Tell no lies, claim no easy victories

Had it not been at the insistence of the ANCYL PWC, I ordinarily would not have  commented on the input by comrades Godrich Gardee and James Nkambule.

As the PWC needed some kind of an intervention, a few questions had to be responded to, chief amongst these was: How do you tell cde Godrich Gardee, who has led the ANCYL before, that he is out of order? This question had to be asked because, in our programme for 2008 there is a resolution to honor the past heroes of the struggle and those who have led the ANCYL in the past with distinction. This resolution seeks not only to honor the fallen heroes but also to honor most of our leaders who serve the ANCYL in various RECs in the province and those who served the PEC at one stage of their youthful life. Cde Godrich Gardee is amongst these comrades. Obviously the fact that Gardee has expressed his views, electing to use  some of the most unfortunate words and expressions, rendering his language and the tone of his article almost to a point of revolutionary vulgarism, does not make him less an ANCYL ex cadre. He remains a commissar and an organiser.

After having gone through his articles it became clear to me that he had just chosen to write a lengthy article on fundamentally one subject-

‘He does not agree with the current ANCYL PEC public pronouncements and indeed its choice of leadership for the ANC PEC’

It is important to clarify him on a few of his points.

Our response to the premier and serving ANC provincial Chairperson on his reflections about the ANCYL Mangaung Congress, was on the basis that, in criticising, legitimately, the congress proceedings, an attempt was made to reopen a matter concluded and which matter had no material bearing to the congress-the whole question of cde Reuben Mohlaloga.

As the ANCYL in the province we reiterated the public apology made by that dynamic and brilliant youth activist, cde Fikile Mbalula (I see he has not escaped your broad-based destructive criticism)  on the “shenanigans” at Mangaung. In fact, Mbalula’s apology was canvassed in detail at the NASREC congress of the ANCYL by the current president, cde Julius Malema ( given the tone of your article, you were modest in criticizing him). I have no idea why you did not make any reflection on the ANCYL recent National Congress held at the NASREC Centre.

When we said that we need cde DD as the Chairperson, it is not a call for replacement. Any elective conference of the ANC would elect a Chairperson.  Indeed any member in good standing of the ANC provided he or she fits the criteria for qualifying into a particular structure can be nominated and elected into being Chairperson at that particular conference. He / She will not be replacing any one. This much you know, cde GG. Only if the journalist who recorded that press statement drew a distinction between a premier and a provincial Chairperson of the ANC, would he have spared the ink of your pen. But it appears to me you are a reckless newspaper reader, to the point of losing the political context and adjust to media logic of sensationalism. Based on the political shortcomings of the article you read, you then move on to link it to the two centres of power debate pre-Polokwane. Post- Polokwane, this is the resolution of the 52nd ANC National Conference:

• At national government level, conference agrees that the ANC President shall be the candidate of the movement for president of the Republic.

• At provincial government level the PEC shall recommend a pool of names of not more than 3 cadres in order of priority who should be considered for premiership, and the NEC would make a final decision based on the pool of names submitted by the PEC…

I can state without contradiction that there is no formal resolution of the ANCYL in the province as to who should be premier. Similarly, I can state without contradiction that the ANCYL would canvass and pronounce its list of preferred candidates to the list conference, both to the province and the national. Immediately or so thereafter the ANCYL would field its troops into every street and door to bring about a decisive ANC victory in the next general elections. We will not shy away from the debate on who should be premier. We are in fact, interested in that debate and are watching it with keen interest as those who indulge in it shout day by day.

Having led the ANCYL for some time cde GG, you appear to still have issues against cde James Nkambule. If veterans of the League can spill it out in public, the current crop of the youth leaguers can only ask : didn’t they resolve their problems in their time, such that after some 10 or so years they can still go in public and engage themselves in a fisticuff? Surely these are not good political educators. Perhaps we should introduce a political concept of a drop-out. Indeed these then shall look more like ANCYL drop-outs instead of graduates.

I must hasten to say though cde GG, that your characterisation of the present economic status of cde James Nkambule was below belt.

