LECTURE ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE ANCYL DELIVERED BY ANC KZN PROVINCIAL SECRETARY CDE SIHLE ZIKALALA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 69thANNIVERSARY OF THE ANC YOUTH LEAGUE HELD IN ESIKHAWINI ON THE 03RD OCTOBER 2013
Programme Director
I'm sure that the founding members of the ANC Youth League and all generations that have led this Glorious Youth Movement are celebrating the convening of this political programme as we exchange experiences on the evolution of the ANC Youth League; and its role and relevance in today's period.
As we reflect on this movement; I'm certain that Mzwandile Mbongwa, Parks Mankahlana, Peter Mokaba, Stich Ngubane, Isaiah Ntshangase, Vusi Mzimela, Khotho Mkhunya, Boni Nene, Percy Mthimkhulu and many others are today speaking to us from their own graves. That we are gathered here, is an affirmation that their struggles shall never be in vain.
Starting from the basic foundation, the ANC 1948 Policy Document, concisely presents why the ANCYL was formed and said:
"The African National Congress Youth League established in April 1944 aims inter alia:
At rallying and uniting African youth into one national Front on the basis of African Nationalism;
At giving force, direction, and vigour to the struggle for African National Freedom by assisting, supporting and reinforcing the National Movement -ANC;
At studying the political, economical and social problems of Africa and the world;
At striving and working for the educational, moral and cultural advancement of the African youth".
The basic objectives of the existence of the ANCYL have evolved to be defined as twin tasks, namely:
- To mobilise and rally the youth behind the African National Congress; and
- To champion the interests of the youth.
Besides advancing these twin tasks, the ANCYL is regarded as the political school that prepares the leadership for the ANC in particular and for the movement in general.
The ANCYL was formed in a period when the ANC had been wriggled by serious divisions which prevailed in the 1930s and saw the removal of former President Josiah Gumede who was replaced by former President Pixley Ka-Isaiah Seme.
This division was characterised by the resistance of the Nationalists against the communist ideas, as former President Gumede had visited Russia and reported that he has seen Jerusalem in the leading communist state.
But more importantly, the formation of the ANCYL came at time where the ANC had to a certain extent become moribund because of the lack of visible programmes. The formation of the ANCYL became a reassurance that the movement is re-invigorated. When it was formed, the ANCYL said in its manifesto:
"The formation of the African National Congress Youth League is an answer and assurance to the critics of the national movement that African Youth will not allow the struggles and sacrifices of their fathers to have been in vain. Our fathers fought so that we, better equipped when our time came, should start and continue from where they stopped.
The formation of this League is an attempt on the part of Youth to impart to Congress a truly national character. It is also a protest against the lack of discipline and the absence of a clearly-defined goal in the movement as a whole".
The ANCYL had and remains clear that it belongs to the ANC as the movement. It never sought to separate itself from the movement. More all members and leaders of the ANC YL always regarded themselves as foot soldiers of the ANC. In this regard, the Manifesto of the ANCYL had this to say:
"In response to the demands of the times African Youth is LAYING ITS SERVICES AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT, THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, IN THE FIRM BELIEF, and KNOWLEDGE AND CONVICTION THAT THE CAUSE OF AFRICA MUST AND WILL TRIUMPH".
"At this power-station the league will be a co-ordinating agency for all youthful forces employed in rousing popular political consciousness and fighting oppression and reaction. It will educate the people politically by concentrating its energies on the African home front to make all sections of our people's Congress minded and nation-conscious.
But the Congress Youth League must not be allowed to detract Youth`s attention from the organisation of Congress. In this regard, it is the first step to ensure that African Youth has direct connections with the leadership of Congress".
I have resolved to spend time in defining this historic founding principles and political background of the ANC YL for the current generation of the ANCYL to understand the origins and determination that underpinned the formation of this Glorious movement.
The formation of the ANCYL was led by the generation of gallant fighters of the 1944 which included Mxolisi Mjombizi, AP Mda, Antony Lembede, Walter Sisulu, O.R Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Albertinah Sisulu. These are among those who gathered on the 10th September 1944 at Bantu Men's Halll - Johannesburg to life to the ANCYL.
This generation defined that its task is to achieve freedom for the people of South Africa in their lifetime. Resonating within the words of France Fanon; Nelson Mandela once declared that each generation must define its mission which it must achieve or betray.
