Limpopo Provincial ANC, Polokwane, 18 May 2015 Walter Sisulu Memorial Lecture Mr TW Nxesi MP, Minister of Public Works Programme Director Provincial leadership of the ANC Alliance leaders and cadres Comrades and compatriots, Let me thank the provincial leadership of the African National Congress for this opportunity to share some thoughts with you and to exchange ideas. We are here to remember the huge contribution that Comrade Walter Sisulu made to the struggle for freedom in South Africa and to celebrate the life of this icon. The life and times of Comrade Walter Sisulu Walter Ulyate Max Sisulu was born in the village of Qutubeni in the Engcobo district of the Transkei on 18 May 1912. He attended an Anglican missionary institute, but left in Standard 4 (Grade 6) at the age of 15 to seek work in Johannesburg where he found employment in a dairy. He later moved back to the Eastern Cape to join his mother who had found work as a domestic worker in East London - where he came into contact with Clements Kadalie, the leader of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU). In 1933 Sisulu returned to Johannesburg where he found work at a Biscuit factory and attended night school. In 1940, Sisulu was fired from his job for organising a strike for higher wages. In the next decade he worked in various companies and always left after some or other disagreement. He entered into a partnership with a white estate agent and eventually went into business on his own. In 1940 at 28 years old, Sisulu joined the African National Congress (ANC). In 1941 Sisulu met Albertina Thethiwe, a young nursing student from the Transkei, who he married in 1944. The reception was attended by Dr Xuma, then-president of the ANC, and Anton Lembede, president of the newly formed ANC Youth League. Walter Sisulu has been described as 'guide and mentor' to Albertina, to Nelson Mandela, and to many others. On a lighter note, the courtship of Albertina and Walter was said to revolve around attending ANC meetings. Albertina soon became a freedom struggle leader in her own right. In 1944 Sisulu had attended the ANC annual national conference in Bloemfontein where it was proposed that the ANC should establish a Youth League. Walter Sisulu, along with William Nkomo and Lionel Majombozi, both active members of the Communist Party, were responsible for mobilising others to give effect to the conference resolution and establish a youth wing of the ANC. Sisulu, along with Lembede, Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Ashley Mda, was elected to the executive committee of the newly established ANC Youth League in 1944. While the Youth League in its early stages was heavily influenced by Anton Lembede's militant African nationalism, Sisulu always took a more pragmatic line, especially around the ANC collaboration with the Communist Party and the Indian Congresses. During the Second World War, Sisulu supported the Youth League in pressing for the reform of the ANC and for the ANC to adopt boycotts and other forms of direct action. During this period he had his first clash with the police when he was charged after a scuffle on a train with a white ticket collector who had confiscated an African child's season ticket. At the ANC national conference in December 1949, Sisulu was instrumental in the ANC's adoption of the Youth League's militant Program of Action. At the same conference he was elected ANC Secretary-General. According to one source: Sisulu's fearless, totally dedicated and formidable strategic and organisational abilities are recognised today as being the main factor in transforming the ANC into a mass-based militant national organisation. In 1950, the apartheid government introduced a series of harsh racial laws and proposed to ban the Communist Party. The ANC took the first steps to oppose the government by forming a committee to coordinate joint campaigns with the Indian Congress and the largely coloured Cape Franchise Action Committee. This was the beginning of what came to be known as the Congress Alliance. Walter Sisulu and Yusuf Cachalia were appointed joint secretaries and their first move was to call for a national work stoppage on 26 June 1950 to protests against the new repressive apartheid laws. James Moroka, ANC president at the time, lived in the Orange Free State and was isolated from the day-to-day running of the organisation in the industrial and commercial heart of South Africa (Johannesburg). Consequently, Sisulu took over many of Moroka's responsibilities in addition to being Secretary-General. As such, Sisulu played a central role in the advocating and planning of the 1952 Defiance Campaign. He led a group of passive resisters and was arrested and imprisoned for a brief period before being served with the first of his many banning orders under the Suppression of Communism Act. In December 1952, Sisulu, Mandela, Moroka and others were tried under the Suppression of Communism Act for their leadership role in the Defiance Campaign. Sisulu was re-elected as ANC Secretary-General in the same month, and in 1953 spent five months touring China, the Soviet Union, Israel, Romania and the United Kingdom. The tour to the socialist countries convinced Sisulu to join the outlawed and newly reconstituted the South African Communist Party on his return. His membership of the underground SACP is recognised as one of the most important factors cementing the relationship between the ANC and SACP. Despite being banned, Walter secretly continued his ANC work, and was part of the organising committee that met in secret to organise the Freedom Charter campaign and The Congress of the People in 1956. In December Sisulu was among the 156 people arrested for High Treason. The Treason Trial began on 19 December 1956 and ended on the 29 March 1961 when Walter, and the remaining 30 accused, were finally acquitted. During the 1960 state of emergency following the Sharpeville massacre, Sisulu and many of his co-defendants in the Treason Trial were detained for several months. Following the banning of the ANC and Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), he was one of four people, with Joe Slovo, Nelson Mandela and Govan Mbeki, who secretly met to form Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK - Spear of the Nation), the ANC's armed wing, in June 1961. This group constituted the MK's high command. He served as political commissar of MK with Mandela as its Commander in Chief. In 1962 Sisulu was continuously harassed by police and arrested six times, though