ADDRESS TO SACP YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE PROVINCIAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE
BY KWAZULU NATAL PROVINCIAL SECRETARY, SMISO NKWANYANA

28 June 2003

Durban Institute of Technology (DIT)

Comrades,

Chairperson, PEC members, YCL Steering committee, Alliance leadership, other
guests and esteemed delegates.

Those who choose to participate in shaping history are history makers and those
who step aside and study it are historians. It is a good act to participate
in shaping the history, but heroic to shape it for the betterment of the majority
poor.

You meet today at this ever-historic consultative conference of the Communist
Youth at a very crucial time in the country's effort to deepen, consolidate
and advance the goals of our revolution. This conference should certainly emerged
with concrete way forward of not building the YCL in the Province but in the
country as a whole. You meet in order to build a Youth formation of the SACP
that will organise, mobilise, propagate and agitate not only the youth that
has chosen to join the SACP but the entire youth generation to build socialism.
Like Lenin urged the Komsomol as its task, that, " every young
person who regards himself or herself a communist and who clearly understand
that, by joining the YCL, s/he has pledged him/herself to help the Party build
communism and to help the whole younger generation create a communist society".

It is ten years since the brutal assassination of our General Secretary, Cde
Chris Hani, and ten years since the passing away of the hero of our revolution,
Cde Oliver Tambo. But you also meet when we celebrate that workers determination
and defiance to the apartheid government 30 years ago, the 1973 Durban strike.
This is the 50th year since the reconstitution of the SACP and the year that
marks the end of the decade of freedom in this country. These and many other
commemorations should not just remind us of where we are coming from but should
also challenge us to work even harder to build this democracy.

IMPLICATIONS OF GLOBAL SITUATIONS

You also meet when the world peace and democracy is severe under threat from
the US agenda for unilateralism. The US is guided by a very dangerous philosophy
that what is global is America and what is America is global. The recent invasion
of Iraq has indicated that US can simply march on every country and change the
regime it considers to be a threat on its interests in what it calls pre-emptive
war policy. This is certainly a threat to an alternative world left progressive
agenda. This US imperialism which drives this programme need to be resisted
otherwise world democracy will end up being democracy for America and not the
people of such countries. We are pleased that in Britain there is already growing
resistance against this strategy and in effect there is a great pressure that
Blair should account whether there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
We are ofcourse worried with the recent opinion poll in US, which indicated
that about 53% of the US citizens would favour another attack but this time
on Iran.

But what does this global reality means to our struggle to build democracy
and socialism in this country?

The global situation is very hostile to our agenda of radical changes. This
is presented by insistence on prescriptive measures of WTO, IMF and World Bank
that for any economic transformation such should comply with liberalisation
policy of markets, relaxing of tariffs, privatisation, commercialisation etc.
In fact those who believe in free market system always accuse socialism of being
a planned economy, denying innovation and undemocratic. Yet if you look at the
global reality today, we have a world that is dominated by global capitalism,
this global capitalism prescribe for the world what should be economic policy,
intolerant of any country applying alternative and very brutal to dissenting
economic paradigm.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM

This imperialist globalisation forces the world to put at the centre of agenda
profit for captains of industries and regards social delivery to the people
as an unnecessary expense that should be stopped. They advise countries to follow
economic models that emphasise the creation of an environment conducive to foreign
investments, whilst this investments only come in the form of speculative, casino-like
and not on productive industries that creates employment. These investors invest
in order to make quick profit with no intention at all at assist those countries
to grow economy and create jobs.

With all this working class revolutionaries and communists, particularly, cannot
simple accept the world balance of forces to be as if they are immutable. Making
a revolution does not mean accepting society and rules just as they are the
task is to discover its tendencies and to dedicate firmly oneself to creating
a new order. Failure to recognise this fact will result in failure to appreciate
the importance of subjective factor in the revolution and reproduce a society
of ever dependence on world capitalist market.

That is why as the SACP we continue to argue that our economic regime should
make emphasise on domestic resources, building infrastructure, harnessing of
domestic finance institutions, parastatals and workers pension funds. This is
what other countries that have able to sustain their economy did when their
economies were sufferings some shocks and downturns.

We think, as the SACP there is a room for maneuver and the Growth and Development
Summit (GDS) attempted to make some significant interventions. That is why we
welcome the GDS decision to place at the centre of the country's economic growth
and development the reliance on domestic capital as the important resource upon
which we can grow the economy. This involves the use of co-operative, massive
public works programmes, developing the human resource through learnerships,
in- service training and mentorships.

