Malema and ANC playing with fire

When ANC Youth League President Julius Malema addressed the National Press Club in Pretoria recently — following his being heckled and booed by SACP delegates at Polokwane — he stated that this type of conduct was an invitation to war which the ANCYL was accepting.

After all, how dare they, fellow members of the tripartite alliance, having the audacity to question his morality or authority.

The fact that his lifestyle and conduct towards their leaders was somewhat unfortunate still didn’t give them the right to stand in judgement of him, a man born to poverty and dedicated to the poor. Perhaps somehow they had mistaken his house warming parties, Sandton home and fancy cars for wealth, when he in reality he was as poor as the poorest and as humble as a monk.

This was of course before the lifestyle audit demonstrated that he was far wealthier than had been anticipated and places the SACP apology to the ANC for booing him in context. If he was worthy of derision at Polokwane, how much more appropriate would that be right now? Moreover, if the delegates at Polokwane felt aggrieved at the conduct of what was then perceived to be a far poorer Malema what would their opinion of him be now?

An apology means that the party giving it feels badly about their conduct, which in hindsight they believe to have been wrong. In this case that the delegates at a Communist Party special conference “wrongly” booed Malema because of his treatment of their leaders and, far more importantly, because he lives like a capitalist.

Is SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande seriously suggesting that his members, having found out that Malema is far wealthier than even they had believed when they booed him, would want him to apologise for their conduct?

This is where we see a classic example of how the conflation of party interests and ideology can occur when membership of the tripartite alliance takes precedence over the very basis for an individual member’s existence. In this case it translates to full blown communists apologising to a capitalist after finding out that he was even more of a capitalist than they thought he was at the time they told him off.

Expedience, thy name is “Putawaythemoralcompass”.

After all, why would the delegates at a communist rally have a problem with a comrade who leads the calls for nationalisation and socialism but lives like a full blown capitalist?

Absurd — must be a personality problem or just total disrespect.

What’s more, Malema emerged from the recent ANCYL NEC sounding a dire warning to ANC leaders who dared to defy the league’s policy positions which was primarily to follow a path of seeking support for the nationalising of mines and the establishment of a state mining company to control the country’s mineral resources prior to the ANC’s policy and elective conferences in 2012.

His rallying call being along the lines of Madiba — President Nelson Mandela — had fought for freedom, the present generations fight is for economic freedom without which the masses could never be truly free.

Accordingly, a full blown capitalist in nature leading the call for nationalisation of the mines and other goodies in the interests of the masses.

The Sunday Times has today written the next chapter in the history of the poorest of the poor and champion of the masses.

“Julius Malema — who has been driving a campaign to nationalise the country’s mines — has emerged as a key lobbyist in the controversial sale of a major state-owned mining asset.

The Sunday Times can today reveal that the government stake in Limpopo-based ASA Metals, valued at R250-million, will be given to a host of politically connected individuals despite it being earmarked for the poor.

They include soccer boss Irvin Khoza and Kgomotso Motlanthe, the son of deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.”

Speculation is rife that the nationalisation campaign is intended to put pressure on Sinosteel — one of the largest trading companies in China — to relinquish its majority shareholding in ASA Metals.

Accordingly, and as widely anticipated, if what the Sunday Times and Eyewitness News are saying is true, then in the event that there is nationalisation of the country’s assets then the last people who will benefit from it will be the masses. Moreover, that while this country is about to pay the price for bandying about the ridiculous notion that we are thinking of nationalising certain industries — thereby occasioning an opportunity cost running into the billions in lost investment — the real reason behind it is so that certain fatcats can extort investors out of their shares.

This means that while Cosatu, who genuinely do believe in some nationalisation and the SACP, who believe in substantial state control of the country’s major assets, are scratching their heads the remaining member of the tripartite alliance are leading the call on “nationalisation” (wink, wink) while playing Come Feather My Nest with the country’s assets.

Capitalists that nationalise and communists that drive fancy cars? No wonder the masses are slightly bemused.

We have become a nation of chameleons where nothing is as it seems and nobody true to their type.

Unfortunately, when the masses finally do run out of patience with the games people are playing right now they will be crushing those in the hot seat like insects. At that point they won’t care who claims to be what, the fact that certain individuals are in possession of the country’s wealth while they are starving will prove irresistible. The reintroduction of the death penalty outside the criminal justice system.