against when > they supported Zuma towards Polokwane. Now, they are forced to fear the > current national leadership. No more. > > > We were also warned by the BGM of our branch that we should not shirk this > responsibility of raising these issues, hard as they are. We were also > requested to point out to other delegates that: As they travel in accident > prone busses to the Congress, there are those that would have flown business > class to attend the same congress. Whilst they will sleep in Congress > accommodation, there will be those who will be staying in five star hotels > and will be prancing around during the Congress in their designer labels and > will be driving expensive cars. > > > These people, although they will sing the same songs as you, although they > may eat from the same tables as you do, they are not like you. At the end of > the Conference, you will go back to your poverty and they will remain with > their opulence. As you go back to your shacks, they will go back to their > posh houses. They may speak the same language as you, but both their > immediate and long term interests are not the same as yours. Just before you > participate in the voting process, look back and think, will you not elect > to power the same elites whose economic circumstances have nothing to do > with your daily struggles. Is your vote not being used by some who claim to > understand your situation but do not live it, in order for them to continue > their lives riding on your vote? Will they not do this again after three > years? > > > Our branch deliberated about the possibility of a contestation in the > National Congress, our delegates were given one mandate, whatever they do, > they must not re-elect the leadership of the organization. We were told to > look for working class candidates. We were also told that if there is no > working class candidate, we should ensure that we disrupt the current > leadership (by electing new leaders) because it has already bled the > movement enough. We were told that, comrade Maile is not a working class > candidate, and we should look for an alternative to the current leadership, > but not comrade Maile. > > > We were told that if we cannot find someone else, we should vote for > comrade Maile not because we believe he is a saint, but because we want to > defeat the rot already under way. One thing is for sure, my branch was dead > against the current leadership. It was clearly going to vote for change, but > it was not granted that opportunity, which just tells clearly what we are > dealing with. Now we are forced to plead with you who have made it as > delegates to consider our views. > > > If efforts to effect change in the ANCYL congress do not succeed, please do > not throw chairs, do not disrupt the Congress as our President suggests > there are some who want to do so, come back and work in your branches. Do > not work to build branches for the next Congress, but build branches that > will advance the struggles of the working class youth under the current > circumstances of suspensions and disbandment. > > > Yours in struggle > > > > *Lazola Ndamase* > > * > * > > *NB: Lazola Ndamase is a member of the ANCYL Ntlangano branch (Nyandeni > Sub-region), and was elected together with Neziwe Bangani to attend the > ANCYL Conference but his branch was not taken to the Audit.* > > -- > 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. 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