EFF POLICY DOCUMENTS TOWARDS THE NATIONAL PEOPLES ASSEMBLY 16 DECEMBER 2014 SHARE & ENGAGE! Fighters we are 7 WEEKS AWAY from the EFF National Peoples Assembly! Policy Documents have been released, lets go through it one chapter at a time, there are 12 chapters covering: 1. Base Document , 2. Organisational Building , 3. Economic Freedom Fighters Programme towards Jobs for all , 4. Justice and Correctional Service , 5. Land and Agrarian Revolution , 6. Social Transformation , 7. National Health Policy , 8. Education, 9. Media, Ideology And the Battle of Ideas , 10. Arts, Culture and Economic Emancipation in our lifetime, 11. Local Government , 12. International Relations Perspective Please see below chapter 1 of 12, for further reading go to effighters.org.za/policy-discussion-document/ CHAPTER 1 Base Document Economic Freedom Fighters Discussion Documents for the 1st National Assembly: People’s Power for Economic Freedom Introduction The Economic Freedom Fighters is going to its first elective National People’s Assembly in December 2014. This gathering is important because it will be attended by elected delegates from across all regions and provinces of South Africa. The National Assembly on What is to be done happened which happened on the 26th and 27th of July 2013 gave a concrete mandate and programme to revolutionary Activists to found a mass based organisation, which should exist in all corners of South Africa, lead communities and society and mostly importantly seize political power, capture the state, transform the economy for the benefit of all. The 1st National People’s Assembly is convened under the theme PEOPLE’S POWER FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOM, with the understanding that the immediate and most important task of the EFF as an economic emancipation movement is building and consolidation of people’s power for economic freedom struggles. “People’s Power” in this context means organised people’s power because as Lenin notes, “Without a strong organisation skilled in waging political struggle under all circumstances and at all times, there can be no question of that systematic plan of action, illumined by firm principles and steadfastly carried out, which alone is worthy of the name of tactics”. The 1st National People’s Assembly also completes the ongoing process of democratisation of the Economic Freedom Fighters as a revolutionary democratic movement and organisation fighting for leadership role of all economic freedom struggles in South Africa and the entire African continent. Democratic participation and involvement is vital for any organisation to sustain itself and for the leadership to be held accountable within the principles of the organisation. Democracy is vital in that no single individual has the complete prescriptions of what should happen. What are the existing political conditions? Without organisational capacity and strength to match the existing political formations and without resources and proven historical record in governance and political leadership, the EFF partook in the 2014 general elections and recorded what was largely interpreted as success for a new political party. The EFF’s achievement is however far below what majority of the members and leaders of the EFF anticipated, but largely reflected the amount of organisational and political work done in various regions and provinces. Without failure, where work was done, adequate outcomes and results were recorded. A great lesson out of the elections though has been a realisation that joining into protests the EFF did not start does not automatically translate into electoral support. Winning voters does not naturally come on the basis that there were fed berets at the forefront of a protest action. What wins the electorate are properly constituted structures, united and cogent campaigns, not joining into protests we did not start. We are in the space where the ANC is politically, ideologically and organisationally disintegrating. Politically, the ANC will within the foreseeable future be confronted with a crisis of succession which will inhibit its capacity to campaign for elections and win absolute majority like it has been the case since 1994. Ideologically, the ANC does not know what it wants and has adopted a poorly conceptualised second transition phase, which is defined as radical, yet is repetition of what has been since 1994. Organisationally, the centre cannot hold and provide holistic political leadership. The intended aim of the suspensions and expulsions of the core of leaders of the ANC Youth League 24th National Congress leadership was meant instil discipline and intimidate members that challenging incumbent leaders will lead to organisational isolation, banishment and condemnation. Such was misconstrued as a mechanism of setting up those expelled to be rejected and condemned by society, simply on the basis that they no longer belong to the ANC. It is quite apparent that such did not happen because organisational discipline in the ANC and its allies has collapsed due to the fear that if the ANC takes action against its members, they will either start a political party or join the EFF. The ANC is in a paralysis of organisational discipline and conduct and such provides an opportunity to weaken it further, since a weak, divided and toothless ANC is an important development which the EFF should maximise on. Despite the EFF’s relative numerical capacity in the National Parliament, we are currently on a correct path and approach to perform of legislative and oversight functions. Our broad aim in Parliament is to illustrate that we are indeed a government in waiting and can provide cogent alternatives in the process of holding the executive accountable and passing legislation which will benefit majority of our people. The EFF’s participation in parliament is indeed a turning point in the history of politics in South Africa. Unfortunately, the view we have of the role of the EFF in National parliament cannot be said of Provincial Legislatures. Provincial legislatures continue to be insignificant, and the EFF representatives in those legislatures are not shaking them to the extent that will draw the province or national’s interest. Overall, our analysis is that all the existing political parties in Parliament do not offer real alternatives, except the EFF. The Democratic Alliance as the biggest opposition party does not propose anything substantially different to the ANC, they fight over how to best implement the failed neo-liberal policies which are being pursued by the ruling ANC. There exists in South Africa a growing voice for alternate trade unions mainly because the biggest trade union is in alliance with the ANC. The internal COSATU squabbles and differences do not seem to be real ideological and political differences, but differences on who should be leading at what level in the organisation. Civil society formations are dominated predominantly by white left activists, most of whom do not want to enter into the sphere of real revolutionary politics. The non-involvement of left activists in politics is self-defeatist because majority of the propositions civil society advocates for do not go anywhere, but remain in boardrooms. While some components of civil society hold genuine beliefs and alternatives, their hubris approach to political activism condemns them to permanent insignificance. Policy questions: The 1st National Assembly will be deliberating on substantial policy questions and take resolutions which will form an important component of the organisation moving forward. The distinct component about the policy perspectives and documents that will be adopted in the 1st National People’s Assembly is that they constitute inaugural policy positions of the EFF on many aspects. Even when successive People’s Assemblies amend these policy positions, they will continue to occupy a special place in the organisation as inaugural policy positions which generations to come will reflect on and use as authority to argue many aspects of what they will be dealing with in their times. For purposes of this, we highlight the key propositions and areas which Conference should resolve on and give guidance on each and every discussion document. The documents deal more substantively with the question of what is to be done, yet the following key issues need to be highlighted: 1) Organisational Building. 2) Jobs Strategy for All South Africans. 3) Land And Agrarian Reform 4) Social Transformation. 5) Health. 6) Education. 7) Justice and Correctional Services. 8) International Relations. 9) Draft Constitution. 10) Induction Manual.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:03:27 +0000