CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLE

INAUGURAL CONGRESS DECLARATION AND RESOLUTIONS

14-16 December 2008

University of the Free State

DECLARATION

"A NEW AGENDA FOR CHANGE AND HOPE"

Preamble

We, Congress of the People, gathered here today at our inaugural congress have declared and adopted "A new agenda for change and hope for all" as a theme of conference and our election manifesto for the 2009 elections. 

We are accordingly;

• Proud of our history of struggle and the democratic gains of the past fifteen years. We remain confident in the ability of all South Africans to rise to any occasion and will always draw inspiration from this proud history to overcome national challenges
• Recognise our responsibility to protect and defend our Constitution as the only thing of value that we collectively own as South Africans
• Determined to build a non-racial non-sexist modern nation based on democratic values; a vision of the freedom charter and entrenched in our constitution.
• United in our resolve to deepen the democratic space so that all South Africans are free to engage in political activities without any fear or prejudice
• Committed to the improvement of the social conditions and the lives of our people, to free the potential of each person to become agents of their own change, and to strengthen social cohesion as we move forward in building a non-racial, non-sexist democratic South Africa.

RESOLUTIONS AS ADOPTED BY CONFERENCE

"A NEW AGENDA FOR CHANGE AND HOPE"

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROVIDING SOCIAL SECURITY

Cope's long-tern vision for industrial policy sets out to achieve the following:

• To promote competitiveness and enhance the productive capacity of the economy, and ensure greater efficiencies in the production value chain.
• Identify and build production and services sectors that can be clustered for competitiveness.
• Promote labour-intensive manufacturing industries, while building a long-term trajectory of a knowledge-based economy to support a thriving productive manufacturing and services sectors.
• Promote production of intermediate products for global production chains in areas where we have comparative advantage.
• Our trade policy should aim at diversifying geographic export destinations to target both countries in the north and the south, focusing on intermediate goods to be produced in South Africa.

The immediate programme will include the following:

• Stabilization of the economy to respond to the global downturn and curb the massive job losses while building a base for sustained growth and competitiveness in order to ensure sustained labour absorption.
• Strengthening social nets which would provide much needed relief to the vulnerable. Social nets will also include provision for training and reskilling.
• Engaging with the banking sector regarding debt burden for households under much strain.

1.1 Affirmative action and black economic empowerment

There is a recognition that the economy remains predominantly in white hands, and that the

key objectives of affirmative action with respect to broadening participation of historically excluded groups have not been fully achieved. Senior management positions are, to a considerable extent, still white dominated.

That the shortage of skills amongst blacks is a legacy of the apartheid system, and that there has been a failure by the current government to address this satisfactorily. Because of the skills distortions in the economy, policies intended to redress the past, notably affirmative action, have generated unintended consequences. The following is proposed:

That there is a need to address the unintended consequences of affirmative action and related equity policies. These unintended consequences include nepotism and cronyism in the public service, exclusion of Whites from the public service, and using race as a sole criterion of employment rather than looking at the potential. Other South African groups such as ‘coloureds', Indians, and those of Chinese origin have at times expressed exclusion or overlooked for appointments. This has had an adverse impact on race relations, and generates inefficiencies in the economy and the public service.

Equity and efficiency objectives should be pursued as complementary, and underpinned by clear and well-managed human capital development strategies. Furthermore, there needs to be appropriate balance between equity policies and strengthening of the fabric of social cohesion. Race-based policies should also be sensitive to the emergence, and increasing predominance, of class tensions that both include and transcend race categories.

On affirmative action exemptions, certain sectors of the economy that are suffering a crisis of skills shortage - and require rare skills - could receive exemption from affirmative action in order to boost the skills base in those sectors.

There needs to be strong monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of affirmative action as well as its impact on the efficiency on the economy, race relations, and public service delivery. Its objectives need to be made clear and better communicated.

