Whenever there is a mismatch between professed ideology and actions, it is evident that serious internal contradictions reign supreme. Those contradictions have been managed inside the EFF through a dose of self.delusion. The so- called commissars and commanders persist lying to the public at large that they are not in a formal coalition with the DA. Hon James Selfe from this side, publicly declared for all to note that it was these commissars and commanders who approached the DA to ask for their neo-liberal hand in marriage, which we now know it has been turned down. [Applause.]
Today we again caution the Red Berets that there is no way you can find common ground with the DA and Freedom Front Plus. You must know that for the masters, you will remain good for bringing food to the table and not for sitting on the table. [Applause.]
IsiZulu:
Vuka muntu omnyama.
English:
We must not differ for the sake of differing. However, it does not follow that revolutionaries must sacrifice evidence at the altar of principle. As the ANC we will never cut our nose just to spite your own face. The DA's manifesto section on mining must actually be commended for being more streetwise than they have been given credit for so far. The truth is, the Denialist Alliance's manifesto absolutely has no policy proposal at all. Unless some in this house want to argue that the few lines that we picked up when were reading their manifesto calling for:
Ensuring close regulation to protect ecosystems, our natural heritage and surrounding communities.
It is called a policy. This is clever because nobody can claim to know what the DA officially wants to do in this important sector of our economy. This frees them of policy responsibilities moving forward. Actually, the DA's unwritten
policy is to represent to the best of their abilities the interests of mining capital.
Their strategy is to leave an open door for nefarious anti- transformation monopolies to rally its forces to continue the exclusion of the vast majority of our people from sharing in this lucrative sector. The ANC-led government has a responsibility to deepen our democracy and ensure that the mineral wealth beneath the soil benefits all South Africans. It is for this reason that our government persuaded all the stakeholders in mining to negotiate the current Mining Charter. We will be the first ones to concede that the Mining Charter is by no means perfect. In fact, it is a consensus document that sought to unite those who have an interest in the sector.
The DA's comment about the charter was that it has too many requirements for Affirmative Action appointments to be demographically representative and for procurement to be restrictively local. This comes as no surprise coming from a party infamous for its selective conservatism in relation to transformation and sharing the wealth of this country. Comrade
Shaik Emam said they want to eat alone. In simple language, the DA opposes the charter because it will bring about too much transformation of the mining sector.
On the other hand, the EFF slammed the same charter for its supposedly lack of transformation. These two extremes in criticism are based on the fundamental weakness of both parties that they are far removed from reality. The reality is that the structure and character of the South African economy must be transformed in order for us to live together as one nation, united in diversity. However, for fundamental transformation to happen, we need to shift both the global and domestic balance of forces in favour of progress and inclusiveness. This requires painstaking work that will unite the motive forces that are progressive. None of these tasks are easy, hence South Africans felt it proper to entrust the ANC with the responsibility to forge ahead with the task on 08 May 2019.
These tasks become even more difficult when political formations with potentially progressive policies abandon ideological and class consciousness. When a party like the EFF decides to offer
the votes of the masses, the votes of the black working class and the hopes of the poor to sometimes conservative and other times neoliberal's party like the DA, transformation is postponed. It is actually deterred to an infinite future. Dare I remind you that economic freedom in our lifetime is the essence of the 24th elective congress of the ANC Youth League? [Interjections.] These are our resolutions, don't you dare bastardise and taint them by playing with pigs because the pigsty stink will stick with you forever.