ANC Today -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 1 No 11 * 6 - 12 April 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: Letter from the President: Youth Focus ANC Today Opinion: Much Ado About Zimbabwe by Z Pallo Jordan ANC Youth League: The 'coming of age' congress Youth Apathy: Reality or truth - or a bit of both? Previous issues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Youth Focus Yesterday, we were privileged to speak at the opening of the 21st National Congress of the ANC Youth League. A moving aspect of the gathering was the high spirit among the large numbers of local, regional, provincial and national youth leaders who are meeting at the University of the Free State to discuss matters of concern to the young people of our country. The agenda of the Congress gives a clear idea of what these matters of concern are. They include matters of education, youth development, racism, gender equality, youth morality, social responsibility and political activism, poverty and youth unemployment, disease including the struggle to combat infectious diseases such as STD's and AIDS, African renewal and globalisation. Given the challenges we face in all these areas, we might have expected a sombre atmosphere at the Congress rather than the high spirit we have noted and the clear confidence among the youth of our country that they will contribute to the solution of these problems, which they are certain are capable of solution. Not unexpectedly, remarking on the Congress, sections of the media have sought to focus on predictions about a fight for leadership at the Congress, rather than the very serious and important issues that the youth of our country had themselves decided to discuss. Clearly, at the end of the Congress, we will have to rely on our own means of communication to inform the South African public about the decisions of the youth on the important matters on their agenda. Failure to do this would contribute to the further marginalisation of the voice of the youth, itself a legitimate matter of concern to young people who correctly believe that they have a significant contribution to make to the reconstruction and development of our country. What follows below, being examples of comments by our young people on the issue of racism in our country, a matter that will be discussed at the National Congress, suggests that the young people meeting at the University of the Free State have a better sense of some of the concerns of our youth than many of us might have. Earlier this week, I received a very touching letter from one of these young people. We reproduce it here with all its spelling and grammatical mistakes. "Dear President, I am proud to be an South African. I'm a 16 year old Afrikaner boy. I have to compliment the ANC and what they were and are able to do in this country. Sometimes I feel scared when I hear how the Afrikaners are acting in this country, and it looks like racism is coming out again. I am willing to serve my country and to support the ANC, BUT you should not forget the innocent whites who already have changed. You have to stop racist groups like the AWB and you have to stop the KKK from coming to South Africa. I am trying to convince my classmates that they have only one way and that is to acknowledge their mistakes. It is a miracle what you did in these few years. You have my support for the future. And I hope to be an loyal South African soldier, fighting for freedom, human rights and equality. Lank lewe die ANC. P.S. please mind my spelling." This touching letter from a 16 year old Afrikaner boy reminded me of another communication I received last year from another 16 year old. This young person is Layla Cassim, this time being not an Afrikaner, but an Indian. She wrote to me about a forthcoming anthology of writings by young people called "Celebrating Youth Awakenings" which has since been published. With her permission, I would like to quote some of the material she sent to me, reflecting the ideas and concerns of the youth of our country. Thando Sebesho, a 16 year old from Cape Town contributed a poem entitled "Transparently Opaque." "Wait a minute mister, you mispronounced my name. You didn't wait for all the information before you turned me away. You kind of hurt my feelings, Pretending I'm transparent. You see me, a thieving shadow with unclean thoughts And filthy words. Why, when you're the real devil?