The reason why we make emphasis on the economy is because it determines the
objective conditions upon which paces for revolution is determined and even
some countering could be waged. The 1994 democratic breakthrough opened significant
avenues of building democracy and placed our demands for socialism on a new
plain. This 1994 victory made it possible to deliver social programmes like
water, electricity, houses, clinics, roads, social security rights and many
others to majority people that were denied. It also enabled us to transform
the state through various legislation including the adoption of the new constitution
with the bill of rights, Labour Relations Act, South African Schools Act, Higher
Education Act, to mention but few. These kinds of achievements are certainly
unparalleled to many established democracies in the world.

These kinds of gains if the economy is premised on neo-liberal principles,
will be negated. For instance what is the use of delivering electricity to a
retrenched worker whom could not afford it. Even with houses, delivering them
to an unemployed person will result in that person selling such a house in order
to live. Our argument is therefore, why do we allow a situation where our massive
gains tends to be undermined by our economic policy. Capitalism will not deliver
to our poor people but will entrench the old devide between the few who controls
the capital and the majority who are have-nots.

But to change the current situation will require a struggle from below, where
people themselves will demand to participate in economy. This means building
working class power. We must create conditions that will make it difficult to
apply economic regimes that seek to reverse the gains of the working class.
We must build the working class power that will guarantee the reality of working
class leader of the NDR beyond phrases and slogans. This means proletarianisation
not only of workers but also of society as a whole. This means planting the
socialist seeds everywhere, and every sight and corner of society being turned
into a theatre of forging working class hegemony. The revolution is not an exchange
or trading with just ideas with the hope that the society is won simply by discoursing,
but revolution is about more work and hard work amongst the people. It is about
blending discourse with practical work. It is about building an organisation
and infusing such organisation with revolutionary theory, for without a revolutionary
theory there can be no revolutionary organisation.

TASKS FOR GENDER TRANSFORMATION

You also meet today just week after a successful gender school co-organised
by SADTU and SACP. Among other issues raised the need to deepen gender struggle
and more particularly capacitating women to participate in the economy, governance
structures and in development institutions. But more importantly was the emphasis
on not just women participation but working class women who bear the brunt of
many societal hardships. This working class women participation will ensure
that the end result does not end up benefiting elite women but the majority.

Lenin argued when closing the debate about national chauvinism and other forms
of discrimination, that simple assuming that a socialist construction will consequently
eliminates chauvinism is to make nonsense of the debate about socialism itself
(my paraphrase)

But it will be important that when we approach the gender question, especially
the aspect of women empowerment, we should avoid attempts of putting women to
leadership position as mere gesture of pretending to be empowering, whilst such
has as its objective to window dress. Some men normally do this in order to
fulfil their chauvinist beliefs that women are incapable of leadership and they
are weak. That is why the notion of quota system has found criticism, not because
it is an incorrect tool of redressing historical gender inequality, but because
some amongst us manipulate this tool in order to fulfil our narrow goals. As
a result quota system ends up relying on the women criterion in order to qualify
and throw away other important criteria like the potential develop and to meet
the expectations.

Unfortunately many women decide to close their eyes and accept as an achievement
to put a women no matter what the contrary might dictate.

We hope this conference will serious look at these challenges that confronting
the gender transformation discourse.

CONCRETE CHALLENGES OF THE YCL

There are these questions which the media like to ask, and even some amongst
us within the alliance, of what is the need of YCL when there is the ANCYL.
What is it that the YCL will do which the ANCYL cannot do? Isn't the re-establishment
of the YCL a reaction to frustration about the ANCYL not being left enough?
What will distinguish the League of the SACP to that of the ANC?

Well, those who ask this question exposes their ignorance about the history
of this country and about the history of Communist Party, but this also indicates
their stupidity of failing to draw distinction between the SACP and ANC. It
may as well be that they know of these, its just that they are look for anything
that will undermine or discredit efforts of building the YCL, hence the Party
and hence socialism.

We must remind them that the YCL is being re-established since the Party was
the first organisation in this country to have its youth organisation. This
YCL which was a youth pioneer in this country did not escape the wreath of Nationalist
suppression of communism. The YCL played a very significant role as a militant
youth organisation that sought to educate the youth about socialism and campaigned
vigorously against the recruitment of youth to participate in the Second World
War. So the YCL is not a new thing, we would have decided to re-establish it
in the 1990s or in 2017, whether the ANCYL becomes too left or too right.