In fact, precisely your economic location, cde GG, is what makes you write. You have attached yourself to an MEC to a point where you see your further progression as a civil servant through the eye of the MEC. Any list that does not include cde Candith is politically invalid in your eyes.

Surely, you took your “deployment” to public service with a single minded attention to the extent that you took your involvement in the erstwhile ANCYL PTT with no serious attention at all. You will be reminded cde GG some years from here about your contribution to the life or otherwise of that PTT. Do you remember how many meetings of that PTT did you attend?

As for the rest of what you said, the less spoken of the better, otherwise it is much I do about nothing.

Which then brings me to cde Nkambule’s article.

Besides the written and unwritten “stories” about the comrade, and irrespective of how cde GG reflects about him, he has written a generally balanced article.

We do not agree with you though, cde James, when you say to us at this stage we need to support cde Lassy Chiwayo because he is from the ANCYL. Cde GG  would tell you that in the 2002 ANC Conference, the ANCYL nominated Candith Mashego- Dlamini over cde Thabang Makwetla, who has a history of participation in the ANCYL.

Let me state that cde DD did serve in the Hazyview Youth Congress in the 80’s. In fact, he was delegate to the launch of the South African Youth Congress in 1987 @ Cape Town. He  has contributed into the struggles of the young people. It is not on the basis of one having being an ANCYL leader at REC, PEC or NEC level in order to qualify to be called a former youth leader. A branch is the most basic unit of the movement.

Our candidate for the position of the ANC Provincial Secretary, cde Lucky Ndinisa, is an immediate past regional Chairperson of the ANCYL in the Nkangala Region. How you have so conveniently voted not to speak about this young dynamic cadre and former ANCYL leader not only boggles my mind but reveals a subjective factor on your part, which is that you have personal preferences and based on your personal preference, you make a plea in mitigation that we should support cde Lassy Chiwayo.

You see the problem with the forces that motivate for cde Lassy is that they expect that he is by now supposed to be in the NEC of the ANC. That he was robbed in Polokwane.

We do not agree with them. It can not be relevant that, if you do not make it into the NEC in Polokwane, you should then be nominated Chairperson of a Province. If such a logic were to prevail, it means that cde Lassy would soon be contesting the Regional Chairpersonship of the ANC in Nkangala immediately after this conference.

You seem to suggest, cde JN, that simply because you served with cde Lassy, and therefore because you know him in person you can then motivate for him above our candidate for the Provincial Secretary, cde Lucky Ndinisa.

You say that “ the present ANCYL leadership could learn a lesson from the ANCYL that I led to intensify political education and be schooled in ANC politics particularly with regard to debate”. Well said.

Amongst the Youth League cadres you led is cde Lucky Ndinisa.

Indeed, the reason why our top 5 should not be contested is that as a province we have made our mark in the national politics. We went to Polokwane solid and unanimous. We went to the first part of the ANCYL 23rd National Congress in Mangaung solid, unanimous and defeated the objections of the so-called ‘7 Provincial Secretaries’. We went to the second part of the ANCYL 23rd National Congress in Johannesburg, solid and unanimous. By the way, we were the only province to nominate formally into the ANCYL NEC a comrade who is not necessarily Mpumalanga born and bred, and still put in 3 more comrades into the NEC from our province. We persuaded National Congress to adopt a resolution to have a University infrastructure in the Mpumalanga Province. Such maximum contributions to national politics suggest that we have matured as a province and dictates that we have an uncontested top 5 not on basis of having had a political discussion with cde Lassy.

You are being selective, cde JN, when you attempt to say that because cde DD is in the NEC, he therefore  can’t avail himself for the province. You should be aware that in 2002, cde Thabang Makwetla was elected into the ANC NEC and in 2005 was elected the Provincial Chair of Mpumalanga. I suppose you did worry about that didn’t you?

Surely Hurricane DD should finish off the body of the ‘coalition of the wounded’ after the head was cut off. We are armed against this dangerous headless body. It is moving aimlessly at night and highly poisonous, it donates monies to delegates, in the name of charity.

“Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories…  Amilcar Cabral.