That there is a need to put a particular attention on education and mentorship programmes. Of particular importance is the need for greater investment towards technical and vocational skills development, as well as into higher education programmes that seek to address the needs of the economy.

1.2 Broad-based black economic empowerment

Cope recognizes that there is a need to address the unintended consequences of BBBEE policies. These unintended consequences include creating an elite-based economic system that still leaves the majority of the population excluded from economic participation. Others include the practice of fronting, encouraging unproductive rent-seeking by same companies or individuals (both big and small), and fostering corruption in the public service. COPE therefore proposes the following:

• That greater emphasis should be placed on grassroots economic development, including increasing support to black-owned SMMEs and those who are in the incipient (informal) economy. There should be strong monitoring mechanism built into policy on the success of failure to facilitate the inclusion of special groups such as youth, women and the disabled.
• The review of BBBEE should lay particular emphasis on other elements of the Score-Card, namely the socio-economic contribution of big business, procurement, and enterprise development. The centerpiece should be broad-based participation. Furthermore, there should also be strong inclination towards engendering a spirit of entrepreneurship

1.3 Building and enhancing entrepreneurship

To restrucuture public finance support toward stimulating new investments and entrepreneurship.

The Industrial Development Corporation must be directed to play a more proactive role in pioneering entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as supporting SMMEs.

1.4 Minerals and Energy

Key issue here is to intensify beneficiation of our minerals before exports. Export tariffs should be introduced on key commodities to discourage export of raw commodities, and encourage greater value addition in the domestic economy.

1.5 Social Security

COPE believes that social security policies must be geared towards the following objectives:

• Relieve the worst immediate effects of poverty.
• Limit the effect of social security funding on the macroeconomic outlook.
• Provide a basis to build social capital among recipients and help to improve South Africa's social cohesion.

To this end, COPE proposes the following policies:

• A compulsory national retirement savings scheme to limit the burden on the state.
• Abolish the means test for access to grants, and provide a better and more accurate system.
• Introduce national health insurance system.

2 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND ELECTORAL REFORM

COPE recognises that the role of crime in our country is a threat to the country's democracu and stability, self confidence and economic development. Crime is more than a policing responsibility but must involve communities in a meaningful way. Community policy forums must be strengthened and given a clear role and authority. Cope therefore proposes the following:

• Within every voting district there must be community watches that are developed, resourced and strengthened.
• The role of community based organisations and NGO's must find space within our crime prevention strategy.
• The training of police must also focus on specialisation in various areas of crime ensure that specialised units are developed. These must focus on, amongst others:

1. gender based violence;
2. human trafficking;
3. cross border crime; and
4. anti-corruption units.

• The intelligence service within the police service must be strengthened to effectively analyse statistics, patterns and prevalence of crime to assist in the review and strengthening of crime prevention strategies.
• The introduction of the cadet system, to ensure that young unemployed matriculants and graduates are placed at various police stations to undertake administrative duties while releasing the police to be more visible to the public.
• Information management must be technology based, centralised and effectively tracked to avoid loss of dockets and relevant information that could result in convictions.
• There is a glaring need to increase resources for crime prevention: this includes personnel, specialist officers, more forensic laboratories, and other technology based crime detection methods.
• Integrated training methods should be developed for security personnel, including prosecutors, members of the legal profession and judicial officers. This will entail the redevelopment and redesign of the system that make investigators work together with prosecutors substantially in the same way as DSO and to further extend this system.
• A victims' charter must be developed and implemented to dispel the notion that our criminal justice system is criminal friendly.
• While dealing firmly with crime, the human rights culture must permeate throughout instead of the skop, skiet and donder approach.
• COPE must call for a civil society national indaba on crime to debate the causes, management and combating of crime, which will inform government strategy.
• COPE's crime prevention strategy must seek to achieve peace and harmony and ensure that freedom and better life is enjoyed in secure communities.

