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South African Communist Party, Eastern Cape Province, East London, 8 June 2014 Provincial Executive Committee statement: Consolidating working class struggles towards socialism The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape convened its Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting from the 07 - 08 June 2014 in East London under the theme: Consolidating the working class struggles towards socialism. The PEC meeting provided the leadership of the vanguard party the time and space to interact with the organizational and political report as the basis of taking stock of the ideological and political work done by our party in the province. The meeting also analyzed the outcomes of the fifth democratic general election and the work done by our Red Brigades. We had extensive discussion on the conditions facing the working class locally and abroad. The PEC learnt that the President of the Republic of South Africa and the ANC, His Excellency Honorable Jacob Zuma has been admitted in hospital for some tests. We wish to join millions of South Africans in wishing our President well. The meeting observed a moment of silence in paying respect to Ma Epainette Mbeki, the wife of the SACP and ANC leader the late Cde Govern Archibald Mbeki and mother to the former President of the ANC and the Republic of South Africa Cde Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki. MaMbeki was an activist in her own right who played a significant role in the liberation struggle, as led by the ANC and the struggle for socialism as led by the SACP. She was the second black woman to join the Communist Party after Josie Palmer in 1937. We would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the Moerane and Mbeki families and the people of South Africa at large. May her soul rest in eternal peace! International context The American and world capitalist system is facing its greatest economic, political and social crisis since the late 1920s-1930s. It does not require rocket science to recognize the extreme fragility of the entire international economic system. It is a reality that the world we live in remains the world dominated by US imperialism but equally it is a reality that the world is not static; as we scientifically say "there is nothing permanent but change itself, as every phenomenon is in a state of becoming". The capitalist crisis is increasingly making the US more aggressive and leaves many countries in disarray. At the heart of this turmoil are forces unleashed by the US with military, political and financial support. Nigeria: Bring back our girls We have joined progressive forces in the world in calling for the release of more than 200 Nigerian school girls abducted by Boko Haram. We reiterate our consistent condemnation of all forms of violence against women and children. We however reassert our concern about the US-led intervention. This might be genuine in appearance but driven by imperialist interests. It is a common knowledge that Nigeria is an oil rich country, and that may attract the greedy interests of US imperialism. The US arrogance has once more in the Nigerian situation raised its ugly head. The US has now countered the reports by the Nigerian military in relation to the location of abducted school girls. The US military has come out saying they have not verified such report as if they are the authority vested with powers to do so. We view this as an attempt to delegitimize the Nigerian state, its military and erode confidence of that country on their government. This cannot be viewed outside the US policy of regime change and its tactics. It again displays the US arrogance: "It is not true until the US say so"! National context The outcome of the fifth democratic general election, with 62% of decisive and overwhelming support for the ANC, clearly represents a categorical mandate for the ANC-led alliance to press ahead with the second, more radical phase of the transformation of our society in favour of the majority of the workers and the poor. It is only the radical socio-economic transformation that represents a front to defend our National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and place our country firmly on a transition towards socialist future and beyond that a classless society where exploitation of one person or group by another is obliterated. The second radical phase of our transition requires amongst other things, the long term institutionalized state planning; a dedicated focus on skills development; safety, sustainable livelihood and integrated urbanization including complete socialization of the ownership and control function of our natural resources and the commanding heights of our economy. At the heart of these efforts it should be the ever expansion of our productive capacity to meet the needs of the people and industrialization to advance manufacturing taking advantage of our natural resource endowments. It is our firm view that is only a unified alliance and broad revolutionary movement that can deliver the radical second phase of the transition. It is in this context that any attempt to fragment our alliance and broader liberation movement represents a counter-revolution, regardless of who is engaged in it and the methods thereof. It is therefore imperative to unite the people's camp, neutralize our detractors and decisively defeat and isolate our antagonists. The Rustenburg platinum belt crisis The SACP is concerned about the protracted strike in the platinum belt as it puts many working class families in a devastating situation. The current impasse in the platinum belt must be resolved as soon as possible with jobs defended and the transformation of the mining sector as a whole not being side-lined with the only focus on remuneration. Our province will be among the worst affected by the negative consequences of the protracted strike as many of the affected workers come from the Eastern Cape as migrant labour as a legacy of colonization, both external and internal including apartheid. We condemn the conduct and the attitude of mine bosses in the face of this impasse. It is in this context that we support the call by our Central Committee on government to convene a major mining indaba; which should decisively be used as platform to take forward the resolutions of the ANC-mandated "State Intervention in the Mining Sector" (SIMS) policy package as part of consolidating base for the radical second phase of the transition. Provincial context The SACP is gravely concerned about the reported and alleged "sex for jobs" scandal that is said to be the prerequisite for the employment in the provincial government and provincial legislature. If true, this can only be a gross violation of women's rights as part of human rights and the worst, barbaric and backward form of exploitation of power relations and unduly feeding on the problems faced by the people of our country, particularly the unemployment. We support the initiative by the Office of the Speaker, Cde Noxolo Kiviet and the Office of the Chief Whip, Cde Mzoleli Mrara to thoroughly investigate these accusations and ensure that whoever is found responsible are brought to book and the dignity of the affected women is restored. We welcome and support the initiative by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Ngqushwa, Ngquza, Amahlathi, Mbizana and Matatiele, Port St John's Local Municipalities of purchasing the machinery to maintain road infrastructure within their areas of jurisdiction. This is in line with bringing back the yellow fleet which will help increase the state capacity and minimize the outsourcing by municipalities. This initiative should be extended to other municipalities and the Provincial Department of Public Works. We urge all levels of government to ensure that due processes are followed and if any corrupt activities that are found they must be dealt with. Ingqura strike We support the genuine demands of the workers in Ngqura and urge all parties involved to speedily resolve the strike. We condemn all forms of violence that have erupted during this strike. We call upon all workers to refrain from violent activities. Initiation schools The initiation season has once again come upon us as many young people will embark in a passage through manhood. Our province has been registering deaths of initiates during these seasons which have reached alarming proportions. It is in this context that we once again call upon all people's organs to unite and curb these deaths. It is only a unified and cohesive work between the communities, people's organizations and relevant state organs that can curb this scourge. Amongst other things that require strict and sustainable control is the establishment of a process to combat the commodification of initiation schools which result in deaths of young people. The problems that continue during initiation seasons demand all of us to work together to avoid further deaths. We are therefore calling upon people's organizations, community forums, traditional leadership, law enforcement agencies, municipal officials and the Department of Health to work together in making sure that there is no more life lost in the name of custom. Our communities must identify and report to the authorities those who masquerade as legitimate surgeons and teachers in these initiation schools as they compromise the lives of young people of our province and the future of our country. As the SACP we come out of our PEC meeting more convinced on the need to build a strong, vibrant and campaigning party with and for the workers and the poor, a party that is like a light in the tunnel to the workers and the poor! The PEC meeting ended on a high note with a firm belief that our revolution can only be defended on the basis of radical economic transformation to deal with the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Forward with socialism forward! Issued by SACP Eastern Cape. Contact: Siyabonga Mdodi SACP Provincial Spokesperson Cell: 083 358 8070 Fax: 086 268 1281 Email: [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] . 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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