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UMRABULO Contents UMRABULO 1 QUARTER | 2013 1St QUARTER 2013 ST UMRABULO Contents UMRABULO 1 QUARTER | 2013 1st QUARTER 2013 UMRABULO was a word used to inspire Cover theme: 50th AnniversAry of the foUnDinG of the oAU political discussion and debate on Robben Island. This concept was revived in 1996 3 Our collective view of the theory of the South African revolution when the ANC published the first edition President Jacob Zuma of Umrabulo. The journal’s mission is to encourage debate and rigorous discussions 10 Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance at all levels of the movement. The 50th Anniversary of the formation of the OAU Eddy Maloka 16 Why did the ANC endorse the National Development Plan? Trevor Manuel 23 The meaning of a cadre Bongani Mkongi 33 The ANC and the church: A century of selfless struggle Kgolane Alfred Rudolph Phala Call for contributions Umrabulo welcomes contributions from readers. 41 The theory of organisation Contributions may be in response to previous Nathi Mthethwa articles or may raise new issues. Contributions may be sent to the address below. Subscriptions To subscribe to Umrabulo, complete and return the subscription form at the back of this edition. Subscribers receive Umrabulo quarterly by normal post. This service is available to both South African and international subscribers. 1 Editorial Collective Nathi Mthethwa – Editor in Chief Joel Netshitenzhe Thenjiwe Mtintso Joyce Mashamba Enoch Godongwana Depuo Letsatsi-Duba Donovan Cloete Steyn Speed Micheal Sachs Muzi Ndlovu Contact Information Address: Umrabulo PO Box 61884 Marshalltown 2107 South Africa Telephone: 011 376 1000 Fax: 086 633 1437 e-mail: [email protected] The contents and views expressed in Umrabulo do not necessarily reflect the policies of the ANC or the views of the editorial collective. Umrabulo on the web : www.anc.org.za EDITORIAL UMRABULO 1ST QUARTER | 2013 Nathi Mthethwa Editor-in-Chief Every ANC Member an Organiser, a Commissar N the 16th of December cratic revolution. It also re- 2012, the oldest Libera- quires that we build tion Movement in Af- maximum unity of South Af- Orica, the African National Con- rica’s people and the broadest gress convened its 53rd National range of sectors of our society Conference in Mangaung, its around this programme. The birth place a century earlier. current conjuncture is no dif- The primary task of a confer- ferent to its preceding phases ence is to do the following of our revolution. amongst others; The Conference reaf- “In order to review the past and firmed the perspective that reject therein all those things which “our revolution will only suc- have retarded our progress, the ceed if the movement continu- things which poison the springs of ously produces a contingent of our national life and virtue… and cadres who are conscious, com- as members of one house-hold to talk and think petent, committed, disciplined and conscientious”. 2 loudly on our home problems and the solution of It is in this spirit that the establishment and them.”(Conference Declaration). rollout of the ANC’s comprehensive political The continuous renewal of the ANC over school system – national, provincial, regional, the century of its existence has been guided by sub-regional/zonal and branch level – is an the nature and content of the struggle against urgent task that faces every cadre of our glori- apartheid colonialism and its legacy as elabo- ous movement during “the Decade of the Cadre”. rated in its Strategy and Tactics. The ANC has If the ANC,wants to continue to be a loyal always understood that to lead the national servant of the people, a dynamic leader of our democratic revolution successfully, it has to society and an effective movement for trans- renew itself so that it remains relevant to the formation. We must do the following amongst changing conditions of the struggle, both lo- others: cally and internationally. • We must take urgent steps to institution- At the core of the above, has always been a alise the Political Education systems. united and revolutionary ANC and Alliance • Priority must be given to Political Educa- formations that are rooted amongst the people tion, academic training and skills devel- and have a committed, conscientious, compe- opment of the leadership and the gen- tent, disciplined and capable corps of cadres. eral membership. The Conference resolved to “declare the next Umrabulo is a critical instrument in the ten years as the Decade of the Cadre and commits hands of the organisation to deepen the politi- itselfin implementing a decade-long programme of cal consciousness amongst the cadres of our organizational renewal to safeguard the core values movement. of the ANC and build its transformative capacity As Chairman Mao Zedong once said, that as a strategic centre of power and driver of funda- "Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred