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-----Original Message----- From: Donald Mphaga Mothoa <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:02:24 To: YCL Discussion<[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] RESPECT AND DISCIPLINE IS THE OBLIGATION OF EVERY MEMBER RESPECT AND DISCIPLINE IS THE OBLIGATION OF EVERY MEMBER The African National Congress is known to be a unitary organization that excises democratic centralism, discipline in nature, advocating self-discipline and constructive criticism as opposite to grand-standing and the organization that adopted one of the greatest thinker Amilcar Cabral’s philosophies of telling no lies and claiming no easy victory. In the January 8 statement of 1984 Comrade Oliver Regional Tambo, then President of the ANC outlined the politics of revolutionary change. In it he emphasized “special responsibility” that rests on the shoulders of the ANC and the most advanced members of the broad democratic movement to act as revolutionaries and wage revolutionary struggle. He urged revolutionaries to base themselves on the conscious and organized involvement of the masses of our people, to build a strong and disciplined revolutionary movement. The history taught us to remember among others; the 1912 ANC formation during difficult condition under General Jan Smuts, the 1960 Sharpeville massacre that can be interpreted as the main factor that led to the establishment of the Spear of the Nation (MK), 1993 Boipatong massacre and the death of comrade Chris Hani which nearly put the country into a civil war if leadership was not practicing unity in action as Tambo said. The discipline of our organization led the 1994 ANC’s democratic breakthrough victory against the final hope of the defunct National Party. Thanks to these historic events that sharpened our knowledge on respect and the discipline of our organization. January 2012 marked the centenary of respect, discipline and unity in action as the year also marks ANC’s remarkable ability to vanquish numerous political shortcomings and myopic outlooks on the operation of our beloved and old movement in Africa. Classical victory is the rough road that led to the December 2002 ANC Stellenbosch Conference whereby others in the movement were called names such as “1996 class project” and others “ultra-leftist”. The December 2007 Polokwane Conference was also constituted by the highest and open lobbying as if people were not coming from the same organization. Nevertheless, the ANC emerged from these two conferences as a united force because of its experience in managing the contradictions. Robert J Jackson and Doreen Jackson once wrote that lobbying became a bad thing when special interests use money to cross the line between persuading politicians or bureaucrats, for example bribing them with ‘entertainment, ’cash gifts, donations to politicians campaigns and so on. The notion of the two thinkers send a signal to us as ANC members that we should be careful and guard against the fat cats using and taking advantage of the poor class in the organization for their personal interest. I also want to quote the German philosopher comrade Karl Marx in his article titled Alienation in Capitalism “…Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.” Similarly, the ANC cannot be on sale it will liberate itself to fulfill its historic mission. This tendencies of baying votes also found expression in the rise of factionalism, starting as lobby group towards the conferences and lobbying becomes increasingly divisive, elected leadership is then regarded as a faction, with leadership at highest level engaging in factional activities, decision taken outside organizational structures and criteria for deployment will also be based on factionalism. These remind me of philosopher “Socrates” (in Plato) story on allegory of cave. The story is about the prisoners in the Cave who lack knowledge but are not aware that they lack it. So let us be released from the chain and approach daylight for a better ANC and prosperous South Africa. Victims and the victors in one organization; it is indeed dangerous for one to regard him/herself as a winner or loser after a conference because the organization should be understood within the context of unit or team work. After the Polokwane conference others thought that they had lost and decided to split for the establishment of Congress of the People (COPE). Fortunately they are now coming back as they have seen their mistake. Yet others thought they had won and purged comrades who deferred with then, in deference spheres of our operation. Election in ANC must be regarded as the stage of choosing the right leadership with reference to “through the eye of the needle” to manage the organization. This culture of slates lobbying is a new phenomenon in the ANC, therefore it must be uprooted as it abuses the ANC membership system. Because it encourage gate keeping, sometimes ghost members, commercialization of membership and other fraudulent practices are affected. Therefore Mangaung should be based on the notion of a goal for the good cause not as a battle field. And, it must maximize pleasure to the majority of ANC members. Mangaung is a place where the organization was launched, therefore the spirit of 1912 must fly high in the minds of every comrades and we must go there thinking to consolidate the mission for the second centenary. It is indeed a disturbing statement and moment to hear an ANC member trying to paragon other individuals at the expense of the movement. Numerous people used to say that; lower minds discuss the people, and, if that is true why we continue to discuss people, attack other people and others defending whereas the forbearers of this organization told us to defend the organization not the individuals. ANC is bigger than all of us, let us respect it and maintain the discipline at all times so as to obey rule 25.1. (a) of ANC Constitution. ANC is a movement that consists of collective behavior and action orientated. It must never be allowed to be used as faction for a particular individual aiming to advance narrow political interests. The members of this glorious movement must unite and collectively work to root out any form of ill-discipline and by so doing we please the Saul of the national democratic revolution than individuals. Leaders will always come and go but this beloved movement will remain for even the next centenaries provided we all respect and apply self-discipline. Let us learn from the past conditions which were faced by the ANC underground, learn from the Marxist dialectics that made SACP to spinout of suppression of communist act etc., analyze the method of our operation within this contemporary South Africa and seek the ways of paragoning the organization against the individuals because nobody will suffer due to this daily public attack against the individual and leadership collective. But, the organization is the only one to suffer. Respect and discipline in the organization is the obligation and we should all obey willy-nillly. Apson Sepadi Makaung Former COSATU Secretary in Tshwane ANC PR Councillor in the City of Tshwane and Acting SACP District Secretary In my personal capacity -- 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. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . -- 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] . 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