2.1 Transformation of the judiciary

COPE recognises that the judiciary is an important pillar of our democracy and its strength and independence is a guarantor of stability. An independent judiciary stands between stability and anarchy, democracy and dictatorship. It is therefore important to strengthen and protect the independence of the judiciary, to protect its integrity and legitimacy. Cope therefore proposes the following:

• The quantitative transformation of the judiciary that goes beyond race and gender and promotes a new jurisprudence based on the values of our constitution.
• The review of the appointment process of the Judicial Services Council, so that it ensures lesser party political bias, and that it is process and the appointments are clearly depoliticized.
• The review of the Magistracy especially its accountability to the Ministry of Justice and to ensure the separation of powers is not compromised.
• The reintroduction of the assessor system as a means of legitimising the judiciary and instilling public confidence.
• The formation of a united, transformed, independent and strong legal profession from which the members of the judiciary in particular the judges are drawn.
• Promotion of access to justice particularly the courts, courts including the Constitutional court, for rural people, women and differently abled people and the poor. Government needs to strengthen public defender system and also work with organised legal profession in this regard.
• That any reform dealing with the judiciary must happen with the consultation of the judiciary.
• Recognising the changing nature of our legal system and need for demographics representation, there is a need for training and reorientation of judges in a manner that is largely influenced and managed by the judiciary itself.

2.2. Electoral reform

We believe in political system premised on open, transparent and regular dialogue with all South Africans and the regular refreshing of the mandate for our political representatives,

We believe organised citizens should be able to take direct responsibility for some of their concerns and to exercise effective oversight over the leaders they choose at elections.

We believe that our electoral system should allow for ongoing dialogue on political, economic and social issues through more direct and diverse electoral structures and process.

We therefore resolve that electoral reform must take place where all the public representatives must be elected directly to improve public accountability.

3. FOOD SECURITY, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM

South African agriculture requires now more than ever a strong state to uplift poor and disadvantaged farming communities and to successfully integrate them into mainstream agriculture. At the same time government cannot neglect the growth prospects for commercial agriculture and needs to ensure that regulations, systems and support services are in place.

3.1 Traditional farming

• Improving infrastructure such as roads, power supply, irrigation and telecommunications facilities to rural communities. There is also a need to enable small-scale farmers to access the markets by increasing the links with urban and industrial markets, and successfully integrate them into mainstream agriculture.
• Investing in agriculture through clearly assessed projects and have a high chance to succeed. Investments should be targeted and would require that loans are granted which favour responsibility versus assistance and thus create a production oriented mindset. This could also enable young graduates from the agricultural discipline to pursue fulfilling careers in agriculture.
• Consider "cooperatives" as a mean to give the farmers access to modern production and value-adding technology, for example abattoirs being held by a community.
• The commercialization of livestock in the former homelands. This must be done in consultation with affected communities.

•3.2 Commercial farming

Acknowledge the importance of the sector, its contribution to the economy and therefore make its growth a priority.

• In this respect, within the context of the WTO in particular the need to defend our policy space, we will introduce subsidies as is done in other countries. This is key for preservation of food security.
• Improve communication with the farmers concerning the land reform
• Invest in research in order to promote innovation in the sector.
• Finally, it is vital to improve service support to both small-scale and large-scale commercial sectors by focusing on skill improvement (technical, analytical and managerial) within the various relevant institutions/departments such as the Land Bank, the national Department of Agriculture and provincial departments.

4 SOCIAL SERVICES

4.1 Health

Cope recognises that poor health and nutrition has affected the nation's life expectancy. The biggest concern is the inadequate access to good quality health care and the poor resourcing of the primary health care. That primary health care remains a local government competence is also of great concern. In this regard very deep concern was expressed about primary health care not being adequately resourced. The fact that primary health care fell under local government and not the province exacerbated the situation. Cope will look at the following as matter of priority:

1. Reversing the high neonatal, maternal and infant mortality rates immediately

2. Improving the conditions of service for trained medical personnel and health care workers. This will include reward systems and other problems such as lack of supplies, and improving basic infrastructure at health care facilities.

