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The ANC Youth League introduced its 24 National Congress in June 2011 with the statement that the theme ‘Youth action for economic freedom in our lifetime' is more than just a congress theme; it is a generational clarion call.

This brings to mind the statement of Frantz Fanon that ‘every generation has to discover its mission... and either fulfil or betray it.' Moses Kotane made a similar call in the South African context, when he said to the youth: ‘the future belongs to you... it will be what you make of it.'

The Youth League graciously called in the same statement for members of society, beyond its own membership (and presumably beyond its generation!) to engage with its Congress documents, and help shape this future. Now that the Congress has passed, one would imagine that the same call is extended to engage with resolutions from its 24th National Congress.

This commentary on the League's Congress is therefore in that spirit. In particular, coming from a former Youth Leaguer, it will seek to interact with the concept of a generational mission, as well as respond to the calls for the ‘reining in' of the ANC Youth League.

Missions of earlier generations

The call by the League for a generational mission is in line with previous generations of young South Africans, who looked at the conditions in the country, and on that basis defined their historic mission.

This started with the very founding of the ANC Youth League in 1944, when its mission became the struggle for the inclusion of the philosophy of African nationalism into the strategic and practical lexicon of the ANC and for a more militant programme of action against apartheid colonialism. The mission of the 1940s generation directly contributed to the organisational and ideological renewal of the ANC in the 1950s.

Following the repression of the 1960s, the youth of Umkhonto we Sizwe were prepared to take up arms in pursuit of freedom, and many, like Solomon Mahlangu, paid the ultimate price. At the same time, the ANC Youth Section made an important contribution by mobilising international youth and students into the anti-apartheid movement (ANCYL, 2000).

Twenty-five years later, Steven Bantu Biko and others defined their generational mission, when they walked out of the 1969 National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) Conference and declared that black man, you're on your own. This generation laid the foundation for the Black Consciousness philosophy, with its emphasis on self-determination and the unity of the oppressed: that Africans, Coloureds and Indians are all blacks and oppressed and must therefore unite in struggle.

This generation's mission not only sharpened our thinking about non-racialism and such clauses in the Freedom Charter as ‘South Africa belongs to all', but also the clause that ‘All national groups shall have equal rights' and what was seen as a ‘four nations approach' to the national question (see for example Mzala, 1985). The mission of the Black Consciousness generation of the 1970s (along with developments in the labour movement) significantly contributed to the revival of an internal resistance movement, as witnessed by 1976 student and youth uprising.

And, after the repression that followed these events, this generation swelled the ranks of the exiled liberation movements and with their energy and militancy took the struggle to a higher level.

Following on the 1976 generation, the young lions of the 1980s picked up their spear. The 1980s generation in their mission took the ‘old' slogan of freedom in our lifetime to a next level and imbued it with an unflinching determination and courage. Although known predominantly for their militancy, the student and youth movements of the time helped to shape the debates within the broader liberation movement. Their contribution towards bringing about the conditions for change in 1990 remains undisputed.

Post-1994: a dearth of a mission?

There is much less consensus about the mission and contribution of the generation of 1990s. A discussion document for the ANCYL 21st National Congress (ANCYL, 2000) titled Coming of age: political positioning and organisational renewal of the ANCYL noted that young people took a backseat during the negotiations period, in part because, unlike the women's movement, they failed to push for direct representation during the negotiations. Despite this, the ANC Youth League of that time was instrumental in the approach of combining mass action and negotiations and in the discussions on post apartheid policies.

It was the ANCYL, for example, that led the approach to post-apartheid policing with its engagement of the then South African Police in a conference in Soweto in 1992, which emerged with the concept of community policing. Along with other youth organisations in the National Youth Development Forum, it helped challenge public perceptions of a ‘lost generation' and put forward a vision of post-apartheid youth development that still forms the foundation of our youth policies and institutions.

And yet, Everatt (2000) called the 1990s ‘the dead decade' for youth, citing that, despite their contribution and position in society, the 147-page Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) document dedicated one and a half pages to youth development and that not a single one of the Presidential Lead Projects announced by President Mandela in 1994 was aimed at young people.

The ANCYL 2000 Coming of Age document engages with these contradictions posing the problem thus:

"How did we get to a situation that, by the end of the 90s the youth known at the beginning of the decade as the young lions of the struggle - were now variously referred to as the ‘Boom Shaka', ‘Yizo Yizo' generation, the Born frees or spoken of in relation to apathy, disinterest in politics, HIV prevalence, crime, consumerism and poor examination results?"