… Why, mister? You kind of hurt my feelings. Judging me from the outside and not looking in." Another contribution came from Clinton du Ceiller, a 17 year old from Pietersburg. "They stole my tranquillity and replaced it with fear. I lay awake at night, my paranoia sets in. They are as dark as the night, their shadows strike panic in my heart. I feel nothing but anger for what they did. Why did they do it? "They tell me racism is not fair but then why do they forget me? Has anyone taken their inner peace and replaced it with turmoil? He holds out his hand to greet me but I hesitate to respond. I can see in his eyes that he intends no evil, yet I do still feel hatred in my heart. His mouth utters the language we all understand. I greet him and suddenly feel relieved. His heart is not as dark as his skin, rather as white as mine!" Another contributor from Pietersburg was 18 year old Anton van der Merwe who contributed a poem simply entitled "Colour". "How I hate to be tied to colour my rainbow fading with every racist remark. I wonder if the darkness we created ever misses the light we left behind. Why can't we love the way we hate with the passion of an angry man? The more we try to unite the more we divide. The change has to come from within every one of us. Set aside the past look to the future. We can all paint a picture with the colour of our dreams." Lurike Fourie, a 16 year old from Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal writes about the youth of today. "The youth of today is the generation which follows the apartheid era. Many people feel that they are still suffering under the yoke of apartheid. Although no one will attempt to say it out loud, we do still have racial barriers. The reason for this is the following: our parents have brought us up with the values and morals which they think are appropriate. For many years our minds have been shaped according to this. We were like molten gold thrown into a shape which we did not choose. It just seemed natural and right. We may or may not have been antagonistic towards other races, even ignoring them. I am willing to admit this, for even a blind man will be able to tell you there is definitely such a thing as racism…" From Johannesburg came a poem from 17 year old Murray Turpin, entitled "It's all about the colour of your skin". "It's the infamous saga of black vs. white The Ying vs the yang, good Vs bad In most cases it is the ignorant action of one Which leads to the self-destruction of another The acceptance of blame is futile It's a vicious circle of contrasting ideals The key to acceptance is understanding. The narrow minded and insecure are to blame Why can't we all just get along? Colour must not scare but be revered One must not judge but interpret It's a spherical torrent of miscommunication Stop being so blind to the colour of mankind We are all children of the Master Persecution is a trait of the weak willed…" Of course the contributors to the anthology comment on matters other than the thorny question of racism. Gushwell Fides Brooks, a 17 year old from Vereeniging, writes: "…It seems as if none of us are touched in any way by the suffering of those youth who sleep in cold, dark alleys. Alleys which would be nothing but an empty vacuum, if it were not for the filth. And please be reminded that all the filth in those alleys comes from your homes…" 17 year old Penelope Phindile Mbonani of Soweto also takes up this theme. "…They suffer in winter as they do not have blankets. They need a shoulder to cry on, and they need to be held by warm arms. We as a community must unite to help our street children." To return to Pietersburg, we have Charles John Smith, 17 years old. "Looking back on the past eight years not as a white, black, Indian or Coloured person, but as a South African, and ever so proud of it, I grab my dreams, set my goals and make it a reality." We are very fortunate that our youth are struggling to break free from their own short past in which they "were like molten gold thrown into a shape which (they) did not choose." Perhaps if all of us cared to listen to what the youth of our country are saying, we might move faster towards the creation of the caring and humane society for which the children of our land yearn, and which they are right to demand. It seemed to me that the our youth has gathered at the University of the Free State not to engage in a fight for leadership, but to decide what they themselves should do to help create such a society. It can do us no harm to listen to what they and they rest of their peers have to say. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANC TODAY OPINION by Z Pallo Jordan Much Ado About Zimbabwe Nelson Mandela writing to PW Botha from his prison cell in 1986, posed the dilemma facing South Africa as reconciling black aspirations for democracy and freedom with white fears and anxieties. As employed by Mandela the term black included all those sections of South African society who were excluded from political power by apartheid. Mandela has deservedly been praised by all for the sterling efforts he made to assure and reassure white South Africa that it had nothing to fear from democracy. He initiated and made a number of symbolic gestures - a government of national unity; he donned the Springbok rugby jersey; he visited and had tea with Betsy Verwoerd; he invited his persecutor, Percy Yutar, for a chat. But can any serious observer of the South African political scene suggest that white South Africa made the slightest effort to meet him halfway? The NP withdrew from the Government of National Unity at the insistence of its backbenchers. By the 1999 elections the party of Helen Suzman sounded like that of DF Malan and HF Verwoerd: brazenly inciting racial fear amongst white voters; railing against affirmative action to Coloured and Indian voters; opposing any and every measure designed to bring