UMkhonto we\nSizwe Military Veterans National Council (MKNC) speaking on behalf of all\ngenerations of former combatants of the Peoples\u2019 Army, MK, addresses this media\nconference to declare our deep concern at the alarming deeper crisis facing the\nAfrican National Conference, and our country. We address the media today on\ncritical issues facing the ANC and our country, with our hearts in sorrow, and\nbanners lowered in respect, over the loss of a freedom fighter, and great human\nrights lawyer, George Bizos SC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His name, face and face are not strangers to\nthe many freedom fighters he defended in the apartheid courts, at great risk to\nhis own personal safety. His courage and outspokenness against our oppression\nis well known to the people of our country. He has left us at his advanced age\nof 92, at this critical period of the existence of our endangered freedom and\ndemocracy, and we shall always, remember him! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our analysis\nand understanding of the current situation in the ANC and our country, brings\nus to the conclusion that, the ANC is no more at the crossroads, but it is firmly\non a downward spiral, and most disturbingly, it is taking our country down\nalongside itself, on this unfortunately destructive path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the\nCOVID-19 pandemic is holding our country at ransom, and delivering heavy body\npunches on our limping economy, the society in its totality has also had to\nbear with the worst beyond increasing levels of gender based violence, poverty,\njoblessness, and inequalities. The nation is numbed by the corruption and\ncriminally reckless conduct of the ANC led government, during the period under\ninvestigation, being exposed in the Zondo Commission on State Capture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the society is also rightfully angry with, and disgusted at the murderous corruption that seems to have accompanied the procurement of PPEs, and other COVID-19 consequences alleviation measures. These are happening under the watch of our ANC government, and we are disheartened that ANC leaders and members are often implicated in these shameful activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that\nregard, MKNC has noted, and is no doubt in its equivocal support, of the\nanti-corruption stance, and the call for the desperate need for ethical\nleadership of our movement and our country, as expressed in the declaration of\nthe South African Communist Party; the Letter of the ANC Veterans\u2019 League\nrebutting the senseless rant of Cde Jacob Zuma in his letter purporting to\nrespond to the President Ramaphosa\u2019s letter to the members of the ANC; The Call\nOf The South African Council of Churches and the deep concerns raised by the\nFoundations of the former leaders and stalwarts of the ANC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this\npoint, we would like to express our affirmation of the letter of President\nCyril Ramaphosa to the ANC members. We must also state our deep appreciation\nfor its approval and support of its core message, principles, recommendations\nand conclusion, by the entire National Executive Committee of the ANC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, we\nmust also point out that we are shocked and disturbed that instead of\nwitnessing action supporting the spirit of the decisions of the ANC NEC\nregarding that letter, we see no action, except a clear indication of defiance\nby those leaders who have to lead by example. We must state it here, that the\nreported utterances by Cde Bongani Bongo that he is still awaiting\ncommunication from ANC leadership regarding his need to step aside, while\nfacing a criminal charge for bribery, is in our understanding, meant to defeat\nthe course of renewing the ANC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further, we\nmust express the fact that we find the reported response by Cde Andile Lungisa\nto the Nelson Mandela Bay Regional Task Team, that the decision of the NEC does\nnot refer to his situation, as either a very poor understanding of the ANC\ncommunications, processes and issues of ethical leadership. This is because as\na public representative of the ANC he holds a leadership position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We fail to\nunderstand why Cde Zandile Gumede, who is facing charges of corruption and was\nmeant to step aside from the KwaZulu Natal Legislature, is still part of that\ninstitution, after more than a week of the ANC NEC pronounced itself that all\nleaders and public representatives who are facing criminal charges, must step\naside to assist the ANC to cleanse itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are\ndisappointed and most unpleasantly surprised that Cde Danny Msiza and Cde\nFlorence Radzilani are reported to be back at work despite the fact that the\nANC Integrity Committee made a finding on them. While the courts cleared them,\nthe Integrity Committee has not done so, and as an institution tasked with\nissues of the upkeep of the values of the ANC, we believe it should be given\npriority to relook into their case, before they were reinstated in their\nleadership position<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nrevelation of the seemingly consistent two sided nature of the conduct of the\nmembers of the ANC, on the leadership decisions of the ANC, is to us, deeply\nconcerning and needs definite action to correct. This is if indeed the ANC\nmust, and is committed on the project of renewing itself to win back the\nconfidence of the people of South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are here\nafter almost four years of struggling for our unity as a community of MK\nveterans. In this effort we are armed with the 54th<\/sup> National\nConference resolution that instructs the NEC of the ANC to expedite our unity.