The document in the main blamed the slowness of the League and the youth movement in general to adapt to the post-apartheid terrain for this situation. The 21st National Congress in 2000 took to heart the words of former Youth League President Peter Mokaba when handing over the reigns to a new generation at the 18th Congress in 1994, that the League must ‘adapt or die.' In response, the League adopted Youth Vision 2000, and resolved among other things to modernise its organisation, adapt a more disaggregated approach towards organising different sectors of the youth and to form an Economic Commission that focuses on the issues of youth unemployment and economic transformation.

South Africa's Generation Next and their mission of economic freedom

The 24th ANCYL National Congress in June 2011 boldly stated that the mission of the current generation of youth is economic freedom in their lifetime. It specifically interpreted the clause in the Freedom Charter that South Africa belongs to all as meaning not only politically, but also in terms of social and economic rights. This interpretation is in line with the Constitution of South Africa, which encompasses first generation human rights, as well as second and third generations socio-economic rights, in the context of historical injustices.

The Youth League 24th National Congress defines this mission of economic freedom in a document - A clarion call to economic freedom fighters: programme of action for economic freedom in our lifetime. The League analyses the present situation, drawing the conclusion that nearly two decades after the end of apartheid, the "vestiges of apartheid and economic patterns, ownership and control remain intact, despite the attainment of political freedom by the ANC-led liberation movement. Political freedom without economic emancipation is meaningless."

Citing research from both the left and right, the document notes that "...South Africa's unemployment levels are at critical levels, poverty massive, and that the country is the most unequal society in the world..."

The Youth League further draws attention to the fact that these schisms are still largely along racial (and we must add gender) lines, with the burden of unemployment disproportionately affecting young people. These, it concludes, are therefore the painful realities that define South Africa in 2011.

This analysis of post apartheid South Africa - and the concern about social and economic emancipation - is not unique to the Youth League. At the approach of the anniversary of our first decade of freedom in 2004, the South African government in Towards a Ten Year Review (2003) noted:

"The advances made in the First Decade by far superseded the weaknesses. Yet, if all indicators were to continue along the same trajectory, especially in respect of the dynamic of economic inclusion and exclusion, we could soon reach a point where the negatives start to overwhelm the positives."

Five years later, in Towards a Fifteen Year Review (2008) government again warned:
"South Africa could continue along this path, barely denting structural ills such as massive unemployment among the youth and unskilled workers, the structure of the economy, poor quality in some social services and trends in violent crime. With this, society would plod along with occasional social instability and periodic spurts of growth."

The National Planning Commission in its Diagnostic Report in 2011 noted some of the same realities as ‘nine critical challenges' facing South Africa today:
That too few South Africans are employed.
That our education system delivers poor outcomes for most.
That our country has a high disease burden.
That South Africans continue to live in divided communities.
That our public services are of uneven quality and performance.
That spatial organisation (where people live and work) continues to marginalise the poor
That corruption levels are high.
That our resource-intensive economy is unsustainable.
That our infrastructure is inadequate and poorly maintained.
There is therefore no question that the national debate on the social and economic emancipation that the League delegates called for, is long overdue.

What does the Youth League propose?

The League calls for decisive steps to transform the economy, through what it calls "7 cardinal pillars for economic freedom in our lifetime." These pillars are:
Expropriation without compensation for equitable redistribution.
Nationalisation for industrialisation.
Inclusive and decentralised economic growth and development.
Land restitution and agrarian reform.
Building a strong developmental state and public service.
Massive investment in the development of the African economy.
Provision of education, skills and expertise to the people.
Its 24th Congress document details the actions required in each of these pillars. For example, under pillar 1 it proposes an "amendment of the property clause to empower the state to expropriate for public purpose and in the public interest," thus calling for a planned and legal process, rather than the ‘land-grab' that some suggests.

Its pillar 2 calls for state ownership and control of strategic sectors of the economy as part of a broader industrialisation drive. The commanding sectors that should be behind such an industrialisation drive are minerals and metals, banks, energy production and telecommunications, as well as central transport and logistics. The League document does not suggest a ‘holus-bolus' approach to nationalization, even in its proposals on the mines (discussed in Umrabulo 33, 2010). For example, on the banks it identifies as immediate tasks the creation of a State Bank (a position adopted by the ANC 3rd NGC in 2010) and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank, accompanied by the transformation of the rest of the financial and banking sector.

Pillar 3 on inclusive and decentralised growth revives some of the debates of the early 1990s and raises new issues. The League echoes the earlier call for a ‘growth through redistribution approach', focusing on labour-intensive growth, and redistribution through the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, education, housing, health and subsidised transport. It calls for the decommodification of essential services, especially health, water, education and housing. Evidence, it argues, points towards a rise in labour participation when basic needs are met.