some measure of relief to the most vulnerable and weakest among the poor and exploited. As Wilmot James has pointed out, the international political environment in which South Africa attained democracy was extremely unfavourable to a movement, like the ANC, that had committed itself to redressing the ills of the past. South Africa's wealth remained essentially in white hands and the ANC government's commitment not to interfere with the existing property relations meant that if it was to fulfill its mandate, it would have to rely on rapid economic growth to achieve any redistribution of wealth. The economy has not grown at a pace commensurate with those commitments. Stripped of the fancy words, what transpired was that black aspirations were put on hold but the whites received repeated assurances that they really had nothing to fear. These thoughts sprang to mind after reading Heribert Adam and van Zyl Slabbert's piece on Zimbabwe in the Business Day of 29 March 2001. While one agrees with the two authors that the debate should not be conducted at the level of hyperbole, the two very quickly descend to it themselves. Suggesting, as they do, that the government of Zimbabwe is morally equivalent to the white minority governments that well-nigh ruined South Africa is a case in point. Whatever its faults, the government led by ZANU (PF) is a government elected by the majority of Zimbabweans in inclusive, non-racial elections. It has been returned to office in an election judged to be acceptable by the international community. No government in this country, prior to 1994, could make the same claim. That alone places the Zimbabwean government in a very different category from the government of Nigeria's Sani Abacha (a military dictatorship) or PW Botha (a white racist dictatorship). To suggest that the Zimbabwe government be treated the same is not only unreasonable but is of the essence of the over-statement and exaggeration that has characterised the contribution of virtually all white opposition politicians to the debate on Zimbabwe. The co-authors plumb the depths of the ridiculous in suggesting that the South African government's cautious approach assists the opposition in fuelling white anxieties. Max Du Preez, another stern critic of the government, writing in The Star, very aptly highlighted the irony of the white farming community, many of whom within living memory acquired their land at the direct expense of African and coloured communities, today screaming about land restitution measures in which their interests are constitutionally protected. To suggest that the anxieties of such people are the result of mixed signals from government is to test our credulity. Conceit and plain greed is closer to the mark. What saddens one about all this is that the white political leaders and their spokespersons seem to think that Africans are blind and deaf, or at any rate have no sensibilities worthy of consideration. The signal that the responses from their white compatriots are sending to black communities does not seem to concern any of them in the least. Diplomacy is about shaping and influencing the context in which another government makes its decisions. When, on the eve of a Commonwealth Summit, Sani Abacha ordered the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, then President Mandela moved swiftly to break off relations and called for tough measures against the Nigerian military junta. While Britain, France, the USA, Germany and others verbally applauded his actions, not one of these countries followed South Africa's example. British oil multinationals continued business as usual; British banks continued to do business with members of the junta; the USA kept up a vigorous dialogue with Abacha while the US corporations expanded business contacts; France sought to exploit the tension between London and Abuja to its own advantage. South Africa held the moral high ground, but in isolation. Thus far the democratically elected government of Nigeria has not exacted any price from those who remained on the moral plains. Nor is it likely to. The British oil firms still do their business as usual. The USA dialogues with Obasanjo as it did with Abacha. France is still looking for new opportunities in west Africa. Were these countries acting cynically, or were they responding to their national interests? Adam and van Zyl Slabbert urge SA to restrict travel for ZANU (PF) leaders. They urge us to freeze their finances. They suggest we take measures that will inflict pain on the ZANU (PF) leadership. Are these realistic? A few weeks ago South African Ministers visited Zimbabwe for in depth discussions about the crisis. Would the Zimbabwe government have allowed them to enter that country if we had followed the advice of these two fundis? Should follow up meetings on South African soil be necessary, how would the Zimbabwe delegation come to South Africa given the travel restrictions we would have placed on them? Who says that Zimbabweans bank in South Africa in preference to their own country? Plainly Adam and van Zyl Slabbert are asking us to do the sort of thing that will make meaningful dialogue with