Press Statement post BLF NCC
02 April 2017
The National Coordination Committee (NCC) of Black First Land First (BLF) met yesterday to assess the state of our organization and also the state of the nation.
The NCC received with great revolutionary joy the news of the reshuffling of cabinet by President Zuma. BLF has been calling for the removal of Pravin Gordhan from his position as Minister of Finance for more than a year. Gordhan was appointed through intrigue in 2015 after white monopoly capital, through economic terrorism, shaved off R500 billion from the JSE within days.
BLF has opened a criminal case of corruption and launched a High Court application to have the former Minister of Finance , Pravin Gordhan, declared “compromised, conflicted and captured”. The criminal case relates to Gordhan having contravened Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004.
The High Court application relates to how Pravin Gordhan couldn’t carry out his duties because he was a servant and business partner of the rogue banks and entities such as Unilever which steals from the poor. Moreover he directly benefits from these offending entities. .
Gordhan was not suited to be Minister of Finance. He worked for white monopoly capital against the interests of the nation. BLF welcomes the removal of Gordhan from office by President Zuma. It was long overdue.
BLF notes the malicious campaign launched by agents of London and white monopoly capital against both President Zuma and the newly appointed cabinet ministers. We note that the attack on the President is led by the united front of reactionaries led by Pravin Gordhan, Zwelinzima Vavi and Helen Zille through her proxy Mmusi Maimane who in turn has just been to London to get instructions from Lord Robin Renwick. We note that this campaign of lies and deception is directed specifically at the Minister of Finance, Mr Malusi Gigaba, and his deputy. White monopoly capital and British imperialism is doing all it can to undermine the new Minister of Finance with the hope of maintaining its hold over the Treasury.
The local media under the broad political direction of Johann Rupert has been unleashed to tarnish the integrity of the new Minister of Finance. In this regard racist tropes are being mobilised such as the idea of the inherent incapacity of the African. The apartheid racial hierarchy has been revived by the “Save South Africa” racist crowd and the name of the late Ahmed Kathdrada has been used to effect the anti-black notion promoted by Mahatma Ghandi that Africans are beneath the Indian. The caimpaign to rubbish the new minister is driven by a tribalist anti-black sentiment, well established by colonialism and given legal effect by apartheid. This anti black idea puts whites on top of the racial hierarchy and places the so-called Indian second above the so-called Coloured and the African. From this notion Ghandi was able to say things like, “[i]t was a gross injustice to seek to place Indians in the same class as the Kaffirs.” This anti black idea, internalized by the leadership of the Indian community following Gandhi’s example, is also based on the assumption that Indians are better than Africans. Here is Ghandi again:
“In the face, too, of financial operations, the success of which many of their detractors would envy, one fails to understand the agitation which would place the operators in the same category as the half-heathen Native and confine him to Locations, and subject him to the harsher laws by which the Transvaal Kaffir is governed.”
From this deeply ingrained anti black sentiment, the deduction is made that Pravin Gordhan is capable and Malusi Gigaba is incompetent. No evidence is required for this claim, the racist anti black logic is enough. Similarly, despite piles of evidence to show Gordhan is in fact corrupt, the idea pushed by the Johann Rupert media is that Gordhan is “incorruptible” and Zuma is corrupt. This is how the well-established anti-black western belief system operates. Mr Malusi Gigaba is a victim of anti black Indian superiority complex which is in synch with whiteness. Ghandi was with whites against Africans.
Steve Biko through Black Consciousness cured the so-called Indians of South Africa of their false superiority complex created by colonialism and apartheid and reminded them that they too are black.
The Pravin Gordhan gang is breaking black unity by siding with white monopoly capital against the African using corrupt stooges like Mcebisi Jonas, Sipho Pityana, Julius Malema and Zwelinzima Vavi. Gordhan must cure himself of the Indian superiority complex and adopt black consciousness. But would he? Gordhan is too deep inside the pockets of white monopoly capital to remember he is black.
President Zuma’s magnificent reshuffling of cabinet has yet again exposed the hand of imperialism in South Africa. The agents of imperialism inside and outside the ANC are mobilising through lies and propaganda with the help of the white owned media. Nothing they report is true. Their campaign of lies is now focused on Malusi Gigaba. We must resist this assault on the Minister of Finance. BLF calls on all righteous people to stand up and not allow evil to prevail in our midst.