In the discussion on decentralised growth, the Youth League engages with the National Spatial Development Framework, agreeing with the focus on areas where growth and employment strategies will be effective and sustainable, but calls for more robust programmes of Industrial Development Zones (IDZs). It identifies nine areas (Sekhukhune, Welkom, Bojanala, Kuruman, Witbank, Overberg, East London, Coega and Far North KZN) where the state should actively intervene through a rural industrialisation and urbanisation programme, creating IDZs and planned new cities over the next decade.

Of course, as a youth movement, the League should be concerned with education. Thus, it suggests in pillar 7 the alignment of skills development to industrialisation, expansion of post-secondary education and training, transformation of higher education and training, and introducing scholarships to allow for larger numbers of South African students to study overseas. This focus is important, given the fact that there are close to 800,000 vacancies in the high-skill categories, according to the Adcorp Employment Index.

Also, from a youth labour market perspective, providing post-secondary education opportunities to greater numbers of 19-24 year olds will not only keep them out of the unemployment statistics, but also address the shift from a low-skilled labour force towards a labour force with median and higher skills levels.

In similar vein, detailed approaches are suggested on the other cardinal pillars, including land and agrarian reforms. Contrary to the suggestions by some of ‘uneducated, populist sloganeering', the Youth League seeks to engage the issues and sees itself as part of the process of proposing solutions to the very difficult and persistent challenges identified by the National Planning Commission.

Should the Youth League be reined in? Should the youth shut up and listen?

There has been a chorus of calls for the ANC to rein in the Youth League, because its statements are ‘divisive and irresponsible'. This brings to mind the lyrics of the song by Mike and the Mechanics that ‘every generation blames the one before'. Except in South Africa, we the older generations pride ourselves on blaming younger generations, with "all of our frustrations, come beating at their door"!

It shows a lack of appreciation for the role that young people play in the processes of social change. Imagine where South Africa would be today if not for the interventions of the generations of Mandela, Lembede, Tambo, Mda and Sisulu in the 1940s, Biko and others in the 1970s and the young lions of the 1980s. Imagine the anti-colonial movements in Africa, South America and Asia - without the bravery and, yes, quite often recklessness of the young people from these continents.

Imagine twentieth century history without the actions by the students and youth of France, Poland, the USA and other parts of Europe and South America in 1968. Or just imagine the intifada without the Palestinian youth; the anti-globalisation movement and the G20 without the actions of the youngsters in Seattle and Cancun, or, as recently as 2011, the Arab Spring without its generation of Tweeters and Facebookers?

These examples point towards some of the key features of being young: the spirit of idealism, inexperience, sense of adventure, the anti-establishment sentiments and rebelliousness. So do the slogans of these youth revolts: Demand the Impossible hailed a poster in Paris in 1968. Freedom or Death. Victory is Certain rang the battle cry of the young lions of the 1980s. Growth is madness acclaimed a poster by an anti-World Economic Forum protester in the 1990s.

Indeed these very characteristics that are associated with being young open young people up to make mistakes. However, a wise society does not, like the Gaullists did in 1968, tell the youth to Be young and shut up! It acknowledges that making mistakes and learning through experience is a critical part of the development of young people.

Thus, when our generation fought for the Youth League's autonomy in 1991, we argued: "a profound appreciation by the youth of the democratic ideals we are fighting for is better consolidated if verified by their independent experience." Similarly, 20 years later, if we want young people to appreciate the economic ideals we hold dear (whatever they are), it will be better consolidated if verified by their independent experience.

At the same time, the Youth League generation of the early 1990s argued that recognising the freedom of expression of the young, even things we deeply disagree with, does not mean that the older generations should abandon its responsibility of engaging with the youth. Instead, they should appreciate the social character of the youth and the nature of the Youth League, avoiding ‘stereotypes and uniformity rigidly imposed from above'.

Let me make a few examples of how this translates into practice. The ANC Youth League was vehemently opposed to the suspension of armed struggle even before negotiations started in 1990. We argued, in the context of the violence in KZN and the then PWV (now Gauteng), which we believed was sponsored by the apartheid government, that to leave our people defenceless while talking to the enemy is a mistake.

Instead of telling us to shut-up and listen to our elders, the ANC leadership of Mandela and Sisulu called in the League National Executive Committee and had a frank discussion: we explained our difficulty with their decision and they explained why we need to prevent the slide towards civil war. At the end of this meeting, we were still not happy with the decision, but we felt that our concerns were heard - later expressed in the call to form self-defence units.

Another example. One of the members of the ANC Youth League National Executive Committee, the late Derek Masoek in 1992 wrote a discussion paper that caused quite an uproar in the ranks of the ANC leadership. It was titled "Insurrection - the forbidden discourse in the ANC,' arguing that in the context of the actions that lead to the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, we need to complement talks at the negotiations table with mass insurrectionary action.

