ANC President Jacob Zuma with bodyguard entering court on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Cape Town, South Africa
01 April 2008 02:36
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma's allies have rallied to his defence in the wake of University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana's indictment of his character on Monday.
In a blistering assault of its own on Pityana on Tuesday, the Young Communist League (YCL) said it had noted the "disrespectful and dastardly remarks made by the deplorable" rector.
"This is a clear indication that the vice-chancellor is attacking the ANC president opportunistically to project his defeated political handlers in Polokwane as genuine and true leaders," it said.
On Monday, Pityana told the Law Society of South Africa's annual general meeting the country was entering a new era.
"It is a time shrouded in anxiety and uncertainty with the looming presidency of Jacob Zuma and a new assertive leadership of the ANC.
"To many of us, Jacob Zuma, popularly elected by the branch delegates at Polokwane in December 2007, remains a flawed character in his moral conduct; he has been indicted for serious crimes that involve corruption and dishonesty.
"So far he does not encourage confidence in his understanding of policy, appearing as he does in the short-term to be making policy pronouncements on the hoof depending on who he wishes to appease at any one moment," Pityana said.
He also lavished praise on President Thabo Mbeki, saying he was one of Africa's best statesmen.
Calling on Pityana to "desist from these unwarranted insults", the YCL said it was regrettable that he had a "personal and political vendetta against the ANC president and he uses it in a malicious and opportunistic manner to settle cheap and factionalist political scores".
Pityana was not a "good political leader of note" and his "contribution to the liberation struggle is politically empty since in exile he was in the business of being a boarding academic and political demagogue tourist".
"The YCL believes that Pityana is nothing else, but a mere political mercenary seeking cheap political publicity. We urge the gutter vice-chancellor to desist from political gimmicks that insult and undermine the person of ANC president," the YCL said.
In a more subdued manner, the YCL's parent body, the South African Communist Party (SACP), said it was "flabbergasted and often confounded by some of the utterances, including the latest ones by Professor Barney Pityana, on developments within our movement in particular and our country in general".
The SACP urged Pityana to stop projecting his own "idiosyncratic anxieties on to the rest of us".
"We have no such anxieties about Polokwane and the new leadership of the ANC.
"For the SACP Polokwane, the policies adopted there, and the newly elected leadership have given renewed hope to the overwhelming majority of our members, a feeling shared by the majority of the workers and the poor in our country, and indeed by millions of our people."
While Pityana was entitled to his views, a person of his position needed to be cautious on how he positioned himself in relation to developments within the broad movement, the SACP said.
Earlier, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe described Pityana's statements as "spurious" and a reflection of "intellectual bankruptcy".
Mantashe said Pityana's statements were an indication that Pityana was clinging to personalities and failing to view the organisation, the ANC, as a whole.
Pityana also did not understand Zuma, he said. -- Sapa
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE ANC AND COSATU
31 MARCH 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) held a bilateral meeting in Johannesburg on 31 March 2008.
The meeting reflected the new spirit of unity and co-operation which has been the hallmark of the Alliance since the ANC Polokwane Conference.
Leaders of the two organisations held comradely but frank discussions on the political situation post-Polokwane and many specific issues of common concern. The meeting resolved that the partners must work even more closely together to present a common front on all the overwhelming majority of issues on which we agree and to manage better the few issues on which we have different views.
Various issues, including more worker representation on the ANC NEC, and the proposed Alliance Pact were referred to the forthcoming Alliance Summit, for which both COSATU and the ANC are preparing detailed policy papers.
There was agreement to work together on a number of specific issues:
* The SABC Board.
The meeting received a report that COSATU was preparing to take the matter about the representivity of the SABC board to court. It was agreed that there was a need for a further meeting to discuss possible options on how best the SABC matter could be handled.
* The Nelson Mandela Metro.
The meeting discussed the prevailing situation in the Nelson Mandela Municipality and the ANC Regional structure which are riven with serious problems. These included victimisation of SAMWU members. The meeting also expressed concern about the reports and allegations on the gross mismanagement throughout the Eastern Cape Province. It was agreed that an urgent alliance intervention would be required.
* May Day.
The meeting said the theme of the 2008 May Day Rallies will be "Defend democratic gains - Fight unemployment! Crush poverty and unemployment! Create decent work now!" They will focus on jobs and the rising cost of living. The Senior leadership of the Alliance has been deployed to address the rallies.
* The Eskom crisis:
The meeting spent time discussing the causes and implications of the current electricity crisis. The ANC had already had a discussion with relevant ministers to consider different options on how best the crisis could be handled moving forward. The meeting also expressed concern about the proposed 53% tariff increase especial its negative impact on the economy in general and the poor in particular. The meeting declared that the electricity crisis must not lead to job losses, and that the proposed 53% tariff increase is not acceptable. It was agreed to support the call for an Energy Summit to find solutions to the energy crisis.
* Food prices:
There was agreement that workers and the poor are suffering deeply because of the rocketing price of basic foods, oil and many other commodities, which are eroding our standard of living and this must be made a priority for the alliance.
Issued by:
African National Congress
Congress of South African Trade Unions
ANCYL REACTION TO THE STAR ARTICLES
1 April 2008
In an article carried in The Star newspaper on 1 April 2008, titled, "Time to pass on the ANCYL torch", the writer paints a picture of an organisation under siege with the presidential success as its primary preoccupation.
There could be nothing further from the truth, as the reports that will be tabled before Congress will demonstrate this. The article similarly makes a suggestion that the incumbent President runs the risk of being relegated into political oblivion if he supports one candidate over another.
The ANCYL, being the youth wing of the ANC is a democratic organisation steeped in the timeless traditions of democratic practice, with its branches at the centre. The structures of the ANCYL have the last say in the election of the leadership collective to take the organisation forward.
We can say without fear of contradiction that there is no space in the ANCYL for anyone to anoint their successor.
Such practice would be contrary to the fundamental principle of democracy and would undermine everything the ANC and by extension, the ANCYL stands for. The ANCYL therefore rejects any suggestion that its President has anointed a successor with the contempt it deserves.
Similarly, in another article, The Star alleges that the ANCYL team sent to observe the Zimbabwean election have returned home early because of constant surveillance. We once again, put it on record that this is a blatant lie with no substance.
The ANC Youth League does not have any observers in Zimbabwe and any suggestion to the contrary is nothing more than a figment of somebody's imagination. The quotation of faceless spokesmen in an attempt to give credibility to the story remains a source of concern and bodes ill for the credibility of newspapers that publish such stories.
Issued by ANC Youth League Presidency
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Lawrence Venkile 0835638621
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