The ANCYL is the wing of the ANC and it has the duty to advance the strategic
objective as defined by the strategy and tactics of the ANC. The ANCYL cannot
be the advocates of socialism and that is not its responsibility. This therefore
means the ideological bombardment of our youth with neo-liberalism cannot be
countered by the ANCYL as it is the multi-class youth formation, but it must
be countered by the youth of the SACP. It therefore means the YCL will struggle
to organise and spread propaganda amongst the society about socialism. It will
prepare the youth of this country to wage a socialist struggle. It will be a
storm that will turn neo-liberalism that has siege our youth upside down, push
it away and provide ideological liberty.

This great storm will have the task of educating our youth about communism;
it will transform the youth of this country from political passivity to active
participants in building their future. Our vision of building working class
power provides a special task for the YCL to contest the organs of people' power
to become people's power for the workers and the poor. You must campaign to
fight the scourge of HIV/ AIDS that threatens to reverse our revolutionary gains.
This means going beyond public utterances to action. You will be expected to
help reverse the problem of youth unemployment through campaigns for youth co-operatives
and programmes of massive youth skilling. We will, indeed, expect the YCL to
help in combating crime, through campaigning for community participation in
this fight. Certainly you will be expected to assist poor communities to access
social grants and the implementation of Nedlac Agreement on Financial Sector
summit. All these and many other tasks require an active YCL, a YCL that will
not waist time in interpreting the world but working to change the society.
This kind of YCL shall consist of cadres of a special mould, the cadres that
are committed to build socialism in their life times.

2004 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Next year 2004 will mark a decade of freedom in this country; it will be a
year in which we shall remember that before ten years ago SA was a pariah of
the world. We will remember that we achieved democracy and freedom even though
some among us today simple take this for granted. We will remember that a black
person did not enjoy rights, women, especially domestic workers, were subjected
to rape and abuse by white men yet when they reported the cases they faced torture.
A white man could not do a crime on a black person.

It will also be a reflection about the future and challenges ahead. But the
very same year 2004 will mark the third democratic general elections upon which
every South African will be expected to exercise a vote. As the SACP we will
again make a call to all South Africans to vote for the ANC. We will be making
such a call not because the word ANC sounds nice and also not that we are unaware
of problems, especially with certain policies, with the ANC. But we say so because
we believe the ANC still remains the only organisation that truly takes forward
our National Democratic Revolutionary goals.

Let me give you a little advice, all other political parties, regardless of
their rhetoric and grandstand posturing, they all lack the programme of taking
this country forward. They all treat worker interests with disdain and gibberish.

Whilst in the rest of the country, with least exception of Western Cape, they
will be celebrating ten years of freedom, democracy and building of better life,
in KwaZulu Natal we should use 2004 to begin freedom, democracy and laying of
a foundation for a better life. This is possible if we defeat the IFP.

The truth is that the IFP-DA alliance, in what they refer to as halting the
ANC lust for total control, they have identified KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape
to be no go areas for ANC after 2004 elections.

This IFP-DA pact will consolidate this Province as a site of reaction to a
democratic government programmes. The example of Social Development Department
programmes of food hampers to poor people in this Province, the department,
which is under the IFP MEC in the province, used more than three-quarter of
R30 million only in Abaqulisi and Zululand districts. They defied the national
directive that NGOs must do food distribution and Faith based organisations
and it is reported that in fact IFP activists were the one who distributed it
to their people.

We can mention many things that will go wrong, but it remains our tasks to
say now enough is enough let democracy that reverberate throughout the country
reaches KwaZulu Natal. If we do this certainly what we see in other provinces
as development will reach our Province.

As revolutionaries we must break the chains, we must commit ourselves to winning
elections break neck and jaw. KwaZulu Natal cannot be an island of backwardness
in the sea of prosperity.

CONCLUSSION

Finally, we expect every delegate in this conference to be guided by the conviction
of building a strong SACP and hence building of YCL not only in this Province
but everywhere. We must seek to dominate every site and turn them into a Mecca
of striving for socialism. Certainly, there is no other solution in achieving
all these goals other than commitment to organise, to mobilise, to educate,
to agitate and propagate.

We wish you very successful deliberations and may your conference once more
be historic, you must debate, disagree and agree. We await the outcome! With
and for the workers and poor!

Thank you.