Declaration and outcomes of the SACP Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Lekgotla held in Hammanskraal High School, 14th-16th February 2014

19 February 2014

We, delegates to the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Lekgotla met over a period of three (3) days in a predominantly African and Black township of Hammanskraal, north of the City of Tshwane. The deliberate choice of the venue is consistent with the PEC principle to meet in areas where the majority of the historically oppressed people and working class resides.

Firstly, the PEC Lekgotla reaffirmed its deep appreciation of schools, as the strategic and valuable property of the people and working class, and secondly as key sites of ideological and social emancipation. In this regard, the SACP Lekgotla continued its call for people and working class to appreciate, protect and preserve schools as their most valuable and strategic asset.

The PEC Lekgotla was addressed by the SACP 2nd Deputy General Secretary and member of the Politburo, comrade Solly Mapaila. In attendance were comrades Madala Masuku, member of the 13th National Congress Central Committee and delegates of the YCL led by Comrade Vuyo Mhlakaza.

The PEC observed a moment of silence to remember our fallen heroes, Nelson Mandela and Crosby Moni, including many others.

ANC Regional Chairperson and Mayor of the City of Tshwane, comrade Kgosientsho Ramokgopa welcomed delegates to the PEC Lekgotla. Messages of support were delivered by the ANC Provincial Secretary Comrade David Makhura, and Provincial Secretary of Cosatu Comrade Dumisani Dakile. The PEC Lekgotla welcomed the apology of the South African National Civics organisation (SANCO).

Comrade Lucky Montana, CEO of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) addressed the PEC Lekgotla on the Integrated Public Transport. His input extensively enriched the views of the Party on Integrated Public Transport.

International solidarity

The PEC Lekgotla held a special exchange session on the evening of the second day, Saturday, 15th February 2014. The exchange session was on international solidarity and was attended by the delegation of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) and that of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Both delegations addressed the PEC Lekgotla and screened documentaries highlighting achievements and challenges facing their revolutions. Venezuela documentary, "The revolution shall not be televised" highlighted the 2002 United States sponsored counter-revolutionary coup de tat against the late Venezuela President, Comrade Hugo Chavez.

CHALLENGES FACING THE ANC LED ALLIANCE AND THE BROAD DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT

Seeking simple solutions to complex questions

Based on the Political report, addresses of the CC member, Alliance partners and international guests, the Lekgotla resolved that one of the key problems facing the National Democratic Revolution, the ANC led Alliance and broad democratic movement is the tendency to seek easy solutions to very complex and difficult problems.

The PEC Lekgotla identified the source of this tendency as crude subjectivism. This is contrary to the historic and revolutionary approach of premising class analysis from objective reality and concrete conditions. This is in line with the perspective of materialist conception of history. The PEC Lekgotla however clarified that the relationship between the subjective and objective is dialectical, with the objective factor as the most decisive factor.

The PEC Lekgotla resolved that examples of the crisis of crude subjectivism that are more prominent and pronounced include the cult of personality, hero-worshipping individuals, treating individuals as sites of worship, scapegoating and blaming individual leaders for historic and colonial problems facing our people.

The Lekgotla denounced crude subjectivism as a historic tendency derived from the conservative Hegelian logic. This logic is more often used by fascists such as Hitler, George Bush, Mussolini and agents of the Apartheid ruling classes.

The PEC Lekgotla noted that this logic constitutes the ideological basis of the offensive by the DA and Imperialist aligned anti-ANC coalition of class forces. This is include the sensationalist commercial mass media historically opposed to the ANC led Alliance, its leadership, and President Jacob Zuma.

ANALYSIS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION

In its analysis of the international situation, the PEC Lekgotla concluded that the world capitalist crisis remains the most decisive factor that continues to characterise and correctly define the world class balance of forces.

Enriched by the experience of Venezuela as shown in the 2002 coup d’état, the Lekgotla noted certain common and similar tactical manoeuvres by Imperialism in our country. The most glaring common factor is the use of the commercial mass media to stage a consistent and series of attacks against the leadership of the entire ANC led Alliance, its democratic government, and in particular the core leadership led by President Jacob Zuma, one of the most popular Presidents of the ANC.