charged only once. Finally, in March 1963, he was convicted of furthering the aims of the banned ANC and for organising the May 1961 stay-at-home protest. He was released on bail pending an appeal and placed under 24-hour house arrest. On 20 April 1963 he skipped his bail conditions and went underground at the secret headquarters at Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. On 26 June 1963 Sisulu made a short broadcast from a secret ANC radio station. On 11 July the police raided the farm and he was amongst those arrested. Sisulu and the rest of the "Rivonia group" were held in solitary confinement for 88 days. They were charged in October 1963 and on 12 June 1964 the Rivonia Trialists were sentenced to life imprisonment for planning acts of sabotage - and flown in a military plane to Robben Island. Albertina was left to rear their five children, plus her late sister's two children, on her own. She also functioned as a link between the ANC leaders in jail and those in exile. The security police harassed her constantly and she was restricted, banned, placed under house arrest, arrested and taken into custody and sometimes kept in solitary confinement. While in prison Comrade Walter Sisulu studied and completed a BA degree in Art History and Anthropology. In addition he led the first structured political discussions, which were held while the prisoners worked in the lime quarry. Here he also lectured on the history of the ANC. Sisulu also played a key role in political organisation on the island and was instrumental in developing an underground ANC political structure called the 'High Organ', which dealt with the daily concerns of prison life and the maintenance of internal discipline. Members of the High Organ were the four ANC National Executive Committee members; Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki and Mhlaba. Mandela and Mhlaba acted as the secretariat of the High Organ with Mandela as the overall leader. A fifth member was co-opted on a rotational basis. By the time the post-1976 generation arrived on Robben Island, Walter's informal lectures on the ANC formed the major component of a fully-fledged course of study known as Syllabus A. The Syllabus, devised by the High Organ, consisted of two years of lectures on the ANC and the liberation struggle, and a course on Marxism given by Mac Maharaj. Nelson Mandela acknowledged Walter's contribution to Syllabus A: 'It was Walter's course that was at the heart of all our education. Many of the young ANC members who came to the island had no idea that the organisation had even been in existence in the 1920s and 1930s, through to the present day. For many of these young men, it was the only political education they ever received'. (Long Walk to Freedom, p.557). In April 1982 Walter Sisulu, Mandela, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni and Wilton Mkwayi were moved from Robben Island to Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town. Later they were joined by Ahmed Kathrada. The reason for the move was so that the Botha government could ensure greater secrecy in their effort to convince Mandela to accept their conditions for a negotiated settlement with the ANC. Mandela turned to his fellow prisoners, and Sisulu in particular, for advice in his dealings with the government intermediaries. One of the conditions that Mandela insisted on was the early release of his co-accused and on 15 October 1989, after 26 years in prison, Rivonia trialist's Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba and Wilton Mkwayi, were released along with Oscar Mpetha, the veteran ANC and SACP Cape Leader, and Japhta Masemola, a Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) leader. Their release was greeted with scenes of wild celebration around the country. Though still banned, the ANC had come out into the open. Less than three months later, on 2 February 1990, the ANC was unbanned and Nelson Mandela was released 9 days later. Sisulu subsequently met with the external wing of the ANC in Lusaka and was asked to lead the re-establishment of ANC structures within the country and to prepare for a national conference to be held inside South Africa on 16 December 1990. Sisulu formed part of the ANC delegation that met with representatives of the government at Groote Schuur, Cape Town, in May 1990. Sisulu was elected as Deputy President of the ANC at the ANC's first conference held inside the country since its banning more than three decades earlier. Six weeks after the first democratic elections, Walter and Albertina celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on I7 July 1994. Shortly thereafter, Walter was forced to retire from active politics due to ill health. Together with Albertina, he continued to be passionately committed to the wellbeing of his community, especially children and young people until his death on 5 of May 2003, a few days before his 91st birthday. I make no apology for providing this detailed summary of the life and times of Comrade Walter Sisulu - lest we forget the sacrifice and contribution he - and other leaders made - so that we might be free. The ANC: An Organisational Analysis Commrades, let us consider the question: As an organisation, what has the ANC learnt from its own history and from the contribution of leaders such as Comrade Walter? I want to draw on a document prepared right here by the Limpopo Provincial ANC at the time of the 2014 elections entitled: Organisational Renewal - Vision 2018 . Starting with what the document calls "Our Competitive Strengths" 1. One of the ANC's key strengths over the years has been its strategic visionary outlook anchored on dynamic policies, progressive values and principles, vibrant organic alliance and our mass based approach to organisation. Furthermore throughout our evolution we have remained resilient, adaptive and innovative. 2. Secondly the overwhelming majority of our people have in successive elections consistently demonstrated their confidence in our ability to restore their dignity by delivering basic services and improving their overall socio-economic status. However in the recent elections, the significant drop in voter turnout is a concern. Clearly the internal strife in the organisation has defocused our energies thus denting our revolutionary zeal and sight of the strategic objectives. 