Thus, they took a leading role in the struggle and defined the perspective that the ANC was to follow. This perspective brought radical form of the struggle contain in 1948 Programme which they presented to the ANC. This invigorated the ANC into an action driven movement that confronted the apartheid regime; by so doing they built the relevance of the ANC to the masses of the people who were beginning to loose hope and trust to the ANC as the liberation movement.
This also changed the character of the ANC as a mass movement that mobilises and leads the people instead of being an organisation of the elite who struggled through deputations. Almost all leaders of the ANCYL were in the forefront of the 1952 Defiance Campaign and sustained various mass campaigns without any failure until the organisation was banned in 1960.
It is worth noting that the formation of Mkhonto Wesizwe which was a response to the military suppression imposed by the apartheid regime was propelled by the leading cadres of the ANCYL working together with cadres of Communist Party of South Africa which was the first to be banned in 1949.
Besides the generation of Nelson Mandela who become the first commander of the MK, when the ANC formed MK, young people in ANC became the first volunteers to be part of the army that confronted the apartheid troops face to face.
As we mark this historic anniversary, we pay homage to all young people who became part of the formation of the MK, in particular the last ANCYL President before the ANC was banned who died during the confrontation between the MK Luthuli Detachment and the South African soldiers in the Wankie Isipolile Campaign.
The struggle of the liberation of South Africa is defined by great contribution of the youth of our country. This includes the 1976 students uprising which was then followed by flood of young people who left the country to fight for their country.
The youth contribution in the struggle for liberation is encrypted in the annals of the history of South Africa through the sacrifices and blood of young martyrs such as Solomon Mahlangu, Barney Molokwane, Andrew Zondo and many others.
Even when the ANC was in exile, it remained conscious of the fact that the people of the country should be at the centre of the struggle. It thus declared that PEOPLE SHALL BE THEIR OWN LIBERATORS. It is in this vein that the ANC strived to build strong mobilisation within the country even during the bitter period of exile and suppression through terror, arrests and the state of emergence.
The formation of COSAS in 1979 was one of such move to organise students to sustain what had emerged in 1976. This also led to the formation of the South African Youth Congress in 1988 which become a youth affiliate of the UDF.
It is this generation that heeded the call by O.R. Tambo to make South Africa ungovernable and the apartheid system unworkable. They said "Life or Death" victory is certain, they mobilise the youth for the release of all prisoners and unbanning of all political parties.
Once again we affirm, Nelson Mandela was never released because De Klerk was better and did not support apartheid, De Klerk served apartheid regime with all his loyalty until it was clear that the system was no longer working. The unbanning of the ANC and release of political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, was the result of the struggle waged by the youth, women, churches, underground work of the MK as well as other pillars of the struggles.
When the ANC was unbanned, SAYCO was the first to terminate its existence and rebuild the ANCYL, for it understood that the political home of young people was in the ANC. With a short space of time it rebuilt its struggle and sustained mobilisation for the total take over in 1994.
We ask ourselves, where is the ANC Youth League today, how did it land to where it is?
During the process of rebuilding structures, the ANCYL would be the first to establish branches in areas where the ANC as the mother body would have not build its branches.
When the ANC ascended to power in 1994, serious factional tendencies prevailed in many provinces. The ANCYL would be the first to highlight those tendencies and did not take side but remained objective even at the risk of being side-lined.
In essence, the evolution of the ANCYL presents a particular culture and values and the Youth League epitomised over the period of its existence. These would include:
A culture of hard work and preparedness to sacrifice: All generations that have served the ANCYL have always preserved the culture of hard work and embraced the value of sacrifice and dedication be it in the arm struggles or in mass mobilisation in the country.
Radicalism and preparedness to learn: all generations of the ANCYL has distinguished themselves by being vocal on youth issues and the political perspective that the ANC must take but within the ANC. They have mastered the act of being radical by raising their views with no fear or favour but in correct platforms of the ANC. Thus, they have separated radicalism from hooliganism. Whenever the ANCYL is engaged on its views and corrected, all its successive generation with the recent one have always shown preparedness to learn and take directives from the leadership of the ANC.
Preparedness to learn: Addressing the first Congress of the Russian Young Communist League, Lenin said the youth must learn. The cadres of the ANCYL must always develop themselves political and academically. This is more important as we are now in government and we need cadres who are steeped in the traditions of the organisation to build a National Developmental State.