\nIn this regard, the ANC NEC gave that responsibility to the NEC subcommittee on\nPeace and Stability, led by Cde Tony Yengeni to facilitate the desired unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, Cde\nTony Yengeni has proved himself either incapable of leading that project, or\ndeliberately flip flopping it because of his partiality in the process. For\ninstance, he has found himself addressing an RET gathering, which is clearly a\nfactional grouping within the ANC, and clearly working to distort ANC policies\nin favor of populist positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has further failed to take corrective\naction against Cde Kebby Maphatsoe\u2019s MKMVA grouping, which has routinely held\npress conferences, churned out press releases and made several media comments\ndisregarding our agreement that neither MKMVA nor MKNC can make public\npronouncements except those cleared through our agreed upon protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above\ncited resistance on ANC NEC decisions, and the silence of the very ANC NEC on\nthese issues, presents to us a clear message that there are two ANCs within one\nANC. We may not be faulted to hold a view that there is the ANC which is\ncommitted to the renewal of the ANC and the rebuilding of our country, and yet\nthere is another ANC within the ANC that supports filibustering, corruption and\nhas a penchant to perpetuate the ANC as broken organization alienated from the\npeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We believe\nthat we can no more afford to stand back and wait for the completion of the\nprocess of uniting the community of MK veterans, when the ANC is struggling in\nits apparent death throes because of the misdemeanors of its leading members,\nand it is clear that those who must provide leadership and guidance on this\nmatter, are apparently committed to the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are pained\nby the fact that these violations, by ANC members and leaders, happen when the\nmajority of military veterans, like other members of the society are wallowing\nin poverty. We believe that a healthy, rejuvenated and renewed ANC, will be in\na better position, to facilitate the benefits of military veterans, and\nalleviate poverty in our communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We therefore,\nhold now as never before, the view that the unity of the MK community can only\nbe facilitated by a select group of senior and respected former leaders, and\nmembers of MK, who themselves are stalwarts and veterans of the national\nliberation movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As MKNC, we hold\nhands with the social partners of the ANC and society\u2019s sectoral leaders that\nhave been critical of the movements\u2019 waywardness, and we therefore call on all\nwho face charges of corruption and serious crimes in the courts of country, to\nremove themselves from positions of responsibility in the ANC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We call upon\nall those who face allegations of wrongdoings that threaten the reputation of\nthe movement, to present themselves to the Integrity Commission as the\nmovements\u2019 institution that must assess our individual suitability to uphold\nand respect the values, principles and traditions of the ANC as leaders and\nmembers of the ANC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must make\na strong indication that our critical situation instructs upon us that we\ncannot anymore be about individuals. Everything that we do must be about the\nANC as the servant movement of the people of South Africa and not anymore about\nindividuals. Every effort we put for the renewal of the ANC is about supporting\nthe principle of a people led ANC that cares for the interests of the people of\nour country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, we\nmust announce that in our resolve to make our critical contribution in the renewal\nof the ANC, we intend to unfold a program to meet with the critical leadership\nof the movement, from the national structures through to Provincial, Regional\nand Branches, the Leagues, SACP, COSATU, SACC, the Foundations of our former\nleaders, and other formations of the mass democratic movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason\nfor this meetings is to get views and how best to resolve the crisis the\nmovement is finding itself in, and to test our views on how best to save our\nmovement, the ANC which is clearly threatening to die in our hands, if serious\ninterventions for its redemption are not urgently formulated and implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is our\nstrongly considered view that the ANC belongs to the people and not only its\nmembers. Therefore, whether it dies or survives, is in the final analysis\nresiding in the ANC of the people in their entirety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We see the\nundivided focus on the unfolding of this program as perhaps the most critically\nimportant in saving the ANC which everyday these days, brings it closer to its\ninglorious death or emphatic rebirth, of which only the people of South Africa\nin their majority will be the ultimate arbiters. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans National Council (MKNC) speaking on behalf of all generations of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.ipan.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ANC-1.gif?fit=200%2C200","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2239,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237\/revisions\/2239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ipan.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}