3. Communication and public education regarding life style diseases as a form of preventive medicine.

4. Improving the general living conditions of people and address issues of sanitation and clean water

4.2 Education

Cope recognises that the promise by the Freedom Charter that "the doors of learning and culture shall be open to all" is yet to become a reality as is quality education. COPE therefore proposes the following:

• Address the state of education in township schools as matter of urgency. Currently children in townships are bussed out of communities to receive education in leafy suburbs at a great cost to many families. Furthermore, only a handful of families can afford to this, which means many of poor working class children in townships are disadvantaged as the level of quality education drops in these schools.
• The schools in the historically advantaged areas continue to have advantages still. Such schools can undertake fund raising with greater ease, They also are more involved in the affairs of the school. In the historically disadvantaged areas parents, in most cases, are unable to play that role for one reason or the other. In historically advantaged areas parents also played an important role in the governance of the schools. It is important for Cope to undertake to bring government closer to communities and to engage communities in the development of integrated development plans. Greater self-involvement will have to be encouraged. Drugs, violence and absenteeism will have to be tackled together with the community. Incentives could be offered.
• Children need certain skills and they need to be able to understand governance issues as well as patterns of consumption which had a bearing on economics of the country. Children had also to be taught communication skills using grammar, drawing and mathematics to explain themselves clearly.
• To review Outcomes Based Education and to ensure its success through improved relations between policymakers and their planners on one hand, and teachers and their classrooms on the other.
• To improve the service conditions of educators had also to be addressed to avoid loss of educators to other countries where OBE was practised and better packages were on offer.

5. SOCIAL COHESION AND SECTORAL ISSUES

Cope undertakes to redouble our efforts to build and strengthen a cohesive society that celebrates diversity by upholding the fundamental values of respect, integrity, ubuntu, compassion, openness, and solidarity. The following are values that COPE will abide by as we move forward to build a non-racial democratic nation.

• We are a diverse society and we are a good nation, because of this diversity we believe we can be great, The foundation of our society is based on the premise that we are united in our diversity. We therefore undertake to redouble our efforts to build and strengthen a cohesive society that celebrates diversity by upholding the fundamental values of respect, integrity, ubuntu, compassion, openness, and solidarity
• A society where equal rights for all are guaranteed and protected and particular focus is given to the promotion, protection and advancement of the rights of women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and the youth.
• A society where discrimination in any form based upon race, sex, age, colour, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic status, ideological persuasion or physical disability are condemned and government moves aggressively to end such discrimination through implementing the law and ensuring institutional capacity to eradicate and provide redress for such discrimination.
• A society where the elderly and the disabled can lead lives of dignity and where social development remains an unshakable commitment for all citizens and the government;
• A society where the rights of minority groups are fully secured and where no one is denied the opportunity to prosper;
• A society where ordinary citizens can serve their communities and - based on the enabling environment created by government - can develop and advance the neighbourhoods in which they live
• A society that support the arts, sports and humanities

6. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

6.1 In international relations Cope will work to achieve the following:

• promote and protect peace democracy, good governance and environmental developments amongst all nations and people of the world and will strike to model these efforts and principles in African contest
• promote a foreign policy worth our moral heritage which embodies the social justice and humanity enshrined in our country's constitution and upholds all international law
• seek to ensure that all international organisations are adequately restructured to reflect the changing global economic, political and social reactions between the developed and developing worlds
• our foreign policy will take an unwavering stance against all human rights violations, persecution and oppression of people by democratic and undemocratic states
• promote a fair and free trade at an inter-continental, regional and country to country level. All accords in trade and services should deepen social justice, the protection of the natural environmental and strive for maximum fairness amongst partners.

