Issue 11, Vol 9: 1 June 2012 In this issue:
>From National Liberation Movement to Ruling Party: Dealing with the Challenges >and Sins of Incumbency >From National Liberation Movement to Ruling Party: Dealing with the Challenges >and Sins of Incumbency Address by Buti Manamela, National Secretary of the Young Communist League 31 May 2012, Johannesburg, Soweto The structures of the Alliance (I will use the words alliance and movement interchangeably), that is, the SACP, COSATU and the ANC have over the years accumulated various values and traditions which guided their cadres throughout the struggle against imperialism, the Colonialism of a Special Type and apartheid. These values includes selflessness, sacrifice, willingness to lay one's life for the liberation of our people, no desire for reward except the virtue and dignity that was brought for the collective of our people and hatred for material display of wealth. Due to the underground and clandestine nature of organisation imposed by banning and political suppression (that is, to constantly avoid arrest, to maintain secrecy, to uphold unity of all the structures and cadres) firm believe on democratic centralism and organisational discipline was emphasised in order to ensure that there is a central command whose leadership was embraced by all the structures wherever they were. In those days, we are told; descent was almost equal to treason and was swiftly dealt with in order to maintain the overall unity and discipline within the movement, the alliance and the military structures. Leaders of the alliance and its structures in the underground, in exile and in prison held constant political education and training to introduce new cadres to these traditions and traits on the conduct of cadres. Even in those days, there were people who joined the movement not to advance its vision of a democratic South Africa, but to evade arrests for other crimes or found themselves accidentally within the fold of the structures of the movement due to abuse, association with cadres or because of the harsh conditions brought to them by apartheid. This alone did not constitute a collective of good cadres and leaders of the movement. Patient and constant political education and training was still required for each of the cadres who joined the ranks. Thus, despite the many cadres who understood what the objective goals of the movement was and immediately threw themselves mind, body and soul in the fight against apartheid, there were those who fell by the wayside because they failed to understand this goals or realised that they were in the wrong place. The movement, despite the conditions of underground, prison or exile, took time to consult with cadres and never relented on persuading "most" cadres on whatever direction was to be taken in accelerating the transition to democracy. There were stringent efforts to ensure that the entire movement runs its affairs in the manner in which it wants to see a democratic country-that it should be the reflection of the type of society it envisaged. Thus, although later in the life of our movement, the principles of democracy, non-sexism, non-racism were adopted. There was little bureaucratic practices and less emphasis on 'the leader' and 'the followers', with leaders such as Joe Slovo and Oliver Tambo seeing themselves as part of and equal with the entire movement of cadres in their lifestyle, attitude towards party work, the fight against factionalism, the involvement (albeit at different levels) in military and political education work and even their living conditions. There was also more emphasis to revolutionary morality, a vociferous fight against corruption and nepotism within the structures, adherence to policies and decisions of the movement and closeness of the leadership to the masses. This does not suggest that they were infallible and were not bound to make mistakes. It also does not suggest that there were no perceptions and allegations of elitism, abuse of power and office for personal gain and the abuse of resources allocated for the work of the movement. Less has been reported or written about on how these were dealt with, and surely in some instances there were high levels of secrecy exercised. But we know of how, for instance, issues such as mutineers or legitimate complaints by cadres either in prison, exile or the underground were dealt with. However, the where always major challenges that faced the movement within its structures. Failure to understand this may easily lead us into political self-mutilation and defeatism when confronted with current challenges. However, this was a special type of cadreship that was obviously moulded by the conditions in which they were serving in and driven by their passion to usher majority rule for their country. Thelevel of organisation, the strict discipline and the conduct of the leadership collective was important in order to ensure that we speedily attain a democratic society. What was more important also was a defined role of the masses as part of all the pillars that guided the struggle. As Jack Simons used to emphasise, the masses were the forest within which political and military work could be done to liberate our country. However, in order for this to happen, both in and out of the country, a lot of resources were invested in political training of the people and their involvement in determining both a programme of liberation and of post-apartheid governance. We are no longer living under those conditions. We have actually underwent a new phase of struggle. Since 1994, the movement (supposedly the entire alliance) is in government. There has been various debates even in exile, and conceptualisation of what the 'new nation' would look like. Based on the interaction with the people, a type of society was visualised were there will be no hunger, poverty, unemployment and were quality health-care, education, new forms of agricultural cultivation and economic transformation in ownership and control was to be realised. There was to be a guarantee of all human rights as denied and suppressed by the apartheid regime, including the right to vote, the freedom of association, the right to property, the right to housing, the right to education, the right to healthcare, the right to participate in business, the right to life (as one of the fundamental rights), the right to administrative justice and many other basic but yet important rights. All of these were to come with the new government and new dispensation. But like all other plans, whose theoretical fault-lines are tested in the arena of struggle and implementation, some of the basic tenets of the Freedom Charter and