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Declaration of the Provincial Executive Committee Lekgotla of the YCLSA in Free State held in Bloemfontein on 27-28 February 20101 March 2010 The Provincial Lekgotla of the Young Communist League of South Africa in the Free State, successfully concluded its strategic planning session yesterday, the 28 February 2010. The PEC Lekgotla was honoured by attendance of District representatives, Provincial Executive Representatives, National Committee represented by the National Secretary Comrade Buti Manamela, South African Students Congress and Congress of South African Students who contributed quantitatively to the deliberations. We also appreciate the attendance of the SABC to our PEC Lekgotla. The Lekgotla touched on variety of issues including the following:
The Provincial Lekgotla received a Political and Organisational Report, and an address by the National Secretary of the YCL, SASCO and COSAS. National Theme for 2010 Programme of Action "In Memory of Joe Slovo: In Praise of Communism" The theme was adopted by the YCLSA National Lekgotla, In "Praise of Communism". This is a title of a poem by Bertolt Brecht, which was Joe Slovo`s favourite. We are inspired by the last line of the poem which reads as follows; "It is the simplest thing so hard to achieve". This is where we derive our strength in the implementation of our programme. A programme by the working class The Young Communist League in the Province will immediately begin to mobilise all young people behind preparations for the “Youth for Jobs Summit”, which is set to take place in April. The YCL in Free State will use this opportunity to advocate the position of the youth of Free State on the need for more jobs. We note the fact that 3, 4 million young people nationally are without jobs. These are young people who are not studying and are moving around to find means to earn a living. They are therefore automatically vulnerable to the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs and can easily fall prey to patronage. We call on the Premier to explain the achievement of 500 000 jobs in the past Financial Year as stated in his State of the Province Address, while multitudes of our youth remain unemployed. We are interested also in the number of young people who have benefited out of these jobs and what interventions have been provided to those who lost their jobs as a result of the recession throughout the last financial year. We are also concerned that the Private Sector has left the whole issue of job creation solely on government. We believe that government departments have made their commitments in this regard; the private sector cannot afford to be silent on the matter. We ask; what is their role in the absorption of young graduates and training of the inexperienced in the mainstream of the economy. As the Free State we remain unambiguous that the means of production must be transferred in the hands of the majority and not just State. Not only mines should be nationalised but all key economic sectors this should include SASOL, MITTAL STEEL and other commanding heights of the economy. We derive this view merely on the knowledge that the state is not “holy” simply because it is ANC-led, the state can also exploit just as much as the private sector. We remain unambiguous that SASOL must be re-nationalised to serve the interest of the people in all its endeavors and not what it is has become. There is no point in calling for nationalization without specifically talking to the role that should be played by the workers in the nationalised sectors. Our concern is with regards to the location of workers for empowerment and ensuring that they have increasing control over the powers of possession. This means workers will have more ability to impact on the workplace decision making, organisation and management of production process, including the product development. We believe that this is what the Freedom Charter seeks to address. The Provincial Lekgotla considered the continued manner in which corruption has been narrowly defined as just money laundering. We note that one of the things discovered by the NCOP in its visits to Municipalities (which are under administration in the province) is the maladministration and failure to recognise Human Resource processes when hiring people. This is corruption and it is discrediting the ANC and its entire leadership, therefore it must be challenged fiercely. We once again as the YCL in the Free State, call for those who have contributed immensely to the financial mismanagement of those municipalities to be immediately fired. We call for those who have benefited falsely to be charged and the public must know them. We will actively campaign against tenderpreneurs and mobilise good young entrepreneurs who could not benefit because they are not linked with white people who are well resourced to do the job, to fight hard for recognition. We are concerned by those who advocate for socialism to serve their narrow interests. CORRUPTION remains the main barrier for service delivery and SOCIALISM and we must fight it. 5. Social Transformation The Provincial Lekgotla agreed that we need to make a submission to the Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development in the Free State regarding our Campaign for Free Sanitary Towels for Young Women. We are persuaded by the reality that most of young girls in schools and rural areas are subjected to long distance travelling to buy these expensive items. This is undermining the need to make our people feel dignified on issues which their pockets are too short to address. By doing so, the government will be extending its core function of building a developmental state. We are concerned that 2500 young people received bursaries from Free State Provincial Government according to State of the Province Address while more than 3000 current and first time prospective students most of which knocked on the government doors for assistance, went back home due to academic and financial exclusions. In our struggle for Free Education, we will push for a transparent manner of allocating bursaries to deserving young people in order to Make Education Fashionable and opening the “doors of learning”. This is however advocated in the ANC manifesto which the YCL carried along during the 2009 elections campaigns work. In that we said we will deliver the Youth Vote for the ANC and we did, we must now deliver Free Education. During the elections we assisted through our Kabelo Thibedi Campaign ID Campaign more than 5000 people in the province, young and old to acquire Identity Documents (ID).We commit to continue for with our campaign and aim to assist more than 10 000 young and old people this year to have ID`s. We call for the provision of Free and Compulsory Circumcision for Young Boys and Universal Access to both Male and Female Condoms as a programme to halve the level of infection of HIV/AIDS. As the YCL Free State we advocated this position in the ANC Provincial Lekgotla earlier this year. 6. In Defence of our Leadership We will guard against all forms of attempts to undermine the leadership of the SACP, YCL and the broader working class movement to project them as irresponsible, corrupt and not communist enough. We believe that this is the result of a complete onslaught by those remnants of the 1996 class project whose main campaign is to suppress the communist leadership and their views within the ANC. We commit ourselves in defending the SACP, particularly the General Secretary, the National Chairperson, the Deputy General Secretary and Buti Manamela who have had to bear the brunt of attacks in the recent past. We will emerge in their defense, In Praise of Communism. Issued by YCL-SA Free State Province 082 583 9595 Provincial Spokesperson – Thabo Mokoena 082 529 3224 Provincial Secretary – Life Mokone |
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