Imperialist strategic and tactical manoeuvres

The PEC Lekgotla concluded that the strategy of Imperialism in our country during this period is not the classical, military and NATO type of regime change as implemented in other countries. It characterised the current imperialist strategy in our country as "low intensity" counter-revolution, pursuing the goal and objective of weakening the ANC led Alliance.

These strategy is based on the use of certain sections of the commercial mass media, well-funded reactionary and right wing NGO’s, self-styled and NGO sponsored "intellectuals" and commentators, opposition parties. These forces are coalesced around the Democratic Alliance and certainly include the recently pronounced "NUMSA UDF -AMCU Type.

Already some of these self-exaggerated and NGO sponsored "intellectuals" are already hallucinating and literally day-dreaming about the downfall of the ANC.

The common denominator amongst all these forces is their passionate hatred of the ANC, the movement of Nelson Mandela in the same way that the Apartheid ruling classes kept this world icon in prison for 27 years.

The PEC Lekgotla however clarified that the above analysis does not exclude the imperialist classical regime change template which was piloted in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron), in the early 1960’s and perfected in many other countries. This will depend on the maturation of the "low intensity" counter-revolutionary strategy. The PEC Lekgotla noted that this include the possibility of mobilising rebel movements and armed bandits. This is already clearly visible from the posture of some of the forces within the opposition forces in our country.

Consistent analysis of Imperialism and good work

The PEC Lekgotla called on the entire ANC led Alliance to critically and consistently analyse the strategic and tactical posture of imperialism in our country under conditions of a sustained world capitalist crisis.

The PEC congratulated President Jacob Zuma for his successful leadership of the country during one of the most severe world capitalist crisis since the 1930’s. This complex and most difficult challenge was never experienced by any of the Presidents of the democratic government.

The Lekgotla noted that the popularity of President Jacob Zuma pushed back some of the tactical and strategic manoeuvres by imperialism and held the country firmly united.

President Jacob Zuma received congratulations from the PEC Lekgotla for delivering the best State of the Nation and will definitely do so in the next one soon after elections, hopefully during the 2014 Youth Month.

NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL CLASS BALANCE OF FORCES

The PEC Lekgotla analysed the situation in the country and province, and reaffirmed the decisions and programme of the December 2013 Augmented Central Committee.

LAUNCH OF QCINA MSEBENZI (TIA MOSOMI) ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR A DECISIVE ANC ELECTION VICTORY.

The PEC Lekgotla resolved that the key electoral challenge facing the ANC in Gauteng is the existence and concentration of imperialist inspired opposition parties seeking to weaken the ANC as part of the "low intensity" counter-revolutionary strategy.

The Lekgotla concluded that the industrial proletariat, workers and the working class in general, constitute the most powerful force to deliver a decisive electoral victory for the ANC. This class and objective reality is consistent with the character of Gauteng as the highest concentration of capital.

The Lekgotla strongly condemned the abstract, anarchist and completely reactionary call for workers to be alienated from its historic unity with the historically oppressed people and working class.

This call for workers not to vote for the ANC, a movement that is a product and pride of their revolutionary toil, blood and suffering, is deeply inspired by the bankrupt capitalist morality and culture of alienation. The Lekgotla further acknowledged Karl Marx’s extensive writings on alienation of workers from the product of their own labour, and surplus value.

The anti-ANC mobilisation of workers is part of the tendency to seek easy solutions to very complex questions.

Put differently, this reactionary and conservative call, seeks to mobilise workers to construct and build our country in the image of their class enemy, the divisive bourgeoisie.

Workers are politically mobilised not to build their country in their own class image, which is that of uniting with the oppressed people, just as Karl Marx and Lenin would have correctly advised.

It was in this context that the PEC Lekgotla resolved to adopt Qina Msebenzi (Tia Mosomi) Election Campaign as an extra-ordinary measure to focus the Party in Gauteng on the industrial proletariat and workers on the factory floor.