mental change”. schools of thought contend…" We therefore call Each phase of our revolution has always upon the cadres of our movement to contribute required the maximum unity of the ANC and articles to this publication. the Alliance, enabling us to sharpen our capac- Every ANC Member an Organiser, a ity to advance and defend the national demo- Commissar. UMRABULO 1ST QUARTER | 2013 Our collective view of the theory of the South African revolution Understanding the Strategy and Tactics document, and particularly how it should guide the daily work of ANC members and structures, is essential to the achievement of the liberation of South Africans from all forms of bondage, writes President Jacob Zuma. 3 HE Strategy and Tactics of the ANC sets our organisation apart in the cat- egory of liberation movements in the Tworld. From its inception, the ANC has al- ways had clear strategies and tactics that it employed in its pursuit of the struggle against colonisation of a special type, which was organised as apartheid. The adoption at Morogoro of the Strat- egy and Tactics document was a culmina- tion of this process of an organisation that understood its tactical and strategic tasks as a function of struggle. Over the past years there has been an attempt to suggest that the ANC had strat- egy and tactics only when it first adopted the document titled: Strategy and Tactics at Morogoro in 1969. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of the ANC and how it has evolved over the years. The ANC is complex and therefore we understand why some commentators struggle to keep up with our movement. We have a responsibility to educate our UMRABULO 1ST QUARTER | 2013 members about some of these ly stipulates what is our issues so that they do not end We truly pride strategy at the present mo- up being misled and confused ourselves in the fact ment and what are the tacti- by historians who do not un- cal manoeuvres we need to derstand our movement. That that while other employ in the pursuit of our is why we must move at a fast organisations muddle objectives. pace in setting up our Political through, we are guided We have never used one School to create cadres that are strategy. We have never el- grounded in the traditions of by clearly articulated evated an aspect of our strat- the ANC. and documented egy in the pursuit of our Our organisation has never policies, strategies struggle. In the same vein been rigid. It has always been we have always adapted our dynamic. Therefore, true to its and tactics. tactics to suit changing con- character as a dynamic organi- ditions. Our tactics have al- sation, the ANC has always had ways been a subject of de- the capacity to adapt to changing conditions bate between and among our structures, while at the same time being capable of skil- including within the alliance. fully maintaining its core values. This is At times these discussions tend to elevate why, despite changing our tactics and at tactical differences into strategic ones and times modifying aspects of our strategy, we as a result we lose the core elements of a have always been consistent in the pursuit necessary debate. We truly pride ourselves of our strategic objective, which is the strug- in the fact that while other organisations gle for the emancipation of Africans in par- muddle through, we are guided by clearly ticular and blacks in general from econom- articulated and documented policies, strat- ic and political bondage. egies and tactics. 4 In the course of the struggle we have used various strategies in the pursuit of this CONTEXT OF 1969 STRATEGY AND TACTICS struggle. Some have been consistent and The first Strategy and Tactics document was some have been overtaken by time. One of adopted at the Morogoro Consultative Con- those aspects of strategy that has proven ference in Tanzania in 1969. timeless has been to unite the African people The conference was in many ways a wa- across ethnic lines and even race in the pur- tershed. It came immediately after the suit of the struggle. This has remained true Wankie and Sipolilo campaigns where Um- of the ANC till today. khonto we Sizwe fighters, alongside their Over the years we have pursued the comrades from the Zimbabwe African Peo- strategy of non-violent action, but we had ples Union, distinguished themselves in to abandon that strategy when it seemed combat against soldiers of the white minor- that we needed to modify our strategy to ity regimes of South Africa and Rhodesia. suit changing conditions in our society. We These operations marked the end of a pe- later reverted to non-violent action after riod of a virtual lull in the struggle follow- 1990, when conditions had normalised. ing the disruption of our movement through Over the years we had also pursued a banning and the capture of the High Com- strategy of mobilising the international com- mand at Lilieslief farm in Rivonia.
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