Thank+God+for+communists,+Jon+Qwelane,+News24

News24, 22/05/2006 10:44 - (SA)
=Zille not worse than the others=


 * By Jon Qwelane**

I am not being irreverent or wanting any so-called controversy by invoking God's name to praise the so-called "anti-Christ" and anti-religion Marxists. I am merely giving them a huge pat on the back for highlighting what has been at the root of this country's problems - that of an absence of, the sort of things to which I alluded last week when I stated that we need leadership.

This weekend the central committee of the South African Communist Party met to deliberate on very serious issues raised in a discussion document drawn up by the party's secretary general, Blade Nzimande, who describes his paper as frank and sparing no holy cows.

Everybody, or nearly everybody, has been painfully aware all these years that a whole myriad of national problems - from endemic corruption and theft of public purses to the bruising succession battle for the presidency of the ANC - all have a common denominator: an overbearing national leadership which has a finger in every pie.

I think the reason, for example, that Cape Town mayor Hellen Zille is being given no space to breathe is because of the insidious "style" of national leadership we have.
 * Helen Zille**

While very careful to avoid showing its hand publicly, the ANC prefers to use trusted satraps whom it never calls to order for hampering Zille and her administration.

I am no supporter of the Democratic Alliance and Zille, and never will be, but the people of Cape Town in large numbers preferred her to run their city.

She is now being accused of running an anti-black campaign in her administration of the city, and all manner of hackneyed obstructionist manoeuvres are being thrown in her path to make her fail - and some call it "democracy".

Point here is that if Zille is bad for Cape Town, she is not worse than the others; better still, let her prove herself unworthy of the job, but for heaven's sake let her make a fool of herself first and, on the basis of that, let the citizens of Cape Town to see her failures and eject her at the next elections.

But don't work to cause the failures deliberately and condemn her even before she has warmed the mayoral seat long enough.

One of the key issues that was discussed at this weekend's meeting was possible amendments to the constitution and the laws on elections, with the aim of abolishing the hugely undemocratic and opportunistic floor-crossing.
 * Key issues at weekend's meeting**

Having lost the battle for Cape Town fair and square at the ballot box, the ANC has said repeatedly that it will hamper Zille's administration and will be awaiting the window period on floor-crossing. This is a shameful admission that the party will try to acquire with chicanery what it failed to win at the hustings.

The SACP accuses [|Thabo Mbeki] of dominating all aspects of government and the ruling party, and in that way weakens the ANC as an organisation.

The watered-down role of ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe is seen by the communists as a stumbling block because it "has involved, among other things, a certain presidentialising of the ANC itself ... reducing the secretary general's office and organising work to administrative tasks", while 'politics' is housed in a separate, more or less parallel ANC, dominated by the president".

Obviously there is bound to be very angry reaction to Nzimande's document by some in the ruling party, and in my opinion it will be the fat BEE beneficiaries who, because of the unwarranted largesse flowing their way, will not want to change the status quo.
 * Angry reaction**

These, incidentally, would be the same types who always hated the idea of ANC deputy president being poised to assume national leadership, because his close alliance and sympathies with the working classes threaten the fatcats.

The SACP, in my view, quite correctly castigates Mbeki for so far having been unable to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality. It also blames him for the crisis of corruption, factionalism and personal enrichment.

These are clearly some of the matters for which there was a liberation struggle in the first place. Look around you and tell me who lives in the so-called "squatter camps" in the land of their forefathers, and who is meant by the phrase "poorest of the poor", and who bear the brunt of unemployment.

I hope the communists will look much more deeply into the twin scourges of corruption and self-enrichment through systematic looting of the national coffers; if they do, they will have no difficulty isolating BEE as the main cause of the malady. In reality, it is nothing but Black Elitest Enrichment.

Discussing the role of communists in the cabinet and in government will, in my opinion, serve no purpose at all: they are all the boss's men, hand-picked allies, and they do his bidding. Talking about people such as Ronnie Kasrils, Charles Nqakula, Geraldine Fraser-Meleki, Jeff Radebe and Alec Irwin is a waste of time.

Rather discuss the leadership of the country, or the lack thereof, and devise strategies to deal with it in a democratic manner, and thereby allow democracy to flourish. Maybe then Cape Town will finally be allowed some breathing space.


 * Thank God for communists!**


 * Jon Qwelane's column is published each week on News24, courtesy of Jon Qwelane and the editor of Sunday Sun, which originally carried the article.
 * Send your comments to Jon.


 * Disclaimer:** News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.


 * From: http://www.news24.com/News24/Columnists/Jon_Qwelane/0,,2-1630-1633_1937005,00.html**

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