This campaign seeks to unite, reaffirm and strengthen workers to prevail over sectarianism, narrow workerism and populist demagogy. Qina Msebenzi will be launched in the Oupa Phasha (Ekhuruleni) District early next week.

Nkandla housing security upgrades

The PEC Lekgotla reaffirmed the resolutions of the 2013 December Augmented Central Committee on Nkandla. It resolved that at the centre of the crisis relating to the Nkandla security upgrades is the historic question of the transformation of the state with respect to the relationship of government officials, the bureaucrats with monopoly capital through tenders, price manipulation and the corrupt morality of the Apartheid capitalist ruling classes. The PEC noted that as part of national reconciliation and peaceful transition to democracy, many of the corrupt forces of the Apartheid ruling classes, including those from the Bantustan were integrated within the state.

And furthermore, examples of these practices are many in our country, for example, the price manipulation and corrupt practices during the construction of 2010 Soccer world cup stadiums.

To blame President Zuma and completely ignore contradictions of the state transformation as an objective factor constitute crude subjectivism. The PEC Lekgotla awaits with keen interest the report of the Public Protector.

We are eager to hear the language, style, of the report from this office that more often, and in this particular case, allegedly leaked crucial and sensitive information. We are yet to get an update on the leakages from this important office in our democracy.

Integrated Public Transport as a revolutionary alternative to narrow focus on E-Tolls

Guided by positions of the Central Committee, PEC Lekgotla analysed the state of public transport in our province. This was further enriched by input of Lucky Montana, CEO of PRASA on Integrated Public Transport.

The following key observations were made:

• SA and province of Gauteng in particular has no Public Transport System but a commuter system. This commuter system was created to serve the historic interests of the Apartheid ruling classes and to facilitate the exploitation of mainly African and Black labour.
• Majority of the people, in this case Africans and Black workers, the working class and poor continue to be subjected without any alternative to the use of old, outdated, and dangerous Metro rail trains, Putco and other buses and Taxis to commute daily to and from work.
• The continued narrow focus on improving high ways perpetuates the continued and complete neglect of the popular transport needs of the overwhelming majority of the people.
• Popular modes of transport that serve mainly African and Black people are exempted from E-Tolls by the democratic government of the ANC.
• ANC led Alliance converge and share the strategic perspective that Integrated Public Transport constitute the best and only empowering way forward for the historically oppressed, working class and poor, who in their majority are Black and African.

Isolating reactionary and right-wing forces

It was in this context that the PEC Lekgotla deeply appreciated and applauded the campaign by COSATU to fight E-Tolls. This we believe is a principled struggle within the context of the unifying demand for Integrated Public Transport.

The PEC Lekgotla resolved to support Cosatu’s struggle against E-Tolls in the context of Integrated Public Transport. This will isolate right-wing, imperialist and DA aligned reactionary forces such as Organisations Against Urban Tolling. This will further isolate such forces that narrowly focussed on E-Tolls and excluded popular demands that will benefit Africans in particular and Black people in general.

The PEC Lekgotla resolved that narrow and abstract focus on E-Tolls does not at all address or meet the popular and legitimate transport demands, needs and aspirations of the overwhelming majority of workers, working class and poor.

Put differently, and as a matter of emphasis, narrow focus on E-Tolls is not for and about the working class and poor who are African in particular and Black in general.

In class and historic terms, the narrow focus on E-Tolls, which has been extremely sensationalised, well exploited and blown out of proportion is part of the historic agenda by forces seeking to defeat the movement of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo and Chris Hani.

Attempts to co-opt and manipulate so called "Black middle class"

The PEC Lekgotla further concluded that this narrow, sensationalist and media driven focus on E-Tolls is presented and wrongly trumpeted as serving the "common interests" of the "middle class", black and white. This abstract view was completely rejected and denounced by the PEC Lekgotla.

The Lekgotla noted that the middle strata is historically and everywhere not a homogenous group. It always vacillates and at all times lean on the big shoulders of either the working class or bourgeois class. Middle strata at all material times vacillate between classes, hence it is a strata and not a class.

