8 March 2020
The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) held its 4th plenary session of the 5th Congress National Committee, from 06 – 08 March 2020 in Johannesburg. The meeting analysed and reflected on various issues that plague our country, the youth as well as the political landscape both locally and internationally.
The meeting received and adopted political, organisational and financial reports as mandated by the constitution. The meeting further received presentations from the Minister of Basic Education, Cde Angie Motshekga on the state of basic education and articulation thereof, Minister of Public Enterprises, Cde Pravin Gordhan on the challenges facing our State Owned Entities, presentation on the National Youth Policy which is due for review by the NYDA Executive Chairperson, Cde Sifiso Mtsweni and furthermore received a political address from the 2nd Deputy General Secretary, Cde Chris Matlhako on behalf of the SACP Central Committee.
The National Committee paid a special tribute to the late Lower South Coast District Secretary of the YCLSA in Moses Mabhida Province who departed the world of the living at the hail of showered bullets. The assassination of Cde Khaya cannot be another statistic of the many young cadres of the YCLSA, the PYA and movement in general who were killed in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province at the hands of ruthless criminals without any successful conviction. The criminal tendency of murders and assassinations reflects the depth of moral decay in our society and the weakness of our criminal justice system in maintaining law and order in the best interest of our democracy. We call for the release of the report on political killings in KZN without any delay.
We celebrate the International Working Women’s Day, whilst we are still faced with the scourge of Gender Based Violence mostly directed at women and children. Our institutions of higher learning have been turned into a playground and slaughterhouse of these senseless killings.
The meeting discussed key developments affecting the South African youth, including the latest technical recession, high unemployment, the National Treasury budget onslaught on education in general and Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges in particular, and other political developments.
The meeting took place amidst extremely alerting political developments both at the global landscape and the domestic environment. The Syrian Arab Army’s victory in the battle for the city of Aleppo which does not necessarily constitute a victory of the war, including the shift in the domestic balance of forces influenced by the two extremes in the movement necessitated a coherent, scientific and informed deliberations in the National Committee meeting to craft an advance solutions.
Neither the parasitic network nor neo-liberal agenda is the solution for the working class.
The developments within our domestic political environment which reflects the re-establishment of the global imperialist pedagogy as the ideology of the state and right-wing South African state against the pseudo left rhetoric will have far reaching extreme consequences for the South African youth and the general working class if not confronted with equal capacity and combated at this stage.
A renewed alliance of pseudo-left parasitic forces has been formed. This time around, a parasitic corruption network fighting for political survival, allied to or perhaps reconciled with the pseudo-left cabal survives on left-rhetoric soundbites. The agenda is to defend the conspicuous consumption and collapse of our local government and state owned entities which took place under the guise of an ideologically misguided Radical Economic Transformation agenda.
Parallel to this alliance of the pseudo-left forces and the parasitic network is the sudden re-emergence of the 1996 class project to institutionalize neo-liberalism as the ideology of the movement against the National Democratic Revolution, again ‘to grow an economy that does not even create jobs’. The neoliberal regime seeks to be found progressive under the narrative of fighting corruption and fixing the economy at the expense of the entire working class to elevate the class interests of global imperialist institutions such as the IMF and the domestic monopoly capital.
The recent budget speech which is anti-working class, anti-NDR and anti-young people is provocation by the neoliberal cabal. The National Committee noted that the budget speech says exactly what the IMF recommended during their visit to the South African government in November 2019 and further published in their article IV on the 30th of January 2020.
The latter therefore explains the behavior of the National Treasury and their backdoor neoliberal Macro-Economic policy discussion documents which has never found expression in the structures of the movement.
Noting that both the neo-liberal regime singing a progressive rhetoric against corruption or the pseudo-left RET forces using progressive left rhetoric to defend political decay in the movement; noting that both the extremes have no interest of the working class at heart, the YCLSA will confront any tendency that seeks to undermine the working class gains as the motive forces of the revolution.
Unity of the Progressive Youth Alliance
The Progressive Youth Alliance is a product of struggle formed to advance the interests of the South Africa Youth, particularly from the working-class background, within the context of our National Democratic Revolution. The PYA was not formed to defend factions within the movement and be inward looking at the expense of the working-class youth. We vow to confront and expose those who have taken advantage of the weakness and challenges facing the PYA components and converted them to conveyer belts for their selfish narrow interests.
The National Committee noted and welcomed the congress outcomes of COSAS and SASCO. We however concerned with the level political degeneration which have engulfed our glorious student movement. We will work very hard to consolidate the unity of the PYA but not willing to succumb to a deliberate attempts to liquidate the progressive youth voice in the country.
Furthermore, the National Committee emphasized the need to unite COSAS as a fighting instrument to combat substance and alcohol abuse, the killing of learners and educators, and teachers taking sexual advantage on learners.
Confront the challenges in Education system
The YCLSA is deeply concerned with the ongoing mass actions in the institutions of higher learning. Numerous debates have emerged about the purpose of the NCV and the extent to which it responds to the markets or corporate. Further, there is a concern about the level of throughput and the high numbers that appear to be exiting the qualification prior to completion as well as the large numbers that are repeating subjects.
The failure for NSFAS to process student payments has caused most of these mass actions and we hope the department will be able to push for the NSFAS board to address the challenges. We further call for an introduction of a TVET sector quality assurer than continue to treat this sector as glorified high schools where Umalusi do as it wish.
The YCLSA welcomes the intentions of the government to introduce a post basic education certificate at Grade 9 to allow young people to choose their own educational path. This is a fundamental need enshrined in the RDP policy document of post 1994 and in the ANC Ready to Govern of 1992.
The YCLSA will take forward its Read to Lead campaign by making sure we launch a programme to donate books to our communities. The aim of this campaign is to develop a reading nation.
National Youth Policy
This year, both the National Youth Policy and the New Growth Path will retire their mandate. This gives the necessity to critically reflect on both policies and ensure that government will learn from such inactive policies which yielded close to nothing for the youth and the working-class population.
Through our youth manifesto, we will ensure that we contribute to a sound National Youth Policy which places the aspirations of the South African youth at heart with practically sound intentions to transform the lives of young people.
Renew, Re-capture and don’t privatise our SOEs
The National Committee received a presentation from the Minister of Public Enterprises. The engagement of the Minister is quite provocative and important, but equally lack a proper response to key issues which have clouded the public domain in recent times regarding SOEs.
Indeed, the parasitic corruption network plunged the state of our SOEs into crisis. The lucrative contracts issued in the name of a pseudo Radical Economic Transformation to the National Bourgeoise are fundamental the challenge for proper operations of our National Enterprises. However, this reality we should not shy away from the incompetence of the current administration (regime) in providing leadership and they remain obsessed with advancing neo-liberal interventions.
Issued by YCLSA
Tinyiko Ntini – National Secretary
For enquiries:
Dloze Matooane – National Spokesperson
Mobile: 066 570 3902
Dineo Mokoena – Media Liaison
Mobile: 073 969 853