6.2 Protecting the environment and building sustainable development

To preserve, protect and enhance our environment, including our built environment. The opportunity to put things right is now; in fact we are now running against time. We will not meet our growth and development targets, or the millennium development goals, if we miss this chance. Against this background, Cope aims to achieve the following:

• COPE will advocate for an environmental super policy to ensure the protection of the critical eco-system services upon which our lives depend. These need to be treated as finite resources, and their protection needs to be "embedded" in every policy framework, law and developmental programme in order to "dematerialize" the economy. (While the National Framework for Sustainable Development calls for "dematerialization", other frameworks need to be amended to include this, such as the National Industrial Development Framework and the Local Economic Development Framework.).
• COPE will place a strong emphasis on environmental monitoring, evaluation, policing, enforcement and compliance in order to give teeth to our relatively good existing environmental laws.
• COPE will play an activist role in achieving a developmental state where the environment - and the protection thereof - will be harnessed to create jobs, foster innovation and develop new industries.
• Cope will take a lead in educating all South Africans about the need to protect the environment and reduce our consumption, and to mobilize everyone from school children to business leaders and policy makers - to take action.

These measures should prioritize the following key areas:

Spatial planning: COPE needs to ensure that poor people live close to their places of work and that transport is clean, affordable, safe and available to all.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation:

As one of the largest carbon emitters per capita in the world, South Africa needs to commit itself to reduction targets. COPE will push for this agenda as matter of urgency to ensure that our country meets this responsibility.

Climate change presents an opportunity to develop a "green economy". COPE needs to push this agenda as it will not only move us beyond the carbon economy, but will provide jobs and opportunities for self-reliance and innovation along the way.

Energy: COPE needs to push for the de-monopolization of Eskom to create an enabling environment for independent power providers (IPPs) and to support and encourage a wide range of clean renewable energy solutions.

Ecosystem services and bio-diversity: COPE undertakes to protect our natural resources and use them wisely to ensure that we have enough for generations to come.

International relations: COPE recognizes that the global environmental crisis provides us with an opportunity to rise to the challenges, to show leadership in Africa and the world in this regard, and to be in a position of strength when we go to the international negotiating table to negotiate global issues like climate change, trade relations and humanitarian concerns.

7. THE CONSTITUTION, ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN AND FINANCE

The conference recommended for the adoption of the draft constitutions with the discussed changes in the plenary and commissions as submitted. The conference mandates the national leadership to all other related matters.

8. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING

The politicisation of local government has proved a detriment to an effective civil service with focus being drawn away form servicing the needs of the people to the servicing of political agendas.

The provision of equitable housing within geographic proximity to economic centres thus providing meaningful homes and prospects of participation in the economy has gone wholly unobserved.

Cope commits to the following:

• The return to Batho Pele as a fundamental value of all service delivery
• The reform of local government to realise unburdened administrative systems and greater efficacy in its delivery.
• The revival of ailing towns and construction of new towns in order to eliminate informal settlements and bring places of work, education, worship and recreation closer to residential areas.

9. GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Cope commits to a single public service, which is efficient and depoliticized and serves the public with ethics and integrity and is strongly committed to an anti-corruption agenda. Cope seeks to strengthen good governance and accountability, including involving community participation and empowerment in governance.

Single public service

• agree to the concept of a single public service if it achieves a better integration of service delivery and minimizes wastage of public resources
• This must be done in such a way that there is no disruption caused to service delivery
• The process should involve buy-in from all stakeholders especially organized labour.

Building efficient depoliticised service

• appoint people with skills and competences to do the job
• ensure that the implementation of affirmative action doesn't impact compromise on skills, a critical matter for service delivery.
• Ensure that public servants should be barred from holding political office
• Immediately stop the practice of "deployment of cadres" which has often resulted in jobs-for-pals and has build in a culture of corruption
• focus on training development and mentoring
• Resolve in-built conflict between executing authorities and accounting officers
• Renewed role for public service commission (PSC) to ensure higher standards of performance and accountability
• Separate appointing authority from dismissing authority?

