YCLSA Gauteng Provincial Working Committee statement

21 July 2012

The YCLSA [uFasimba] in the province of Gauteng met in an ordinary but urgently convened Provincial Working Committee (PWC) plenary session. The PWC reflected on organisational and political issues, in particular the security of our PEC members who are facing death threats.

An urgent matter for the PWC concerns the security of our PEC members.

It has come to our attention that there are manoeuvres including the use of money to kill our Provincial Secretary, comrade Alex Mashilo. This is driven by elements who are bitter against the YCLSA for successfully contributing in building and defending the SACP. The Provincial Secretary is also targeted for allegedly leading a resistance by a certain grouping to replace targeted leaders in the forthcoming COSATU congress, ANC conference and further deal with some of them brutally after the ANC conference.

Since this exposure more members of our PEC started to face death threats: Head of Organising and Secretariat Maria Mochaka, Provincial Deputy Secretary Takalani Mmbengeni, Head of Political Education and Ideological Training Donald Mothoa and Tshwane District Chairperson Brian Mashile. This week Maria Mochaka was kidnapped for ten hours with all the data from her cell phone deleted. The matter is presently handled by police.

Further appropriate measures shall be taken to deal with this matter together with the SACP and to defend the YCLSA and its leadership. We shall not be deterred whatever the threats we face in our programme of taking responsibility for the national democratic revolution and advance the struggle for socialism. We remain resolute against all the elements including the New Tendency that want to use money, patronage and other forms of the devil’s acts to hijack any of our organisations in pursuit of private capital accumulation.

As the YCLSA we do not welcome the process that was followed to reshuffle and appoint the new executive council of Gauteng government as announced this week.

What is more problematic in particular is that the alliance and the relationship between its two political formations, the ANC and the SACP, have been and are undermined whenever critical decisions such as constituting and reshuffling the executive council are made. We are an integral part of the SACP, certain that the Party was not involved and neither have its views been sought on the reshuffling and the appointments.

We would also like to correct the wrong perceptions in the media that Communists are being asserted through some of the appointments. On the contrary if anything such appointments only seek to wittingly or unwittingly undermine the SACP and its internal unity.

We are convinced that something radically different is required to build the unity, coherence and functioning of the alliance in Gauteng. The alliance at the national level under the leadership of ANC NEC with Comrades Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe as President and Secretary General respectively represents the best model from which we must take cue and not what is happening in Gauteng.

The YCLSA in Gauteng congratulates the South African Communist Party for holding a successful 13th National Congress held from 11-15 July 2012 at the University of Zululand in the province of Moses Mabida.

The Party demonstrated that it has both analytical and growing organisational capacity to lead the working class.

The Party congress was highly united, debates robust, adopted resolutions and a programme to radicalise the national democratic revolution and intensify the struggle for socialism. The National Office Bearers as led by General Secretary Comrade Blade Nzimande and the entire Central Committee were elected unanimously.

We congratulate the entire elected leadership including our National Secretary Comrade Buti Manamela who was directly elected as Central Committee Member.

For more information Contact:
Matankana Mothapo
Provincial Spokesperson
Cell: 082 7590 900