Zimbabwe impossible. For some unexplained reason, South Africa is expected to act against its own best interest. The simple facts of the matter are that should the economy of Zimbabwe fall to pieces South Africa's main trading partner on the African continent would go down the tubes. Should South Africa, following the advice of the opposition parties, withhold electric power from Zimbabwe, the factories in that country would grind to a halt and the urban employed would lose their jobs. Should SASOL withhold oil supplies, the lengthy queues for petrol would, of course, disappear because there would be no petrol in the country. The measures advocated by the opposition will not only hurt the people of Zimbabwe, they will also inflict very drastic harm on South Africa itself. I doubt that Morgan Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would like to inherit a country in such a parlous state. What then makes sense? Contrary to the reckless claims of Drs Adam and van Zyl Slabbert, the ANC was in touch with the MDC, at Secretary-General level, even prior to the elections in 2000. Of course our contacts with ZANU (PF) are stronger and are of longer duration. In our contacts with both parties we have emphasised the need for moderation on both sides. We have, of course, been more emphatic in this regard in discussions with ZANU (PF) as the governing party. But we have stressed to the MDC that any escalation of the tensions can only result in an even more intractable situation and could store up even bigger problems for the future. The MDC is also keenly aware that should they become the government, they would be obliged to clean up that mess. Quite rationally they are not as hasty as many South African pundits in advocating irresponsible courses of action. If Zimbabwe has become a racial issue it is because the political leadership in the opposition parties have chosen to make it so. The ANC first placed the matter on parliament's agenda precisely to avoid such an eventuality. We were measured in our tones and very deliberate in identifying the ill-advised and irresponsible actions of the ZANU (PF) supporters. In the hands of opposition parties eager to scoop up white votes by "scaring the living daylights out of them", as one DA strategist so indelicately put it, it has become a racially polarising issue. The parliamentary record will bear us out. Adam and van Zyl Slabbert would have done well to recall the hundreds of cases, the most famous of which is that of the Scottsboro Boys, framed for rape and convicted by an all-white jury during the 1930s, to put the contrasting black and white responses to the OJ Simpson trial in perspective. The last of the eight Scottsboro youths died in prison a few years ago for a crime he did not commit. If the OJ Simpson trial polarised the USA, the reason is to be sought in that history, and not as the two learned gentlemen speculate, in some attempt to score subconscious points. At the end of the day it is the people of Zimbabwe who will sort out the mess. The MDC has not asked the ANC to support it against the government of Zimbabwe. It has not asked the ANC to pressure the South African government to impose sanctions. Morgan Tsvangirai explicitly told us they were opposed to sanctions. Feel good posturing and garrulous double-talk that impresses white voters in South Africa will not assist the people of Zimbabwe. Those who are so quick to judge South Africa's "quiet" diplomacy a failure would do well to consider the extent to which the "noisy" diplomacy of London and Washington has succeeded. As far as we know not a single land seizure has been halted and not one life saved by the sound and fury emitted by Bush and Blair. At least the government in Harare is still on talking terms with us. There are no prizes for guessing which approach is more likely to yield results. Z. Pallo Jordan is a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANC Youth League The 'coming of age' congress The twenty-first national congress of the ANC Youth League, currently underway in Bloemfontein, takes place a decade after the league's relaunch as a legal mass movement. In many ways, it is a coming of age congress for the league. The major focus of the congress will be to define a vision for this generation of youth. The congress will discuss the political positioning and organisational renewal of the league to ensure it continues to represent and mobilise the new generations of youth. A generation defining its mission Franz Fanon said: "Each generation defines its mission which it must either fulfill or betray." The previous generations of youth defined their mission as the struggle to end white minority rule. The mission of this generation, as with previous generations, derives from the primary contradiction which our society seeks to resolve. The present generation will therefore fulfill or betray its mission in the struggle to transform South Africa into a truly democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, united and prosperous society. Granted, this may be rather abstract to today's generation of youth and on the surface not much to do with their