Procedure, Plot, Looting, and Critical Pedagogy

The SACP Gauteng Provincial Council (PC) will meet this morning at 09h00 at the NUM offices, LUCS building, corner Rissik and Smit Streets, Braamfontein. This is a crucial meeting. In particular, there are six vacant positions on the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), a motion for the holding of an early Provincial Congress, and notice that the remaining existing leadership is unwilling to serve and not prepared to seek re-election to the PEC at that Congress. The SACP is organised at Branch, District, Provincial and National levels. In Gauteng, the Provincial level is the weakest link at present and it urgently needs to be strengthened. The rump of the PEC is arguing (for the second time) for postponement of elections, in favour of discussing other items. These are State Power, Khutsong, Gautrain, and a Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) document that is not yet on the GPG web site, about some “world-class” globaloney of theirs. Putting these matters before the question of leadership, in circumstances when the Provincial leadership are by their own admission no better than unwilling caretakers, is putting the cart before the horse. Decisions taken will have no effect at Provincial level so long as there is no effective leadership at that level to execute those decisions, as has been the case for a long time now. The Provincial leadership should be replaced immediately and in its entirety, and a Congress held as soon as possible, and not in the dog-days of November as has been proposed. This is only a critical-pedagogic view. The PC, and not the CU, will decide. See links, for SACP Constitution and Hannington’s Rules and Procedure. Contrary to gerrymandering claims made by some officials, the PC receives “delegates representing each branch in proportion to its membership" and not a flat limit for each branch. In any case, the SACP Johannesburg District will hold its own Congress on 24th and 25th June 2006 at Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre, 49 Old Harrow Road, Cnr Alexandra and Saunders Street, Yeoville. Branches will have to elect their delegates for this District Congress at their next BGM. There is only a little more than one month between now and the Congress. The ANC Youth League has asserted that Bulelani Ngcuka, husband of Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, “has been an instrumental element of a plot to deal (former Deputy President of South Africa and still Deputy President of the ANC, Jacob) Zuma a debilitating political blow.” Ngcuka is war-dancing, pretending he will sue the ANCYL, but he will not sue because that will put the former Scorpion in court himself - just at the time when Jacob Zuma is coming loose from the legal traps that Ngcuka set for him (while Ngcuka’s wife was being given Zuma’s job). That would be a nice reversal of fortune, if it were to happen. See link. President Ahmadinejad of Iran wrote a good letter to President Bush last week. Among other things it says: "The people of Africa are hardworking, creative and talented. They can play an important and valuable role in providing for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and spiritual progress. Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening. Don't they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth – including minerals – is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?" See the link below for the full text of President Ahmadinejad’s letter. The Communist University follows the method of Critical Pedagogy. So it is a matter of great interest that Peter McLaren, the foremost exponent and advocate of Critical Pedagogy in the world, and pupil of and successor to the late Paulo Freire, is coming to South Africa to do an event called Travelling Critique, between May 29th and June2nd (see link). Patrick Bond writes: “I gather McLaren, De Lissovoy and Jaramillo will be in CT from 21-24 May, and doing a Wolpe Lecture at CCS on 25 May and a School of Development Studies seminar on 26 May, and on to Jo'burg from 4-6 June.” Click on these links: SACP Constitution (5131 words) Procedure of Meetings, Rules of Debate, Hannington (1516 words) Ngcuka uses lies and deception, ANCYL, News24 (253 words) President Ahmadinejad of Iran, letter to Bush, Asia Times (4025 words) Travelling Critique, Peter McLaren, Paulo Freire Institute (Notice)