YCLSA.png YCLSA Press Statement, 12 February 2016 YCLSA's reaction to the State of the Nation Address The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] welcomes the State of the Nation Address [SoNA] as delivered by the state President, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, last night [Thursday February 11, 2015] during the Joint Sitting of Parliament. As the YCLSA we are of the view that South Africa is on the right track despite a bleak picture about the state of the nation painted in public by the neo-liberal media and its apologists. We are more than convinced that no other administration can fulfil the hopes and dreams of all South African's other than the current one. This is neither a call for complacency nor triumphalism more has to be done to realize the logical end of the National Democratic Revolution which according to YCLSA is socialism. As the YCLSA we note efforts made to effectively implement the Nine Point Plan that was announced during the 2015 State of the Nation Address to respond to sluggish growth. We however want to put it out there that we must not be so obssesd about the orthodxy of economic growth lest we fall into a trap of a discredited neo-liberal 'trickle down economics' which have failed a country and brutally immiserized and pauperized the working class. We call on socially responsive economioc measures not some 'abstract' growth devoid of jobs, decent wages and, worse all, aniththetical to the productive capacity of the ecopnomy. In pursuit of the National Democratic Revolution we shall encounter different monsters who will want to defocus us on the prime task at hand; the theatrics of EFF are but an example of an extraordinarily strange reflection of such. Without anything to offer to South African society, noise and chaos becomes the mainstay of their 'polititricks'. At this hour of need when the working class yearns for a society in which their energies and commitment can be fairly rewarded childish theatrics are the last thing they hope for. As opposed to merely condemning the disruption that took place last night during the joint sitting of parliament we urge South African society to see through the hypocrisy of the EFF, and its media-frenzy mis-leadership. The less said about Lekota the better, he is lonely even when he is in a crowd, political opportunism quickly ages a political fool. It is shameful that people given a mandate by voters with the responsibility of representing them in government can behave in such a despicable manner. We feel sorry for those who voted for the hooligans to be their representatives and to champion their interests. We call for all to respect the rules of parliament as such inexcusable behaviour has no place in our democracy. While the EFF claim to represent workers they have not released a statement on the three miners who have been trapped under ground since the beginning of this week in Lily Mine, Barberton, in Mpumalanga. They are preoccupied with their obsession with one person president Zuma whilst there are completely ignoring their alleged 'core constituency'. On the New Tax Laws We are not satisfied by the President's assertion that he will engage Cosatu on the new tax laws. We need concrete solution to this matter and the solution for us would be the total scrapping of these new tax laws. There are many workers who use their retirement savings for the right reasons. Many use their lump sum pensions to assist their children to be educated or start small enterprises. Should government not agree to our demands on the matter the YCLSA will be organizing young workers to march to the National Treasury to demonstrate for the scrapping of the New Tax Administration Laws. We will mobilize for rolling mass action against the new tax laws by the end of this month and we will continue with such mass action until the new tax laws are scrapped. Power does not concede without mass mobilization. On Eskom We note the progress that has been made to stabilise the electricity supply. We applaud that there has been no load shedding since August last year. While we note the R83 billion that has been invested by government in Eskom we still call on Eskom to consider a once-off, write-off of debts owed by municipalities which are predominantly serving the poor. The electricity debts of communities such as Soweto and other poor, working class communities should be written off. Most of these communities are poor working class communities. This money must also be used for maintenance of Eskom aging infrastructure and to expand the utilities capacity to supply South Africa with electricity. The money should not be used to pay bonuses to Eskom executives. YCLSA remains steadfast in its call for Eskom not to be privatized. If Eskom is privatized, the 16% tariff hikes that they are asking from Nersa will be 100% as people will have to pay for efficiency and other costs that the private sector will add to the current price of electricity. We welcome the plan to introduce nine thousand six hundred megawatts of nuclear energy in the next ten years. This will go a long way in assisting Eskom will energy supply. We however hope that government can stick to its plan that the scale and pace at which nuclear power will be in line with that the country can afford. Our government must also look at alternative sources of energy like hydropower and wind. On Cost cutting measures and the Pro-one capital call We applaud the government's intentions to cut cost. For these cost cutting g measures to be effective government must be very strict and ensure that there is compliance. This must not be just a slogan but must be implemented fully. This will go a long way in ensuring that more than money is spent on bring betterment to lives of ordinary South African's rather than expensive overseas trips. We call on the government to put in places measures that will ensure that all levels of government adhere to these cost cutting measures. We hope there will be repercussions for those who don't follow those cost cutting measures. The move to remove the after parties and dinners after sona is very much welcomed by the YCLSA. The money for these unnecessary costs must be redirected to community and youth programmes and upliftment. The YCLSA calls for the exorbitant trappings, fancy gowns and silly suits to be removed from future SoNA's because parliament is a serious space for debate and for advancing our people's needs and not a circus or a beauty contest. The YCLS has for years been pro-one capital and has been consistently calling on government to consider the issue of the two capitals. This issue if they are resolved speedily will assist government in its quest to cut costs. Maintaining the two capitals is costing government too much money which could be used to improve the lives of the working class and the poor. On Health We applaud the announcement of the establishment of the state-owned pharmaceutical company, Ketlaphela. For years our government has been procuring drugs from foreign pharmaceutical companies who charges exorbitant fees. Ketlaphela will participate in the supply of anti-retroviral drugs to the Department of Health from the 2016/17 financial year. The YCLSA continues to call for the speedily implementation of the National Health Insurance. The YCLSA holds a strong view that the NHI will play a pivotal role in the rolling out of free quality health care for the working class and the poor. Issued by the National Secretary on behalf of the 4th Congress National Committee For more information contact: YCLSA National Secretary Cde Mluleki Dlelanga Cell: <tel:078%20642%209004> 078 642 9004 -- -- 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] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