There is a lie told in different guises meant to raise the anger of the people. This lie is based on the insinuation that President Zuma acted unlawfully by reshuffling cabinet. This is a piece of evil propaganda. Zuma acted within his rights as set out in the Constitution. The second lie peddled is that Zuma reshuffled cabinet to surrender the county to the Guptas. This begs the questions; is radical economic transformation a Gupta programme? Is land expropriation without compensation a Gupta programme? Let the detractors answer.
BLF calls on our people not to be misled by corrupt agents of white monopoly capital. The President has made good decisions for the country. We must insist that these radical economic changes happen and land is returned.
BLF says, “Hands-off President Zuma” and “Defend Minister Gigaba”!
BLF also notes the attack on the free press by Pravin Gordhan and the white employed journalists who cheered him on when he launched an unwarranted attack on the journalists and commentators of ANN7. BLF notes the silence of the so-called defenders of the freedom of expression on this neo-fascism of Gordhan. BLF calls Pravin Gordhan to a public debate on why he is “compromised; conflicted and captured”. Pravin must stop playing bully-boy in the mist of his cheerleaders who masquerade as journalists.
BLF calls on the nation to stop the neo-fascism of the London controlled imperialist agents inside and outside the ANC. We must defend radical change and demand for more and concrete steps.
We ask the Minister of Finance to disregard the London-driven agenda meant to harass him into submission. These attacks are meant to make the Minister yet another lackey of white monopoly capital.
BLF has agitated for an objective criteria for the appointment of a progressive Finance Minister which must incoportate, amongst other things, the following elements:
1. Must have a track record of confronting white monopoly capital.
2. Must have a tract record of serving black people and black business interests.
3. Must possess an understanding of the history of oppression and radical black philosophies such as Black Consciosuness and Pan Afrikanism.
4. Must have no common interests with white monopoly capital.
5. Must put people before profits.
6. Mudt have a good grasp of the economy and state.
7. Must have a demeanor in synch with the demands of “Rradical Economic” change.
8. Must have no regard for western controlled rating agencies.
9. Must be pro BRICS.
10. Must subscribe to the idea of “growth through redistribution”.
In other words, a person replacing Pravin Gordhan must be opposed to the Washington Consensus and the neo-liberal economic policy. A new minister must at least satify 70% of the criteria so as to enable him to put the whole machinery of Treasury on a path to a new dispensation.
BLF asks Minister Gigaba to consider , amongst the preliminary key deliverables, to do the following:
1. Fully licence black banks such as Ithala, VBS and PostBank within a year.
2. Licence 10 black banks in the next five years.
3. Immediately terminate all goverment accounts with ABSA.
4. Nationalise the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
5. Raise the percentage for black-owned businesses for procurement spend from government by 80% (R500 billion plus the R900 billion infrastructure expenditure). And ensure that PIC mandates to asset management goes to 80% black asset managers ( R1.8 trillion).
6. Establish a State Bank within 2 years.
7. Insist black youth and women are properly represented in the 80% black centered goverment procurement spend.
8. Raise the penalties for collusion to 100% of the revenue of the offending businesses for each year of transgression.
9. Halve uneployment in the next 5 years!
10. Prioritise SADC economic intergration.
These measures are important to kick-start a process towards radical transformation of the economy. A period of explosion of radical thought and experimentation must be encouraged, with a firm commitment to putting wealth in black hands. This can be done with the whole goverment leadership pulling together.
Complementary radical developments must happen in the areas of land redistribution; mining and energy; and industry and trade.
These measures are possible, and the President’s rightly radical posture could provide great impetus to these outcomes. However, to realise this, these measures cannot rely on technical top-down bureaucratic leadership. The collective energies and wisdom of the people must be mobilized from the base. A radical economic reconstruction is necessarily mass based. Do not fear the masses, be inspired by the masses!
BLF shall embark on protest action in support of radical economic liberation and the call for land expropriation without compensation by President Zuma. We call on society to join us on protecting and promoting the Black Agenda.
We say “Defend Miniser Gigaba” and “Hands-off President Zuma”!
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF THE BLACK FIRST LAND FIRST MOVEMENT (BLF NCC)
2 April 2017
Contact Details
Black First Land First Mail: [email protected]gmail.com
Zanele Lwana
(National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27799867225
Mail: [email protected]m
Lindsay Maasdorp
(National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27 79 915 2957
Mail: [email protected]om
Brian Tloubatla
(Deputy National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27 82 216 7664
Mail: [email protected]