The Youth League introduced this debate in the ANC, and engaged the leadership of the ANC on these matters. And, not a single meeting of the Youth League NEC took place without a member of the ANC NEC presenting a briefing on the negotiations process and engaging with the League on its concerns and suggestions.

Even when the League made statements that were clearly problematic, ANC leadership engaged with the youth. Such was the case when, in the midst of the violence that claimed over 10,000 lives, Youth League President Peter Mokaba vowed in 1993 that unless something is done to stop violence from the hostels, we will dismantle them ourselves, ‘brick by brick'; or when, in 1995, League President Mlungisi Johnson argued in a speech at Stellenbosch University that the Springbok emblem personifies the racist past of rugby and should be done away with.

Thus, we cautioned in our autonomy document in 1991 that the older generations must never be afraid to allow young people their voice and the space to learn from their experiences, good and bad. The Youth League 24th Congress and its outcomes should therefore be seen as an opportunity to engage with the current generations of youth.

Post-script: a global phenomena

Anyone who listened to the messages of support of the international youth guests to the ANC Youth League 24th Congress (or the World Youth festival hosted by South Africa in December 2010) will realise that something is happening among young people on the continent and globally.

The Arab Spring was a youth-led revolution. In Portugal, Greece and Spain, it was young people who led the protests against ordinary citizens having to bear the brunt of the financial crisis, when European governments spent billions on bailing out those responsible. In November 2010, the British establishment was rocked when the ‘usually apathetic' student and youth took to the streets to protest against tuition fee increases and the privatisation of higher education.

Many commentators talk about a growing ‘discontent' among young people everywhere. Thus wrote Oliver Huitson in Global Research (18 March 2010) about this phenomenon among youth in the West:

"Generational politics is undoubtedly on the rise. This year has already seen the publication of two books on the subject: David Willett's The Pinch... and the indispensable Jilted Generation by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik. Though both texts are cautious in directing blame, they set out solid and well-sourced arguments for a nation that has lost touch with generational obligations. From housing and PFI [Private Finance Initiative] to pensions and education, the picture that emerges is one of rampant asset stripping from both past and future. The primary losers, throughout, are young people."

Globally, it is now an acceptable mantra that the youth unemployment rate is double the unemployment rate among adults. North Africa and the Middle East, according to the ILO's Global Employment Trends for Youth, are the regions with the highest rate of youth unemployment, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa. The Youth League 24th Congress in their clarion call for economic freedom highlighted the fact that 70% of the unemployed in South Africa are young men and women.

Frank Meintjies on the eve of Youth Day 2011 (South African Civil Society Information Service 2011) drew the link between the challenges faced by South African youth and their counterparts on the continent, when he wrote:

"Youth in South Africa today face many similarities with the youth in the rest of the continent. While youth increase as a proportion of the population, their socio-economic position worsens. Although youth have better options compared to counterparts in many African countries, our challenge is more urgent due to higher levels of inequality.

In SA youth form a majority – youth under 30 years of age make up 30 million out of a population of about 50 million. Youth share in the problems of unemployment and are equally affected by poverty with its race, spatial and gender dimensions. They are in the direct firing line of problems of exclusion and marginalisation. They bear the brunt in a context where there is widespread wastage of human resources in an economy beset by low growth, capital intensity and limited employment creation."

Again Huitson in the same article had this to say about the labour market situation of British youth today, with many of these issues confronting young South Africans as they enter the labour market as well:

"The move to a "flexible" labour market has also caused particular problems for young people. The term is a generous euphemism for depressed wages and low job security, facilitated by the globalised flow of labour and industry-friendly employment reforms. Consequently, there is little incentive to train staff or offer apprenticeships; these costs are instead offloaded onto employees themselves and the taxpayer in general. The number of apprenticeships available has duly plummeted. Earlier this year, a BT scheme received 24,000 applications for just 221 positions.

In this "so called" recession, job losses among young people have risen faster than any other age group leaving nearly a million 16-24 year olds currently unemployed (BBC). Swelling the bottom end of a labour market is undoubtedly good for both business and the well-off, who benefit from cheaper costs and prices, but it is the young and the low-waged who are hit hardest. The generational spread of wealth has grown increasingly lopsided: the baby boom generation now own a full half of the country's property and assets; the under 45s own less than a tenth."

As the ANC and other generations in our society more broadly, we should therefore heed the word of caution from the outgoing ANCYL Secretary General, Vuyiswa Tulelo, in her Organisational Report to the 24th Congress:

"We listened to the youth of Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen as they said: ‘to have a beautiful struggle history is not enough, to give us education and not use us in economic development is not on. Give us our voice, let us choose our own leaders and allow us to participate in the economy of the country."

The ANCYL noted, and whispered to the ANC, ‘we hope you are listening to us'.