It noted that considering the severity of historical contradictions of race, gender and class exploitation in our country, the overwhelming majority of African and Black people remain working class and poor. It was however agreed that where the process of class formation has created a so called ‘’black middle class", it remains a small, insignificant, but nevertheless growing fraction.

The Lekgotla reaffirmed the observation of the Financial Sector Campaign, that the majority of Africans and Blacks people are highly trapped in massive debts and are victims of garnishing orders and blacklisting.

Their incomes are severely constrained and pressured by extended responsibilities to take care of the highly dependent working class, poor families, and relatives and in many cases their neighbours.

The PEC Lekgotla remained confident that the revolutionary middle strata is therefore historically and materially part of Africans in particular and Blacks in general, who are predominantly working class and poor.

In other words, the revolutionary middle strata will not fall prey to DA manipulation and it’s loudly blown narrow E-Tolls trumpet to break ranks with the people, and sell-out the people’s national democratic revolution, as it has far more genuine interests in a thoroughgoing national democratic revolution than the façade of e-tolls

Urgent interventions towards Integrated Public Transport

• PRASA to prioritise Gauteng Province with a view to ensure a high concentration of the roll-out of the new metro rail passenger coaches. This we believe will make a positive and high impact than a wide and thinly spread roll-out.
• Undertake a strategic and high level study on the modalities, technical and operational issues to achieve Integrated Public Transport System. This will include exploring issues relating to the capacity of local government to promote, champion and advocate Integrated Public Transport System that integrates and coordinate the Ticketing system and various operational planning of various public transport modes. This may as well include the appointment of the Integrated Public Transport Office to champion and promote it at all levels of government.
• Government to review its relationship with the Putco Bus Company. This review should give government more power and control over activities and operations of Putco. This should also be followed by a massive investment to revamp, improve and change the current fleet of Buses to make them comfortable, reliable, safe and available to communities through-out the day. The review of relations with Putco should include better and improved working conditions and living wage for workers.
• Review and analyse the impact and experience of the Taxi Recapitalisation programme, and to outline a clear way forward.
• Government to urgently investigate SANRAL’s overall poor management of the E-Toll system, especially the management of the billing system. It is important to establish real facts about the current crisis on the billing system, and why this crisis is allowed to drag-on for long. The investigation will also help clarify the suspicion that there are within SANRAL forces directly linked to those "of low intensity" counter-revolution to continue the attack and weaken the ANC Alliance and democratic movement.
• Government to instruct SANRAL to publish a clear plan for rolling out road Infrastructure in predominantly African and Black residential areas. This is crucial to provide alternative routes and to change the focus away from high ways.

These and other issues will be presented to the Alliance in the province to realise the ideal of Integrated Public Transport.

Community struggles as "service delivery protests

The PEC Lekgotla analysed the tendency to characterise community struggles as "service delivery protests". It resolved that the use of this concept, very popular within the ranks of forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution is part of the same agenda to attack and weaken the revolutionary movement.

It is a tendency that further seeks to delegitimise the democratic government. It seeks to create an impression that government is not delivering services.

It further seeks to mobilise the historically oppressed people and project the democratic government as their enemy and target because it fails to deliver services.

It is based on the view that the people, working class and poor are mere recipients of services waiting to be activated only when they feel "betrayed" by their government, the government of the historically oppressed people.

Clearly, "service delivery protests" is a cheap ploy used by forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution, especially the commercial mass media as a platform and outlet to severely weaken and defeat the ANC.

Given the electoral popularity of the ANC, these forces are desperate to erode this popularity within the people. Some of the forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution cannot even hide their desperate hatred of the ANC, under pressure from their USA funded NGO’s to fast deliver the electoral defeat of the ANC.

The PEC Lekgotla reaffirmed and agreed with the conclusion of the President Jacob Zuma that in actual fact the ANC government has performed very well and far surpassed expectations on delivery of services. In other words, so-called service delivery protests are not about service delivery, but several factors that are not related to service delivery.

