Chameleonic Cadres If I may be allowed to refer to Comrade Gen Sec Blade Nzimandes Chris Hani 2011 Memorial Lecture, Comrade Blade says “To strengthen local government, we need to put an end to outsourcing core municipal functions to tenderpreneurs, to profiteers and other vultures. We must build, not weaken, the capacity of local government. We must ensure sustained local skills development for municipal staff and departments. To strengthen local governance, we also need to reinforce the role of the non-profit social economy sector in municipal services and municipal procurement - including through dedicated support to co-operatives, and other sustainable livelihood activities in our communities. And we need to ensure every municipality develops a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy - corruption diverts public resources into private pockets; corruption is at the root of many factional squabbles; corruption plays into the hands of those who want to subvert democracy. Together, we must stamp out this scourge.” And he further says “ Democratising local government includes: Involving communities in deciding on local development priorities. Councillors must be subject to these development priorities, including in rural areas. Holding councillors to the legal requirement of convening ward meetings every three months. At these community meetings development priorities must be discussed and progress evaluated. “ The SACP Gen Sec gave a practically critical analysis there and possible solutions, I am not saying this should be the Gospel of Blade but a guiding principle. The rationale for the thuggish and barbaric actions of communities when they are protesting is understandable considering the kind of frustrations some officials make them to go through. The government’s present economic interventions are incapable of addressing the social ills we find ourselves in. The debate must not be so much about whether what has happened in Soweto is a devious crime against families concerned or not because if it gets limited to that it can only jeopardize our long-term goals. It is a fact that such hideous actions are criminal in nature. Unfortunately things are not changing at the required pace and what is stalling this pace is comrades with the mentality "Yo ku phanda" (Tenderpreneurs as Cde Blade would put it). One can therefore not ignore the agitation that is slowly caused and stirred by such comrades in our communities. The rather myopic approach by the ANC on these service delivery protests springing in various parts of the country is not encouraging. The ANC needs to work hard at educating its cadreship on selflessness for social upliftment. I am not in any way saying the victims of these violent protest are the sole cause or part of the cause of their demise, they might have inherited it from their predecessors or rather the system. Communities complained about ANC 2011 Local Government candidates, the process was flawed. It was the ANCs good intention that community member’s advice on which candidates they want as their councilors but some enterprising individuals found a way to manipulate the system in order to advance their economic appetite. You will find a comrade working in the private sector concocting a plan to get into local government as this has been seen as a get rich quick-scheme. The existence of these revolutionary thugs in our midst is not unprecedented; they are a social and revolutionary scum eroding our society's moral fiber. The poor sections of our communities are really frustrated by these marauding comrades. How would prepaid meters take anyone out of debt? Firstly communities need programs that can improve their earning power in order to improve their welfare. Communities need programs that will crush the cruising cycle of financial serfdom. There must be alternative ways of finding solutions to these problems! A peremptory attitude needs to be introduced so that we can give up this unreasonable enterprising appetite of greediness by our commanders in public office. The constant theme through our minds, debates and engagement should be "Let’s clamp down on corruption and materialism". Ever present in our movements circles is the fear of purging, people are afraid to speak up because they don’t want to loose their positions, they are afraid to speak up the truth because that will not harness their career or wealth prospects. This is wrong, we should say "No, a BIG NO" to such practices. Communist Regards Lesetja Diphoko (SACP Activist)
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