Ethics integrity and anti- corruption

• Renewed role for PSC to ensure higher standards of performance and accountability
• Build a public sector "Transparency International"
• Focusing on monitoring of procurement systems
• Fight nepotism, tribalism and racism in public service appointments
• Consider the appointment of an Ombuds person

Strengthening governance and Accountability

• There must be consequence for poor performance and failure to deliver
• Bring accountability as close to the people as possible- related to electorate reform
• Audit qualifications and unspent budget should be grounds for removal
• Failure to disclose interests should be grounds for removal of appointed/elected officials
• Increase regularity of reporting to communities

Community Participation & Empowerment

• Consider devolution of powers of the policing and fighting crime to provinces and municipalities
• Consider devolution of power for early childhood and primary education to local authorities and communities
• Balance the role of parents, communities and labor unions in matter related to education

10. ELECTION MANIFESTO AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS

Our manifesto needs to follow through from our draft policy document to an executionable plan of action that takes cognisance of our collective will for "A New Agenda Hope And change" for the betterment of the people of South Africa.

Our ideology of progressivism needs to be clear and unambiguous and therefore our elections message should focus on the following:

• The stabilisation of the economy through governmental support of ailing industries.
• We commit to free public school education for primary and secondary stage learners and the employment of adequate teachers to guarantee a brighter South Africa.
• We commit to state support of tertiary learners in the field of science, maths and special artisan students.
• We commit to creating jobs in our rural areas.
• We commit to creating a transport system that includes taxi owners and organisations in profitable business cooperatives.
• We commit to reconstituting the Scorpions to fight white collar crimes in the private sector and tender related corruptions.
• We commit to the expulsion of none performing municipal managers.
• We commit to rooting out corrupt police officials and addressing the inefficiencies of our criminal justice system.
• We commit to restoring the moral fibre of ubuntu
• We commit to putting people first in all our service deliveries.
• We commit to a public health service that meets the needs of our people.
• We commit to a foreign policy that advances the African agenda consolidating South Africa's relations with countries of the South contributing to the creation of a rules-based system of global governance and a humane world.

11. COMMUNICATIONS

This conference notes that communication is a crucial component of political mobilisation of society; to build a cohesive organization, and positioning its ideological character and therefore shaping public perception about our new agenda for change and hope.

That COPE hereby adopts a culture of communication underlined by respect, and characterised by the following:

A culture of open and honest two-way communication within and outside the organization

• Views communication as a strategic function that is at the heart of our political success
• Regards communication as a means of remaining close to our people.
• Use communication to build the organization.

1) Integrated Communication strategy

• At the beginning of each year COPE shall adopt an integrated communication strategy will have the following elements and functions:
• Outreach and campaigns
• Media strategy
• Internal communications
• Stakeholder communications
• Marketing and branding
• Editorial

Each province will be expected to produce a provincial communication strategy based on the national framework provided by this strategy

All formations will be expected to produce a local communication strategy based on the framework presented by the communication team of their province.

There shall be a national communication protocol that will guide the organization on all matters communication including but not limited to media relations

Messaging:

• A message book shall be developed and updated from time to time by the communication department
• Such an instrument shall be customized to respond to the context of the province/ region / branch without deviating from the determined messages
•  The theme for all COPE's communication shall be "A new Agenda for Change and Hope"

Capacity for communication

• Each official structure of the organization must have a political functionary responsible for communication as well as a specialist communicator accountable to the executive committee
• All leaders regardless of their status in the organization need to go though a deliberate media and communication strategy

Marketing and Branding

• The organization will adopt a comprehensive marketing strategy to be cascaded
• The organization shall formally approve a corporate identity manual to guide all members about the correct use of our colours and symbols

Source: Congress of the People January 15 2009