The PEC Lekgotla further resolved that the narrative that community struggles are directed against the democratic government is false and without any substance.

Anti-colonial, anti-capitalist and anti-Imperialist community struggles

It was agreed that in actual fact these community struggles are part of the broader national democratic struggles that are anti-colonial, anti-Imperialist and anti-capitalist. They are in essence about the legacy and effect of Apartheid colonialism.

The PEC Lekgotla called on the ANC led Alliance and broad democratic movement to welcome these legitimate and democratic forms of community expressions. These we believe is far much better than the crude subjectivism that fails to appreciate the legitimate demands of the people.

In this regard, our approach to these protests should not be on who is involved and their intentions, factions or groupings they belong to. Our consistently revolutionary focus should first and foremost be on legitimate demands of the people, their concrete living conditions, and their material situation.

This is critical based on the scientific truth that the revolutionary people, Africans in particular and Blacks people in general fully understand that their difficulties arises not from the ANC government, but the legacy of the Apartheid system.

The Lekgotla agreed to fight attempts to portray the ANC government as the only government in the entire history of this country. This is beyond doubt intended to bury the past, and exonerate the Apartheid system from the problems facing our people and put the blame squarely on the ANC government.

Call to hear the people, isolate opportunists and provide strategic leadership

The PEC Lekgotla resolved that the best and most revolutionary approach consistent with the character of the ANC as a disciplined force of the left and national liberation movement leading the Alliance is as follows:

• Prompt and swift response from leadership of government to hear the people, to engage them and pledge solidarity with them on their demands. The ANC should take stern action against those of its government leaders that fail to hear the people or respond very late when damage is already done and the situation has deteriorated.
• Isolate the forces of anarchy, thugs, looters, tenderprenuers and all other morally and ethically corrupt forces that manipulate the historic and genuine demands of the people.
• Swift response and hearing the people will also empower people to defend their property, work with police and defeat and isolate destructive elements. Failure to hear the people, long delays before responding, crude subjectivism and conservative attitude towards these community struggles leave our people at the mercy of thugs, hooligans, looters.
• Failure to act decisively and empower our people leaves them in the hands of thugs, looters, criminals and anarchists. On the other hand it exposes them to brutal police, who due to apartheid training and security practices more often kill and injure innocent people. This further plays into the hands of the forces that are opposed to the movement, thus accusing it of shooting and killing innocent people.
• These revolutionary approach will also expose forces that more often manipulate the people, use them as human shields by raising the banner of service delivery to disguise their business and tender interests, internal Alliance factional squabbles and other under-currents that have absolutely nothing to do with the people and provision of services.
• Based on our concrete experience from our direct interventions and working with these communities, most of these community struggles exposes the scourge of corruption by government officials and public representatives working with monopoly capital and tendeprenuers. The fight against corruption is in line with the programme of the movement.

Call on the movement to act against failure to hear the people

It was in this context that the PEC Lekgotla made a call to the movement as a whole to take serious action against failure by government leaders and public representatives, especially in ANC controlled areas to act swiftly and decisively hear the people.

The Lekgotla dismissed the narrative that these community struggles are caused by opposition parties. On the contrary, forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution have no capacity to initiate and sustain community struggles at this moment.

It is only through complacency and lack of urgency by supposedly revolutionary forces that we will deliver so called ‘’service delivery’ protests" to forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution.

The PEC Lekgotla appreciated the scientific truth and the fact that the overwhelming majority of our people have confidence in the ANC and its Alliance partners. It further noted that the forces of "low intensity" counter-revolution aligned to the DA and Imperialism lacks legitimacy to engineer the "Arab spring"’ and trigger so-called "time ticking bomb".

Dangers of parallel two centres of power

The Lekgotla also reaffirmed its well pronounced positions against the dangers of two centres of power in our province. The continued existence of this tendency in a strategic and key province of our country also create its own contradictions that poses real problems for the entire democratic revolution.

In practice, we have seen situations where state organs literally weakens and undermine political processes whenever community protests erupt. This is done through running parallel and competing interventions under conditions where the ANC led Alliance and ANC government should be closing ranks and complementing each other to defend the movement and consolidate its hegemony.

