*Thami ka Plaatjie, definitely a rising star in our ranks!*
Ok I usually don’t write about individuals, I prefer to stick the principle of the matter, but this has to be an exception. It is unfortunate that ka Plaatjie has to take the smack for what cant the better conceived as a tendency within the ruling party (ANC). A Pan Africanist spent all of his youth and adult life as a Pan Africanists and outright rejecting the ideological standpoint of the ANC and the mass democratic movement. As an active member he spent 26 years in the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), where he rose through their ranks to become PAC’s Secretary General in year 2000. In 2002 Ka Plaatjie as SG and clique sabotage a national congress which was meant to be held in Mthatha … the planned PAC congress was suspended as a result. In January, the then PAC president Stanley Mogoba laid the blame for the suspended congress at Plaatjie's feet, questioning his leadership capabilities and failure to detect the alleged fraud. In June 2003 the national congress of PAC finally took place in Vista University in Soweto. The elective congress is characterizes as severely chaotic and the Ka Plaatjie clique is defeated and his ambitions of becoming PAC president are defeated, Motsoko Pheko becomes the president. This congress is cited by some as the beginning of the slow death of the PAC. From 2007 to 2008 Ka Plaatjie was central figure that dragged PAC to courts and ever polarization of its ideas, as they divided the PAC into PAC-Plaatjie vs PAC – Mphahlele. Later these court cases showed how instable and unreliable ka Platjiee has been to his political home. In August 2008 the PAC finally expelled Thami ka Plaatjie. In response ka Plaatjie led a split from the PAC to form the Pan Africanist Movement (PAM). Within a year as a leader of PAM, in December 2009 ka Plaatjie resigns from his PAM. Some of his comrades in PAM now characterize his as vulnerable and that his decisions are ‘led by hunger rather than logic’. The PAC (Youth League) had harsher words as they described him as a political prostitute and agent used to destroy the PAC in the past, but he has successfully failed to do that. In 5 months after his resignation from PAM, ka Plaatjie officially joined the ANC. This is where things start to get rather interesting for me anyways. As tradition, senior ANC leaders paraded the new members in public to show they had joined the ANC. ANC-Gauteng under the leadership of cde Paul Mahsatile and cde David Makhura pointed-out that these new members (which include ka Plaatjie) would join ANC branches, attend political school, and would be on probation for 2 months. Firstly I am not so sure about this probation period that last for only two months and its implications. However let us continue. In barely a year and half since ka Plaatjie joined the ANC he is deployed to the SABC board and gets officially nominated by cde Yasmin Jessie Duarte in November 2011. And within a month he is endorsed to be part of the board and also designated as the Deputy Chairperson of the SABC Board. Eish it’s very nice for ka Plaatjie now he is on the gravy don’t mind the train. This happens meanwhile we have a moria of ‘disciplined’ comrades who have long been committed to the struggle and some also have scholarly competencies. I will say let not dwell much on this but let us continue. Within a year and two months in his post as deputy chairperson of the SABC board, ka Plaatjie resigns from this post citing several ‘superficial’ reasons. My teaching within the organization is that you can’t just resign when things start to heat-up…you must be disciplined and committed to the bigger struggle and out of it all demonstrate leadership … I doubt whether in his induction (if ka Plaatjie’s political induction did touch on that)… nonetheless Ka Plaatjie resigned and even refused to withdraw the resignation even though communications Minister cde Dina Pule tried to persuade him to stay at the SABC board. As if this was not enough, the recent ANC NEC meeting held on the 17th - 19th May 2013 endorsed that the name of Thami Ka Plaatjie as a senior researcher to be placed at the ANC's Policy Institute. In this regard he will be responsible for research and the support Monitoring and Evaluation unit. He will also coordinate and guide the work of young researchers that will be deployed in the Institute. So person who has hardly been an ANC member…with only three years as a member he is tasked to oversee organisational critical research at a national level. And as that was not enough we are also told he is Ka Plaatjie is also advisor to cde Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu, Minister of Public Service and Administration. Surely ka Plaatjie is kicking himself now on why did he join so late…why did he not see it was cold outside the ruling party. I am now speechless. In his article on sins of incumbency’ which appeared on ANC Today in 15-12 June 2012, cde Joel Netshitenzhe warned us that significant change in South Africa’s class structure in the past 18 years has implications for the ANC. And *"The fundamental implication of these social dynamics is that the changing class structure within the black community … happens because of opportunities in the political or public sphere*”. Cde Joel went further to stress the need to building a new corps of cadres with political, ethical as well as academic and technical acumen, however we still not seeing such, the only thing we are seeing is former political enemies being made teachers. The problem here is not Thami or any new member from an opposition but organizations lack to decisively build on its strength and capacitate its members. Part of this can be rectified by what cde Joel proposed, which is the *“need to go even further and state clearly that members who wish to stand for particular positions should declare, get vetted [and properly screened], afforded a platform in the branches and regions to explain their proposed value addition; and get disqualified if they break the rules. This is one of the things that we can learn from sister-parties such as Chama Cha Mapindudzi in Tanzania and FRELIMO in Mozambique”. * "Amayeza aphelile sinyangwa ngomhlonyane" Aphiwe Bewana -- "It is our aspiration and our aim that everyone should become socially conscious and effective; but to achieve this end, it is necessary to provide all with the means of life and for development". -- -- 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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