aspirations, concerns or lifestyles. This is exactly why a political movement of young people is needed to relate the broad vision of society to the aspirations and concerns of its peers. The congress will therefore have to grapple with the issue of 'youth apathy', in particular as reflected in the low levels of voter registration and voting during the 1999 general elections. It will debate the disjuncture of the political and social consciousness of young people and their apparent alienation from political institutions. Most of the recent opinion surveys done among young people indicate a high degree of confidence in the future of the country and its political institutions. Eighty-eight percent of 12-17 year olds interviewed by the LoveLife/Kaiser Foundation 2000 survey thought it important to vote. However, the same surveys indicates that less than five percent are active in political organisation. Making politics youth-friendly The league's congress will therefore have adopt a programme that finds resonance with today's generation and to make politics youth friendly. It will require among other things that the league adopts a much more youthful profile, in terms of its image, activities and messages, using the mediums that youth identify with. In the process it should ensure its slogans and programmes are accepted as part of popular youth culture - whether on voting, community service or fighting racism and sexism. A vocal champion of youth interests The second major challenge for the league will be to position itself - in its activities and public stance - as a vocal champion of youth interests, using its position in the ANC and through mobilising youth. This will be crucial to ensure change is accelerated in the next few years to benefit young men and women. Since 1994, the policies of the ANC-led government laid a foundation for an enabling environment for youth development, especially programmes aimed at the transformation and deracialisation of education and training and others aimed at meeting basic needs such as housing, basic services and health for all. Although the environment for youth development has improved, this has not translated into a large-scale national intervention to address the key problems facing young people: lack of skills and unemployment. Although the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) says that 'special attention must be paid to the youth', government still has to adopt the National Youth Policy completed by the National Youth Commission (NYC) in 1998. The RDP also committed the movement to the implementation of a National Youth Service programme, yet none of the Presidential Lead Projects announced in 1994 focused on youth. Government policy on a national youth service programme is stuck at Green Paper level. National youth service pilot projects are funded from departmental surplus programmes, with no provision for expansion in the 2000/2001 Budget. There have been some improvements since the establishment of the National Youth Commission in 1996, with more departments targeting young people in their programmes. The youth movement also lobbied for a very strong youth focus in the Presidential Job Summit projects in 1998, resulting in the commitment to introduce the learnership programme this year. In addition, a large scale dedicated investment in youth is being made through the Umsobomvu Fund. A vibrant and modern mass movement of young people For the youth league to become this vocal champion of youth interests, a vibrant and modern mass movement of young people, the congress will have to pay attention to the organisational renewal of the league. This will require league branches that reflect the youthfulness that needs to be engendered in the league. They must be in the forefront of the issues of young people in communities, taking up and engaging local government and business around social and economic development campaigns, working with learners at schools and building a vibrant and diverse youth sector. The league will also have to strengthen and expand campus branches of the league, and ensure its members are active in the student movement. The league must consciously seek to involve in its programmes, and where possible recruit as members and into its leadership structures, young intellectuals, cultural and media workers, artists, sports people, professionals and business people. It must galvanise these sectors to become more vocal in shaping, not only youth opinion, but public opinion in society. Autonomy of the ANC Youth League The youth league must build a distinct programme and identity that is different from that of the ANC parent body. The leadership of the ANC (and the league itself) should not be afraid of the idealism, sense of adventure, rebelliousness and inexperience that are features of being young. In carrying out this programme, the league must be given responsibilities, allowed to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes. Only then can it become truly an organisation of young people, an independent living organism, geared towards and guiding youthful aspirations in political, cultural, intellectual, and other fields. Coming of age in the life of any young person means getting new freedoms, but ultimately to be responsible for one's own destiny. The ANC Youth League has a proud history of treating its freedoms with responsibility and carrying its responsibilities with commitment and single-mindedness. The 21st Congress has much to live up to. MORE INFORMATION: * ANC Youth League 21st National Congress documents http://www.anc.org.za/youth/ * A history of the ANC Youth League http://www.anc.org.za/youth/docs/youth52.