the RDP are yet to be implemented. The responsibility of governance lies with the cadres who spent most of their lives fighting for freedom. This responsibility cannot be shed to anyone else. But equally, that responsibility comes with certain new tasks. These tasks, in summary, included: The unity of our society behind a project of nation-building and reconciliation; The fostering of democracy and the building of new institution which will advance and protect that democracy; The creation of an equal and prosperous society based on the transformation of the ownership and control of the economy; The critical challenges, and the questions for tonight's discussion is how all of these new challenges interlinks with what the movement stands for. We cannot forever stand on the shoulders of our struggle credentials nor can we consistently blame apartheid for some of the perpetual social ills our society is faced with. We cannot consistently rely on the celebration of national days as remembrance of where we come from without integrating these with the a programme of future governance. There must be commitment to root out the structural crises caused by apartheid in social, political and economic terms. There are also newer challenges in terms of the role of each component of our cadreship that should be consistent with the values, principles and traditions established in the fight against apartheid. The need for unity in action, correct leadership, sacrifice, the upholding of revolutionary morality by our cadres, the involvement of our people in their own development, leading the fight against graft and avarice (and the perception thereof), the upholding of democracy, organisational discipline, the flourishing of newer ideas from all our cadres and the defence of the movement on its integrity and legitimacy to lead our society are more urgent than ever. Most of these challenges are brought about by the prize (or the sins) of incumbency. Unlike before, the desire to occupy positions is driven by the rewards associated with such positions rather than service to the people. Unlike in the past, leaders are no longer identified by the structures but rather use their access to resources to campaigns for office. We are sometimes preoccupied with internal party political elections, which are sometimes a determination of who will lead in the different layers of government, and therefore always locked in factional battles. In order for leadership contests to be a reflection of strengthened democracy, they sometimes become a manifestation of factional battles that tear almost all our structures apart. The storming of the stage at the ANC NGC in Durban, the ANCYL Congress in Mangaung and the YCLSA Congress in Mafikeng were not a reflection of what our organisations should reflect. Many of our structures, including affiliates of COSATU, are bereft with electoral contests which become the amusement of the opposition and juicy headlines for newspapers. Branches are not seen as a way of contributing into the life of the movement but a means for election in the next Congress, whilst loyal cadres whom the movement have invested a lot of money in training politically are either sidelined or have become part of a lobbying chorus for different factions in exchange for whatever crumbs they can get. This will in time erode the confidence our people may have on the movement in general. The dangers which were historically associated with being members of any structure of our movement have been removed by the democratic dispensation and therefore millions, with varying interests and (sometimes) doubtable objectives flock to our structures. For instance, the SACP wants to have 500 000 members by 2015 and the ANC a million members by end of 2012. In many instance, power and responsibility of membership is therefore given to people who can abuse it to (in the words of "Through the Eye of the Needle) "create their own ANC". Every week we are confronted with scandals of corruption committed by cadres of the movement either in government, business or the state which sometimes overshadow whatever good work that government may be doing. We can obviously dismiss these as an agenda by some in the media to repeat the lie that a black government was bound to fail, but our people, who place their trust in our organisations are likely to believe this if the conditions of their lives have not changed. Many young people want to be part of the joyride of a lifestyle displayed by the new-elite in the form of BEE beneficiaries. They want to emulate the lifestyle of flashy cars, expensive mansions, partying in neon-lit nightclubs with half-naked young girls parading for them, develop taste for expensive champagne and exquisite cuisines, seek quick-rich solutions such as crime, prostitution and corruption or wants to take up long holidays abroad so as they feel that they, too, have arrived. There seems to be no desire to invest in education or work as a way to contribute towards the national economy by being inventors or engineers but many young people wants to be ready recipients of meagre dividends paid by national or multi-national corporation in exchange for our raw materials. What is to be done? The basis of any change must be based on political and social transformation. And these are some of the suggestions in that regard. 1. On the Public Service There is a significant number of cadres that remain committed to the course of nation-building, social transformation and real economic empowerment. Some of these cadres are hidden behind the hip of bureaucratic laws and institutionalised apartheid systems which remain untransformed. Others are tied into balancing budgets and understanding statistics insteadof rooting themselves amongst the people. We therefore have to drastically, urgently but patiently change the public service to dedicate itself towards working for the people. We have to ensure that the best of our cadres, trained politically and empowered with the understanding of the kind of society we want to build, are at the forefront of the public service. 