Work within the collectives and preserve discipline: the ANCYL has always acted first against those who are contradicting its policies. This has been based on its principles of collective leadership. Unfortunately the recent years have been characterised by rise of individualism as opposed to collectivism. Since 2008, the ANCYL become highly dependent to one individual and all its members surrounded one person as if the individual is the organisation himself.
Any disadvantage has its own advantage. Everything happens for the reason. Perhaps it was time that when the ANC had gone through its own challenges in 2007, the ANCYL totally veered away from its historic founding principles.
Whereas the ANCYL in 1994 had said: "the formation of this League is an attempt on the part of Youth to impart to Congress a truly national character. It is also a protest against the lack of discipline and the absence of a clearly-defined goal in the movement as a whole".
Post 2008, we saw the ANCYL defining itself out of the ANC Policy Perspective, we saw the ANCYL identifying itself as co-leaders with the ANC leadership, and wanted to determine anything and everything even for the ANC itself.
Surely, it will not help the situation to lament the historic episodes, of the recent previous years, leading to the expulsion of those who in the ANCYL National Leadership and the disbandment of the ANCYL NEC. But the critical issue is where to from now.
The task facing every member and structure of the ANCYL is to rebuild the organisation. Building the ANCYL requires that we focus on building members and also nurture cadres. Therefore recruitment must go together with political development. Political development programme must focus at all levels.
The current structures, including the National Task Team and Provincial Task team must do everything to avoid using the opportunity of being in leading to position themselves for election through improper and illegitimate practices. The process of rebuilding the ANCYL must be open, transparent and stop being influenced from behind. If this is not addressed factionalism will prevail again. Each structure must be engaged on political development programme before it is launched and immediately after launch.
Without undermining the need of youth representation in parliament, a tendency of using the ANCYL as a stepping ladder for positions in the ANC or in parliament must be avoided. The mandate of the Task Team cannot be to develop a list for parliament before developing programmes of taking structures to congresses.
Any Task Team must understand that a "Task Team" is meant specifically for a particular task and are therefore not executive structures.
I'm saying this not to undermine the efforts of NTT and PTT but to raise consciousness and the need to focus on the actual task in hand. We cannot avoid having the NTT ad PTTs operating with no clear programme as if there is no end in sight.
Second from rebuilding structures is the campaign for the ANC to win elections. The 2014 elections will see people who never experienced apartheid voting for the first time. If those in the leadership of the ANCYL will ever deserve any acknowledgement they must do so through youth mobilisation. Young people are active and engaging, those in leadership of the ANCYL must take the ANC leadership to the youth. Let us mobilise young people to register and to vote in the coming elections.
Once you have finished the above two tasks, you can then discuss about who must be deployed to parliament; and those must be cadres steeped in the culture and traditions of the ANCYL. Who their track-record serves as an umbilical cord that connects them with the ANCYL. They should be loyal to the struggles and the name of the ANCYL.
We continue to grapple with challenges facing the youth, in particular unemployment and lack of skills. We must engage on programmes to ensure youth development.
The first task is to make education fashionable among the youth. The government through the Department of Higher Education is today offering student financial support amounting to more than 2 Billion. These are opportunities that young people must access;
The Youth employment incentive scheme must encourage the business sector to absorb the youth without turning them into cheap labour but to develop their skills for full employment;
As government is rolling out the infrastructure development programme, we must ensure there is great amount of work done through labour absorption of unskilled youth;
Our government must consider legislative measures to protect low and entry level work opportunities for unskilled workers. In nowadays all restaurants and the hospitality industry as whole are dominated by foreign nationals because those capitalists in charge want to generate more income through the use of unprotected workers who come from other countries;
In 1994 Peter Mokaba said, the ANCYL must adapt or die, arguing that the Youth League of the ruling party must define and lead youth development. We continue to grapple with a question of what is the necessary and effective youth development institution we need for our country. Not long ago we put in place the National Youth Agency, without even proving its success, we are now calling for Youth Ministry. Yet we have always contended that Youth Ministry will not be effective because youth interests cut-across many departments. We must define what is the best Youth Development Institution our country needs, and then give ourselves space to test and implement what we would have defined, otherwise we will make a mockery of ourselves; and
National Youth Development Plan: Few years ago we put in place a National Youth Development Plan which was a comprehensive outline on what entails youth development. This plan included developing young people from early stages through exchange programmes, career development and skills development. The implementation of this NYDP never saw the light of the day. The NYDA, which was supposed to lobby, monitor and ensure the implementation, got preoccupied by side issues and let the government get loose and not prioritise this very clear and progressive framework.
