The Young Communist League of SA (uFasimba), led by National Secretary, Buti Manamela, met on Tuesday the 5th of May 2010 with AfriForum Youth, led by its National Chairperson Ernst Roets, at Cosatu House in Braamfontein. The meeting, initiated by the YCLSA, was in response to the racial slurs, fears and insecurities that has been openly expressed within our society especially since the murder of AWB leader Eugene TerreBlanche. The meeting was also in response to the negative and false publicity created especially by the British media that suggests that there is a racial war in our country. The purpose of the meeting, therefore, was to begin dialogue between young people irrespective of their colour as a means to further the ideals of a non-racist, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
The YCLSA and AfriForum Youth agrees that there is a need for open and continuous discussion on the progress made by BEE and Affirmative Action in transforming ownership of our economy and putting black people into managerial positions. We agreed that the purpose of the discussion on both these policies should be aimed to assess the capacity in improving the quality of service delivery in our country, and the transfer or accumulation of skills.
We agreed that at the centre of addressing inequalities in our country, is the need for huge investment by government in skills development and education; so that black people should not be used as tokens in ownership or managerial positions. The YCL also acknowledged that there is creeping pockets of white poverty which our government should equally focus on, but there is a common understanding that we should deal with the underprivileged majority.
Both organisations agreed, however, that we have to address inequalities in our society in terms of training programmes and ownership. The YCL especially emphasized the addressing of inequalities in terms of land and the economy such that they are reflective of the demographics of our country. If we are to unite South Africans, we should concentrate on mobilising them on the basis of the common issues that affects them, rather than on the basis of their race.
The vulnerability in our different communities is mostly bred by the unequal power relations in terms of ownership, and that the sooner government and the private sector move strides to bridge the gap between the haves and the have not's, racial polarisation in South Africa will remain.
Both organisations also agreed on the need to engage into a campaign to address the racial stereo-types which sometimes become the fuel to racial tensions. Stereo-types such as "all black people are thieves" or "all black people are perpetrators of violence"; on the one hand, and on the other that "all whites are racist" or "all whites are rich" and so forth needs to be dealt with as part of our contribution to nation-building.
The YCLSA expressed concerns over the continuous hoisting or waving of the old national flag or the singing of the old national anthem as they are racially polarising our country. The organisations expressed confidence in the constitution as the bearer of human rights, and that the symbols of a new South Africa, such as our anthem and our new flag, are the epitome of national unity and should therefore defended and protected.
AfriForum Youth insisted that they will continue with their court application to declare the song "dubhul' ibhunu" as hate speech, whilst the YCLSA indicated that they will support the ANC's opposition to the case. It was agreed; however, that more needs to be done to liberate all South Africans from fear of a racial onslaught, and that the song would not have been a significant factor if there was guaranteed safety and security for all South Africans. The organisations agreed on continuing to provide political and social leadership in order to liberate our people, black and white, from fear and suspicion and instilling confidence about our new democracy.
Both organisations agreed to strive for a humane society whose values are national unity, safety and security, fighting poverty and hunger, caring for our fellow human beings as the basis for a new South Africa. Part of building this humane society includes fighting greed, corruption, a culture of consumerism and crass materialism. It also includes isolating all forces whose purpose is to perpetuate the racial divide. These are the ideals people such as Nelson Mandela have fought for, and ideals which we are prepared to foster and unite our society on.