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YOUTH APATHY Reality or truth - or a bit of both? The low levels of voter registration and actual voting by 18-20 year olds in the 1999 national election focused attention on a new generation of youth. How did the youth, known at the beginning of the decade as the young lions of the struggle, become by the end of the 1990s variously referred to as the 'Boom Shaka', 'Yizo Yizo' generation or the 'Born Frees'. Portrayals of this youth has been dominated by apathy, disinterest in politics, HIV prevalence, crime, consumerism and poor examination results. [Graphic] Why was there such a drastic drop in figures between the 1994 elections, when high levels of voting were recorded within the 18-20 age group, and the second democratic elections of 1999? The following reasons have been given as explanation for this phenomena: In general, 17-20 year olds are less likely to acquire identity documents (IDs) than older citizens. The need to acquire an ID for registration purposes in the 1999 elections acted as a disincentive to registration, making the process more time-consuming and expensive. There is a lack of information and understanding of the elections process and governance institutions among the youth. Not nearly as much voter education was done in 1999 as in 1994 when the majority of voters were first time voters. Voters aged 18-20 years in the 1999 elections were born after 1976, with little memory of the birth of the UDF and still in primary school at the birth of SAYCO in 1987. They were between 9 and 11 years old when the ANC was unbanned and Nelson Mandela released. This points to the need for society, and the education system in particular, to ensure that this new generation knows the history of the country and its struggle for freedom and democracy. Attitudes of older people towards this younger generation and their cultural identity and issues are a contributing factor. This includes the disapproving reference to them as 'born-frees.' This is most eloquently reflected today in the attitudes and debates about kwaito or Yizo Yizo. Low registration and voting levels are not a problem for all sections of the youth: 77 percent of the 20-30 year age group registered for the 1999 general elections. Are the registration and voting figures really an indication that today's young people are not politically conscious or interested? Are black youth "unpolitical and extremely materialistic", as claimed by a Yfm director? Some of the recent research around youth attitudes done among others by the HSRC, CASE and LoveLife suggest otherwise. The research shows that although only one in ten young people belong to a political movement, they are politically aware and engaged. Four in ten have seen a copy of the South African Constitution and 57 percent have heard about the Bill of Rights. They are less negative about the performance of political institutions than older people. In fact, the vast majority (88 percent) of 12-17 year olds interviewed for the LoveLife 2000 survey think they should participate in determining the country's future and think it is important to vote. On the issue of race relations and national unity, youth again showed more optimism than their elders; two thirds of youth agreed that although it will take time, South Africa will become a united nation. Asked about the quality of life, the economy, education, crime and health care, they confidently expect improvements in all these areas in the next five years. The tag of an 'apolitical youth' also does not take into account the broader social activism of young people in the movements against HIV/AIDS, against women and child abuse or that youth hold more progressive views than older people on matters such as abortion, the death penalty or the complaint by ANC leaders about youth dominating ANC branches. However, the low levels of participation in voting and in political organisation by this new generation indicates that new ways need to be found to ensure they feel connected to the history of the country and its political and democratic institutions. This is the most important challenge facing the ANC Youth League and the broader progressive youth movement. MORE INFORMATION: * 'Hot Prospects, Cold Facts' Survey of South African Youth, LoveLife, March 2001 http://www.lovelife.org.za/llwebsite/simple.asp?PageID=312 * Voters' Evaluation of the 2000 Local Government Elections, HSRC December 2000 http://www.hsrc.ac.za/iec/iec2000_11.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue is available from the ANC web site at http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2001/at11.htm