3. Thirdly our extensive organisational machinery - which reaches the length and breadth of our country, far flung rural villages, townships and suburbs - remains unmatched. Equally we have witnessed a dramatic quantitative growth in membership, though much still needs to be done to buttress this commendable effort with extensive political education. Comrades, we need to ask ourselves: have we invested the necessary time and resources in the political education of cadres? 4. Lastly as a country we are imbued with a rich progressive historical heritage, which should serve as a source of pride and inspiration. Throughout the various epochs of struggle our people have waged relentless and heroic battles against the erstwhile repressive regime and produced gallant and visionary leaders. Comrades, it is this history of national resistance and struggle against oppression - led by the ANC in alliance with the SACP and the labour movement - supported by the masses - which defeated Apartheid - and has sustained an ANC government for the last 20 years. We must never betray that loyalty and trust that the people have given to this movement. Moving on to what the Document refers to as "Our Fatal Organisational Weaknesses" Seven dangers are listed: 1. the danger of social distance and isolation of the party from the mass base; 2. the danger of state bureaucratisation and demobilisation of the masses; 3. the danger of corruption and patronage; 4. the danger of institutionalised factionalism, ill-discipline and disunity fuelled and inspired by the battles over the control of state power and resources. 5. the danger of using state institutions to settle internal party differences; 6. the danger of neglecting cadre development; and 7. the danger of lack of capacity and capability to implement policies in order to rapidly improve the socio-economic conditions of our people. The 53rd National Conference of the ANC articulated similar - and additional - challenges: 1. Lacklustre attitude by the leadership and members towards mass work; 2. Lack of institutionalised political education and failure to produce an adequate pool of cadres post the democratic dispensation; 3. dysfunctional ANC branches save for elective meetings; 4. disunity, factional and sectarian practices mainly by the leadership; 5. creating personal and political empires thus subverting the authority of the organisation; 6. damaging of the public profile and image of the organisation due to ongoing internal strife; 7. poor articulation and stricter application of Rule 25 to deal with alien tendencies; 8. weak and dysfunctional Alliance with focus placed on periodic meetings rather than focusing on a joint and coordinated Alliance Programme of Action; 9. absence of a coherent and consistent stakeholder outreach programme; 10. inadequate membership management system, gate keeping, ghost members and lack of dedicated membership officers; 11. poor organisational design not aligned to key organisational outputs; 12. non-alignment of ANC and leagues programmes; 13. poor application of ICT (Information Communication Technology) in organisational management processes and as a tool for mass and internal communication; 14. poor political management of governance; 15. Lastly, the ugly spectre and demon of tribalism and its narrow ethnic chauvinism, mainly articulated by the leadership as a self-serving and opportunistic adventure. This analysis was done with the ANC in mind - but the same factional and incorrect behaviour has permeated throughout the Alliance - most seriously within COSATU - even the SACP is not immune. What do these organisational challenges mean to us - as the leadership and cadres of the ANC and the Alliance? I believe that the very real organisational dangers - these fatal weaknesses - require that true cadres have to stand up and be counted. On a practical level: . As the ANC, we have to be the first to expose and condemn corruption - in all its forms. One of the causes of the divisions in the labour movement is what we have called 'business unionism' - union leaders fighting over business opportunities and perks. Comrades, step away from those tenders. If you hold political office - you have no business being in business - especially where there is conflict of interest. . As leadership - we must be in the forefront of mass work and the tasks of political education. You can never be too busy - or too important - to undertake these tasks. We have to reassert the tactics and strategy of mass mobilisation and campaigns - tactics which made our organisations strong in the past. . Above all comrades, we need to interrogate how we behave towards other comrades. When we have differences - we deal with them through the tradition of open and robust political debate. But when as a movement we take a decision - then we work together - as one - to implement that decision or programme. This, comrades - put simply - is the meaning of democratic centralism. . Above all we have to nurture, protect, strengthen and defend the unity of our organisations and the broader Alliance. Let us never forget that it was this mighty Alliance which brought down the Apartheid regime. It remains the only vehicle capable of defending the gains of the National Democratic Revolution and taking us forward into a second more radical phase of transition. Concluding remarks When we consider this analysis of the challenges facing our movement, we are bound to ask: What would Comrade Walter do? . First he would use all his organisational skills to revive and strengthen structures - from the branch upward - providing political education to the cadres - so that they are equipped to educate and mobilise the people. . He would use all his political skills to bring comrades together - to strengthen unity and combat factionalism within the movement - and he would demand the highest level of respect and debate between comrades. . He would also take a strong stand against corruption. Comrades this is killing us: setting comrades against each other and demoralising honest cadres and officials. As the ANC and the Alliance we must take the lead in combatting corruption - and especially when it occurs within our own ranks. These tasks we need to undertake, Comrades, as the ANC and the Alliance: . Both to honour the legacy of Comrade Walter Sisulu and other leaders who sacrificed so much; . as well as to carry out the mandate that our people have entrusted to the ANC government - in particular, to consolidate our national democratic revolution and to carry forward the second more radical phase of our democratic transition. -- -- 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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