By Luzuko BukuComrade Mzala’s remark that “Great Political Events are unfolding before our eyes” is worth remembering in this era of robust engagement within the movement. Here lets us take stock of the polemical discussion by the national leadership of the Young Communist league (YCL).
Yet again the matter surrounds the ANC President, Jacob Zuma. It is our understanding that the debates are not just technical (ANC pronouncement on public spats and stuff) but go to deeper strategic and programmatic issues within the communist movement and they are a resurfacing the discussions that unfolded just four years back.
As a response to Mazibuko Jara’s(MJ) question on “What Colour is Our Flag: Is it Red or JZ?”(2005), the YCL National Chairperson clearly stated that, “Red is the Colour of Our Flag” (2006). In addressing the question of “Working class spontaneity, the intra-class struggles within the historically oppressed and the JZ saga” Masondo clearly outlined that, “the current crisis, personified in JZ, is a cumulative experience of the last ten years, which must be located within class struggle and class formation underway, and how the post- (neo)-colonial state is used to deal with the working class, revolutionary dissent, different fractions of capital, leadership that may be sympathetic (real or perceived) to the working class, and how the state cherry-picks on corruption or selectively deals with corruption, including the arms deal. In this process of class struggle and formation, there are intra-class and inter-class contradictions, which produce particular forms of alliance, spontaneity, consciousness and organization that we may (dis)like” (2006).
Four years down the line Masondo criticises Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and coins it as the Zuma Economic Empowerment (ZEE). On this he says the following: “ZEE (Zuma Economic Empowerment) is not only an assault on the Young Communist League and South African Communist Party (SACP) resolutions – which called for the nationalisation of -monopoly industries – it amounts to a burial of the Freedom Charter...Only a few can be misled to believe that there is no link between ¬Zuma’s rise to the presidency and his ¬family’s rise to riches” (2010).
Masando might have thought that he would be a Mzala of some sort and respond to his article by himself and to his surprise the YCL National Office Bearers (NOBs) (with the exclusion of him) responded to him by releasing a highly ambiguous media statement, that does not express any fundamental disagreement with the contents of Masondo’s piece but interestingly distances itself from it. He we are concerned about the basis of the distancing.
Some individuals have superficially and insubstantially said that this whole matter is as a result of a real or perceive tension within the YCL NOBs. All would agree that despite the personalisation, the discussion raised is pitched at a level beyond this and thus ponders issues of tactical and strategic importance in the socialist struggle. The clear matter here is that the polemic does not arise as a result of the resolution of the ANC NEC on public spats and as a matter of fact there is no even an insult in the piece by the David Masondo but there is personalised criticism of the economic accumulation path.
The fundamental issue here is timing. It remains to be known if the views raised are raised in an honest manner or as a left-wing opportunistic attack on the person of the President of the ANC, thus feeding in the emergent liberal tendency seeking to dislodge the president of the ANC and further degenerate the NGC of the ANC. Why is it always the case that discussions like these emerge at a time when there is a so called (un)opened succession discussion in the ANC. One would have thought that comrade David, as a person who authored the response to MJ, would be aware of these issues and thus find ways in which to better express his views without complementing the emergent attacks on the integrity of JZ from a left-wing angle.
It is a known fact that the emergent tendency is opportunistically using the Arcelor-Mittal BEE deal involving Duduzane Zuma( JZs son), as an attempt to rubbish his integrity. What then becomes the difference between Masondo’s assertion that there is a link “between Zuma’s rise to the presidency and his ¬family’s rise to riches” and the remark by the unapologetic chief spokesperson of the emergent tendency that, “We must not allow politicians and their families to be enriched...above others.” Both are fair statements but their timing questions their honesty.
No one, including the NOBs fundamentally differs with the views raised against the rampant and preponderance of neo-liberal economic policies in South Africa but the issues is approached in a costs and benefit angle. Is our personalised criticism of the economic policy of the ANC government assisting in the fight against an emergent tendency that seeks to isolate the working class within the ANC? Our view is that exposing and isolating this emergent tendency is very fundamental in the current juncture but it should equally not compromise our strategic fight against neo-liberal economic policies.
It all bogs down to the debate on ‘non-antagonistic’ contradictions and Jeremy Cronin correctly put it that, “the fact that they are “non-antagonistic” does not mean that they are not real political contradictions ultimately located in objective realities. These contradictions have to be surfaced, debated and strategically “managed”. Their administrative suppression or the denial of their existence will inevitably undermine the living unity of the people’s camp” (Cronin, 2007).
Interestingly enough comrade Masondo(2006) asserts the following about Jara, “The issues raised are not new. They have been discussed informally and formally within and outside the SACP and YCL structures, in which MJ actively participated as a listener” and now the YCL NOBs are saying something in similar lines about him. “What is more discomforting is the fact that Comrade Masondo has never canvassed these views internally within the YCLSA” (2010).
Communist cadres must be aware of the fact that in an incumbent liberation movement( which we are allied with), jostling for position is prevalent and that any left-wing critic we offer must at all times move beyond personalities, unless we want to be viewed as anti-this or pro-that individual.
We thought it be important to close with some few relevant quotes from David’s response to MJ in 2006.
“As one reads the paper, it is not clear whether MJ is implicitly arguing against JZ becoming the ANC President, or supports the principle of innocent until proven guilty, but not as it relates to JZ because he is a 'former communist', 'traditionalist' and anti-intellectual. A delineation of issues is not a mechanical way of analysis or a mere hair splitting exercise.”
“MJ, like certain sections of our society, twist fact and tell lies that comrade Jacob Zuma is the ANC Presidential candidate of the SACP, COSATU and the YCL. These organizations have publicly and consistently said that they do not have the right to nominate or elect ANC leadership. ANC leadership issues are a matter of the ANC members, and they will only nominate or elect leadership as members of the ANC...The fact that the SACP and YCL do not have the right to vote does not stop us from analyzing the implications of presidential candidates, in the same way we do during the US general elections. The SACP must do so in a non-factionalist manner especially because we are in alliance with the ANC, and what happens within the ANC has implications on the Alliance.”
“MJs lies are also based on fallacious logic. We are told that since JZ is supported by COSATU and the SACP and is attacked by capitalists, therefore JZ is a communist, by extension the ANCYL is a communist organization. This does not follow. The fact that Muslims will be attacked by G. Bush and communists come to their defence on the basis of a principle does not mean those Muslims are Communists or vice versa.”
“Of course MJ and any South African citizen have a right to comment on anything, including the issue of the ANC Deputy President (JZ), but the comments must be without personal smear.”
Luzuko Buku is a member of YCL and SASCO in Eastern Cape. He writes this in his personal capacity.
Source List
David Masondo( 2006): Red is the Colour of our Flag, In Defence of the rule of Law.
Jeremy Cronin ( 2007): Joe Slovo: Democracy and Socialism
The Times: Malema Slams ANC leaders for Failing the poor
Mazibuko Jara( 2005): What Colour is our Flag? Is it Red or JZ?
Jabulani Nxumalo( 1985): Cooking the Rice Inside the Pot
David Masondo(2010) Black economic empowerment becomes Zuma economic empowerment'
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