PEC Lekgotla resolved that as a matter of principle, state organs must follow and be guided by a political process of the Alliance and not the other way round.

Building a strong and united SACP and Alliance in Gauteng Province.

The PEC Lekgotla appreciated the qualitative and quantitative of the growth of the SACP in Gauteng. It was acknowledged that the Party is firmly united and is well rooted and grounded within the working class. It is playing its role as the true vanguard of the working class. It continue to play a positive role to unite the Alliance and has successfully maintained the principle of the independence and autonomy of Alliance partners.

SACP and ANC led Alliance interventions in working class communities

The Lekgotla commended the PEC’s principled intervention in many working class areas, and efforts to ensure that people’s popular demands received attention.

It was in this regard that the PEC applauded the announcement of the Mayor of City of Tshwane to find a solution to one of the most complex problem affecting young workers that served the City as 2010 Soccer World Cup volunteers.

This workers were handed over to a labour brokering company as their employer through a company known as Capacity. When City and SAMWU reached an agreement to terminate and do away with labour brokering, these young workers found themselves unemployed as they were promised to be integrated into the City. It is almost two years that these young workers have not been employed and are without income.

Whilst the City and SAMWU are still resolving matters relating to the implementation of the agreement to end labour brokering, the SACP and the ANC Alliance successfully ensured that these workers will be integrated into the City’s Expanded Public Works programme. Their verification process will commence soon, and their actual payment will be effected earlier or commence with the start of the financial year in July 2014.

Whilst the SACP will appeal to the municipality to fast track the verification and final appointment process, we believe these development marks a new chapter in the lives of these youth and to deliver a tangible and concrete way forward compared to the stalemate of the last two years.

The Lekgotla also committed the SACP to engage the Alliance to ensure that if the City of Tshwane could do away with labour brokering, it should be possible for all municipalities and provincial government departments in the province.

The Lekgotla mandated the PEC to continue to engage the Alliance, government on community struggles for the people of Lenasia whose houses were demolished and to date not a single problem has been resolved. We should continue to support the demands of the people of Bekkersdal, Bronkhorspruit, Zamimpilo, Somalia park, Elias Motsoaledi, Tudo shaft, Kwa-Masiza, Khutsong and many other communities.

The PEC should continue to help the people of Newtown who were robbed of their property in broad daylight in what stand out to be the biggest housing scandal post 1994. More than 250 family units housing more than 2000 families were sold in one of the most highly controversial liquidation and auction process.

The PEC has since initiated a multi-disciplinary investigation by government Departments and relevant committees of parliament. The PEC also supports the effort by the residents to fight this corrupt sale of their family units in court.

The Lekgotla resolved to mobilise its Red Brigade to campaign and deliver an overwhelming election victory for our longest and only political ally, the African National Congress.

Forward to the launch of Qina Msebenzi Election Campaign

SPECIAL STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION IN VENEZUELA

SACP GAUTENG PROVINCE held a Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting over the weekend from 14th-16th in Hamanskraal, north of the City of Tshwane. The meeting received a full and extensive briefing from a delegation of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on the current situation in that country.

After the unfortunate events in Venezuela, the SACP strongly condemns the attempt of coup that has taken place in Venezuela by fascist groups through violence and death trying to overthrow a democratically elected government.

The SACP reiterates its full support to the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan People against a new onslaught of imperialism and the Venezuelan bourgeoisie.

The SACP is convinced that once again the Venezuelan People and their Revolutionary Government will defeat these destabilizing movements again and continue the legacy of Commander Hugo Chavez, who is an eternal example of struggle and dignity for the people of Latin America, Africa and the world.

Long live Commander Chavez!
Long live Comrade Nicolas Maduro!
Long live the Bolivarian People of Venezuela!

Issued on behalf of the SACP Gauteng Province

Contact:

Mamabolo Jacob: Provincial Secretary: 082 884 1868
Lucian Segami: Provincial Spokesperson: 079 522 0098