YCL STATEMENT ON COMMENTS BY ANC TREASURER-GENERAL ON CALLS FOR NATIONALIZATION OF MINES
The Young Communist League of South Africa (uFasimba) in Gauteng notes the deplorable comments against calls for nationalization of mines attributed to the ANC Treasurer-General Cde Mathew Phosa (see report).
He has been quoted addressing capitalists in Britain, London, "I know that you are concerned about the noise that you have been hearing around the issue of the nationalization of the mines in South Africa. I understand that you regard this as a very serious issue, and I want to assure you that we will manage it, keeping your substantial and historical interests in mind. Nationalization of mines is, however not the policy of the ANC, nor that of the ANC led government".
We are not surprised or shaken by Cde Phosa's comments since these comments we were uttered at the haven of global capitalism and exploitation - Britain. These comments should be understood and located within the context of appeasing capitalists and watering-down the historical mission of our broad movement of transferring the wealth of our country to the people as a whole informed by the 1955 Freedom Charter, and the aborted 1994 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).
These comments are not only disgusting, but are disorderly given the strategic position that Cde Phosa occupies in our broad movement as led by the ANC. The Freedom Charter is and remains the policy document of our movement as was adopted during the 1956 National Conference of the ANC.
We are aware that Cde Phosa remains a man with substantial business interests. We know that the elite fraction in the ANC co-opted by Capital are finding it difficult to implement the Freedom Charter in its progressive form, not because it is not viable, possible and noble, but because new economic interests are entrenched amongst our leaders and Cde Phosa is not immune from these interests. We are not blind to the fact that many of our leaders are mining bosses; and nationalization and socialization of the mines will deny them opportunities to be filthy rich and to rip off the poor.
As the YCL in Gauteng we support the calls for the transfer of wealth to the people as a whole in the form of nationalization and socialization of mines and banks as resolved in the Freedom Charter. We are supporting these calls NOT out of sheer ideology as our detractors or class enemies suggests. But it is out of concrete struggles waged by our communities against the brutal theft of our resources in areas such as Maandaagshoek and Baphaalane-Ba-Mantserre. We also reiterate the calls by the South African Communist Party (SACP) and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) that Sasol and ArcelorMittal must be re-nationalized along with other key strategic resources
Cde Phosa's comments or utterances feeds to his new found stature of being a golden-boy of imperial and white monopoly capital dominance of our economy. We call on Cde Phosa to remember these profound words by Mao Tse-tung, "In the great leap forward movement, some will fall by the wayside, some will become revisionists. But some will join the enemy camp". We hope these words will accord Cde Phosa an opportunity to revisit his ideological orientation and understanding or ‘join the enemy camp'.
As the YCL in Gauteng we will engage our reliable ally, the ANC YL and other forces to be part of our Defiance Campaign for the attainment and realization of the noble goals of the Freedom Charter.
Statement issued by Alex Mashilo, Young Communist League Gauteng provincial secretary, October 31 2009
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