2. Distinction between the Party and the State We have to ensure that the movement as a whole remains rooted amongst our people as the forest that Jack Simons always spoke about. The movement, as much as it is the ruling party,must always be on the side of the people and become their voice. It must be through the movement that the people contribute in determining the policy direction and through the movement that government account on the implementation of the people's resolution. Policy development and work must be a discussion amongst and be guided by the people. There must be a distinction between the role played by our cadres in government and those in the party, whilst the party maintains its critical role through all government structures. The party should not be the mouthpiece of government or hide the failure of the 'national bourgeoisie' in changing the lives of our people. It must be the role of our movement to expose all these failures and deal decisively with them. 3. Intellectuals There is a need to cultivate organic intellectuals that are objective and whose mental and physical resources are dedicated in the development of our society. The role that most dominant and vocal (so-called) intellectuals have assumed is that of being neo-liberal critics rather than objective and revolutionary criticism. Intellectuals have not been defined only to the extent they can throw pot-shots on government programmes rather than a genuine and legitimate contribution towards developing our society. 4. Defined role of the national bourgeoisie The local and post-1994 bourgeoisie have in most cases become the recipients of dividends as shareholder in the companies that owns the commanding heights of the economy. There is evident lack of creativity in becoming independent bourgeoisie who build industry andexpand our economy beyond the dependence on government tenders and shareholding. Most of the celebrated business people in our country have no distinct business trades and little desire to challenge dominant businesses that were created under apartheid other than rely on the de-racialisation of these companies. Sadly, some of them invest in luxurious entertainment, buying of newspapers and casinos, buying of sports teams, investment into holiday homes, expensive weddings and parties buying of expensive flock of wild animals instead of real investment into the economy and the creation of real capital. Maybe Fanon's assertion that "post-colonialism the national bourgeoisie is good for nothing" was correct. We need a class of black and local bourgeoisie who will reinvest in their communities through education, industry, health, local franchise, mining and many other innovative and initiatives through their accumulated capital. The longer we channel accumulated resources in personal gratification and not into innovation, research and development, we will forever remain tied to the colonial umbilical cord that makes our country the supplier of raw materials and the buyers of luxurious foreign goods. 5. Invest into the capacity and human resource of the people We must not pay lip-service when we deal with to real economic development, land and property ownership and empowerment of our people through mass-scale co-operatives. When we refer to co-operatives as economic empowerment, we always emphasise on the services sector such as cleaning, catering, small-scale finance (stokvels and burial societies) and security instead of tempering with the commanding height of the economy such as mining, agriculture, finance capital, energy, telecommunications and large-scale manufacturing. Even under those services industries were we insists on co-operatives, they are treated as BEE deals instead of independent traders. A change of focus in this will create real empowerment rather than either quai-state ownership of the commanding heights of the economy. 6. Invest in Political Education and Training There is no substitute for political education and training for our people. This will help them understand what the national objective is and ensure that they contribute into this. They will also be armed in distinguishing revolutionary intervention and over-simplistic demagogic solutions or neo-liberal reaction. They will defend the role of the movement in transforming society, and ensure that all cadres account for their action. The notion that the people cannot govern themselves is misleading, and in fact lies in the desire to "hide the facts from them in order for them not to arrive at the truth". Real political education will also empower the people to understand that the power to change society does not lie in "the leader" or only in "the party", but that it lies with them (and that they are the leader and the party. They will also be able to decipher what is objective truth and what is false presented as news, and use all of these for the advancement of our society. Real political work can also be found in practical work and the daily experiences of our peopleinstead of imparted from above by a 'knowledgeable cadre'. 7. Strengthening the structures of our movement to enforce discipline and unity We cannot demobilise our structures from monitoring the discipline of all our cadres and building unity behind a programme for change. At all times, it must be structures of our organisations (be it the Communist Party, COSATU or the ANC) who will expose corruption, greed, self-service, poor leadership and failure to adhered to the best practices of revolutionary leadership. The ideals and virtues that guided many of our leaders and cadres in exile can be ingratiated within the new tasks and challenges of the movement and society. The standards required from all our leaders in exile, underground and in jail can still be maintained and practiced. Leaders who worry about their retirement and forget about the people, who use our structures for personal benefit, supersede their interest above those of the organisation and are selfish and lack self-sacrifice in their action will be easily exposed by our structures, and not the newspapers, if we strengthen our capacity to do so. 8. Investing in our youth Young people constitute the majority of our society and will suffer the most if the project of nation-building and social and economic transformation fails. They are therefore the jewels of our society. Investment in their education, vocational training, a spirit of social solidarity and volunteerism are amongst some of the interventions that need to be done. The political education of our youth is also of critical importance as some become readily available soldiers (titled kingmakers) in the internal political battles because of their vulnerability. The youth are the most hard-hit by unemployment and economic marginalisation and can therefore, if rendered redundant, fall into the trap of counter-revolution. We therefore also have to change the nature of youth politics and organisation that has become the order of the day post-1994. We have to see young people as the future of this country and therefore, our role, especially as the PYA, should be to integrate such youth into the project of building a national democratic society. Thank You Sent from my iPad -- 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] .
