SILENCE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE GOLDEN A young revolutionary view in the North West province
By: Kaizer Mohau Recent political developments in the North West province leave much to attract my attention. While we have always believed that decisions taken by our higher structures in the African National Congress (ANC) are binding to all of us, one is decisively provoked by the conduct of some of our cadres in this regard who are hell-bent in defying such decisions. Accordingly, members and cadres of the ANC have historically believed in the Democratic Centralism principle which in the main ensures that the unity and cohesion of the revolutionary movement since its early years of its inception are maintained at all costs. This principle meant in essence that while democratic character of the ANC in terms of debates and discussions will always be promoted, it equally meant that debates and discussions cannot be permanent in relation to a particular issue and therefore there will have to be a point were discussions and debates will reach a stage of an agreement were in which final decisions will have to be taken. When the process of decision making unfolds, cadres and members who had their own views will have to abide by a decision that will be taken by the majority. This principle has always as I indicated been treated as the historically directions giving to all our cadres and structures so that we remain always united in spite of our differences. Even during a period in which the ANC was attempted to be hijacked by what the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) defined as the 1996 class project – this principle helped genuine cadres to defend the ANC and the National Democratic Revolution which is the strategic project guiding the African National Congress and the movement as a whole within the context of addressing the three strategic contradictions facing our country due to apartheid capitalism. The period during the Thabo Mbeki era, this principle was fundamentally challenged because it is naturally opposed to all tendencies which seek to compromise the movement – it is in this view that majority of us believe that to try and change the ANC from a liberation movement into a purely reformist nationalist political party meant that you should firstly deal with this principle as a prerequisite to liquidation. But due to consistency and political maturity the majority of our cadres refused to be used by the 1996 class project thus the leadership of that period was strategically defeated at National General Council held in Pretoria in which Cde President Jacob Zuma was expected to announce his resignation as the then Deputy President of the ANC depending on the wrong and factional tendencies demonstrated by the then leadership. While it was normal and acceptable that cadres could differ and debate those differences – others applied the worse tendencies of being more personal than political in their engagement. Comrades attacked Cde JZ and Terror Lekota the most irrational person used even the media publicly to demonstrate this tendencies. In the North West While it is important for us to debate issues in a manner that seek to unify the ANC, it is equally key that we call things by their real names including those we think are the principals of counter revolution and promote political anarchism against the democratically elected leadership. In the North West province in my view it is very wrong to think that the current state of the body politics of the province is characterised and based on being against the Provincial Task team and other Task teams in other levels of the province. The truth in this matter is that this is the evolution of the anti-National leadership of the ANC since after Polokwane – and this has been proved by the very people who continue to undermine our national leadership. While their immediate issues are centralised around their differences with the Task Teams as established by the leadership with the main aim of seeking to strengthen the ANC and re-build its structures following the dismal failure by the disbanded Provincial Executive Committee to lead the province. Very recently there was a meeting called by those who claim to be against the PTT and other task teams at the Ikageng Stadium – it is in that public meeting were individuals like Supra Mahumapelo and them were given a platform in which they openly attacked the PTT and blamed the NEC of replacing a faction with a faction. While this debate should be acceptable and debated it is critical that we remind these individuals and cabal that accordingly they should as members of the ANC debate issues of this nature within the structures of the ANC and not in public and in the media. The above mentioned meeting was called by the ANCYL in Ikageng but to our main concern is why most of those who attended were former provincial leaders who have since their disbandment held meetings in and around the province campaigning against the task teams in the immediate and the National leadership in their strategic intentions. We think that it is important that we openly defend our movement from being compromised by those who will want to see themselves in power at the expense of the people. Constitutionality of the Task Teams Highly interesting further is the argument that the Task Teams are not constitutional structures of the ANC thus they are opposed to. But these Comrades fails to understand a simple issue that is these structures were established by the Constitutional structures of the ANC thus automatically they account to constitutional structures unlike their faction which is stealing time and platforms of the ANC to attack it. We will never be able to be silent when few lumpens are used to attack the ANC and its government gatherings as if they represent the agenda of the opposition – Comrades have a decency in its fundamental absence to organise others to attend meetings of the ANC with the sole purpose of disrupting those meetings, a conduct which has led to many to be sent to their appropriate political homes including to COPE which has become an arsenal for the anti – ANC renegades. Following all the above we should support COSATU in the North West for calling for the re-calling of all those who are part of this counter revolutionary gangster – and further we should support our Provincial Task Team in making sure that it deals with these matters in a manner that will seek to ensure our unity and cohesion. Kaizer Mohau writes in his personal capacity -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. 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