Over 800 delegates from across the country attended the Black First Land First (BLF) Launch Conference in Soweto yesterday at which the Black Agenda for blacks only was adopted. The Conference was addressed by, amongst others by Pastor Xola Skosana of the Way of Life Kilombo in Khayelitsha as well as by the veteran social and woman’s liberation activist Bev Ditsie. Two speakers emphasized black unity and black love:
Comrade Ditsie made the point that black leaders sold out the struggle by begging for it from our oppressors in London. She also called upon BLF to fight patriarchy and homophobia inside the movement and in society.Pastor Skhosana called for unity of the Black Consciousness and Pan Afrikanist organisations. To this end a motion calling for an Azanin Front was later put to the house and it got a thunderous applause and endorsement. BLF shall pursue the unity of these formations without delay and realizes that its not an easy task – but a revolutionary necessary task nonetheless. BLF’s National Coordination Committee has already communicated with Pastor Skosana to be the mediator in the explorations of the unity discussions.
The Black Agenda contains a rage of important and innovative proposals including how to undertake a land revolution. On education the Black Agenda proposes a short term strategy of addressing the education crisis and low quality education for black children and the working class in townships, squatter camps and villages through the utilisation of Zimabweans who have O and A levels to co-teach with South African teachers, more so in difficult subjects such as English, Physics and Maths. This is a short term proposals for only five years. In the long term the Black Agenda suggests total decolonisation of education and to close the gap between menial and mental labour as well as between physical and mental labour. Grade 12 learners under the Black Agenda shall be skilled enough to produce food and build houses for themselves amongst other skills.
Black Agenda proposes that township must be eradicated through various interventions including, decongestions, demolitions and upgrading. Also the over housing problem experienced by whites must be solved through both taxation of “extra rooms” or failing that subdivisions of these houses for black occupation. A radical proposal which is part of the housing proposal is the establishment of new settlements which are based on community centers. These centers shall operate as one stop shops for government services and community needs, including such services as child care, community laundry, canteen, libraries, clinics, threatres, computer centers, gymnasium and other such important needs. In this way, the burden of domestic work and child rearing shall be lifted from the shoulders of women.
On health, the Black Agenda recognizes that the main source of unwellness is the food people eat which is produced by the food industry and the medicine they consume which is produced by the medical industry. The circle of disease and profits has to be broken if people are to be healthier. Key to this process is food soverignity, which means people know and are in control of what they eat. Furthermore, alternative and indigenous knowledge systems must be utilised to improve the healthcare of the nation. The Black Agenda notes that so long as healthcare is driven by profits there is no possibility of developing healthy societies.
Marijuana is given a prominent place in the Black Agenda as a plant with massive medicinal possibilities and also important for industrialisation and cultural reproduction. There is also a warning that the decriminalisation of the herb in South Africa is likely to happen only after rights to it has been secured by white monopoly capital. The Black Agenda notes that already in the USA more that 24 states have legalised marijuana for medicinal uses and in more than four countries also for recreational use. The Black Agenda asserts that the only reason the herb has not been decriminalised in South Africa is because of “colonial stupidity”.
The conference adopted a further range of resolutions including, that BLF shall participate in the coming Local Government Elections. The meeting noted that elections cannot bring change. That such participation must be undertaken to enhance the revolutionary mobilisation. The approach to electoral politics is described as “anti politics-political-engagement”, or the notion of using politics to end politics. BLF recognizes that this resolution was intensely debated and was only resolved by a vote which went 60% for and 40% against. The NCC was mandated to continue discussion and clarification of the decision.
On the USA cancer chicken issue, the conference resolved that an official warning be sent to all the outlets which sell the chicken to remove the poison from the shelves. Failure to heed the warnig shall trigger direct action which may include operation “take out cancer chicken”. As part of the Buy Black campaign which was also endorsed, the conference encouraged black people to raise their own chicken and replace the cancer chicken from the USA.
The conference also resolved to defend the rights of people against Banks. To this end it noted that Banks, the Media and Government are in alliance to perpetrate enslavement of the people to the unjust money system run by banks. This alliance has seen for instance the unjustified attack on such schemes as MMM with the hope of collapsing them. BLF shall join hands with those fighting against the freezing of accounts of people by the banks. Furthermore, the poor must be allowed to seek alternative self help mechanisms for financial independence. The conference resolved to support the establishement of a black bank, which must operate on a different system than that of the current exploitative banking system.
A resolution on anti-imperialism noted that currently the media is captured by imperialism and the opposition parties are part of the imperialist regime change strategy. This strategy seeks to re-establish the hegemony of white capital over the economy and in particular to destroy the BRICs process. This explains the coup in Brazil and the calls for a coup by representatives of white capital such as Johann Rupert. The main political and propanda strategy of the regime change process for South Africa is to paint President Zuma and the Gupta family as the enemy so that attention is shifted from white capital and imperialism. The slogans, Zuma Must Fall and Gupta Must Go were all designed in London under the guidance of the war monger Robin Renwich working in cahoots with the likes of Johann Rupert.
The conference commended BLF for taking white capital on. BLF was mandated to intensify the struggle against white capital, which is the real enemy of black people. The criminal cases against Johhan Rupert and eight other captains of industry opened at the Hilbrow Police Station must be followed up and justice must be done! More cases are to be opened against representatives of white capital in particular Johann Rupert for his role in stealing R5 billion from the South African Reserve Bank through the “Life Boat” scandal which is reported to the Public Protector.
The conference closed on a high note, with calls to take back the land by any means necessary and for black people to defend each other whenever there is racist incidents against them. The theme of black love was said to be the overarching commitment for the success of the Black Agenda.
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE OF THE BLACK FIRST LAND FIRST MOVEMENT
15 MAY 2016
Contact Details
Black First Land First Mail: [email protected]
Zanele Lwana
(National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27 79 486 9087
Mail: [email protected]
Lindsay Maasdorp
(National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27 79 915 2957
Mail: [email protected]