The ANC needs a strong ANCYL which will not serve individuals in the ANC but who will be loyal to the movement and the cause of the revolution. The ANCYL that will help ANC in:
- Fighting corruption that erode the integrity of the movement among the people;
- Fighting factional tendencies that are becoming permanent feature in most structures of the ANC;
- Ensuring that there is a clear dedicated service delivery plans in all municipalities and other upper levels of government and such plan respond to actual needs of the people;
- Ensuring the end of using state institutions to purge people because they hold different political views to ours;
- Entrenching the political hegemony of the ANC among the people by ensuring that branches of the ANC focus on societal issues that really affect the people on daily basis. Branches of the ANC must deal with development through development committees but must focus on social issues such as crime, drug abuse, rapes, poverty and all social ills that hinder prosperity among the people; and
- Ensuring that the ANC is focused on real economic development and transfer the economy from the hands of the minority in this case whites males to the masses of the country.
If the ANC remains inward looking and fails to address these critical issues facing our society it will become irrelevant and slide to the state moribund and eventually lose power. Political power is not inherent, it is not traditional leadership, but based on what we do for the people. If we do not serve the people by ensuring development and provide proper services we will run risk of losing power.
We continue to observe development within COSATU with a great hope that the federation with address its challenges and emerged united.
We pledge our solidarity and sympathy to the people of Kenya who have been visited by serious injustice from heinous activities of terrorists. The terror against human life remains unacceptable even for any reason.
We have noted while Kenya will be celebrating its 50 years of democracy, her President and Deputy President have been summoned to the Internal Criminal Court in The Hague despite that they have reconciled, united the country and pledge their cooperation with ICC. Many a time African Leaders are prosecuted by the ICC yet the most aggressive country is left destroying other countries to impose its imperial agenda. We must ask ourselves, for how long are we going to stay in these forums that are designed to undermine Africa.
We continue to pledge our support to the fighting people of Cuba in support of the struggle for the release of the Cuban Five and against the embargo. We must confront a situation where one state want to impose itself on affair of other countries. It is in vein that we applaud and salute President Cde Jacob Zuma from a strong call he has made for the transformation of the United Security Council and other UN Bodies.
We pledge our unwavering support to the fighting people of Western Sahara - the last country in Africa that is yet to be liberated. We burry our heads in the sand as Bafana Bafana is going to Morrocco to play with that country led by oppressive Kingdom. As long as Morrocco continue to occupy the land of the people of Western Sahara to us will remain as tyrannical country that need no space in the democratic world.
Fellow Comrades,
The current state of the ANCYL is weak but on the other side it presents an opportunity of rebuilding a strong ANCYL with astute cadreship who will be only loyal to the movement and cause of the struggle. Thus you must build the ANCYL structures but invest on political development.
To the current generation in the ANCYL the words of Moses Kotane that: "At this hour of destiny, your country and your people need you. The future of South Africa is in your hands and it will be what you make of it" remain more relevant even today.
This revolution needs you and you equally need it. For there shall be no future of the revolution without the youth while the youth future of the youth will be in hopeless without the revolution.
Your courage must inspire and bring determination but reposition the ANCYL to be a home for all young people; the unemployed youth, those born after freedom and the middle and upcoming youth. Be relevant on your own mobilisation strategies and talk to issues the youth want.
As the ANCYL, you must never be afraid to talk your views but in proper structures. Be always in the fore front of difficult and hard work of the ANC.
As I impressed at the beginning the founding fathers and mothers of this Glorious Youth Movement are talking to us today, and are talking to us direct from their gravesite, the words of the Former President Antony Lembede remain relevant as they were during the founding period of the ANCYL, when he said:
"We are not called to peace, comfort and enjoyment, but to hard work, struggle and sweat. We need young men and women of high moral stamina and integrity; of courage and vision. In short, we need warriors. This means that we have to develop a new type of youth of stoical discipline, trained to endure suffering and difficulties. It is only this type of youth that will achieve the national liberation of the African people".
Redeem the integrity of the Youth League; Reclaim the glory you once enjoyed. Rebuild the strong presence in the ground and be more vibrant.
Issued by the ANC KZN, October 3 2013
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