25 January 2008

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Comrade John Phumzile Gomomo, who became the Second Deputy President of COSATU in 1989 and was elected President in 1991 until he vacated the position following his redeployment to the national assembly in 1999, passed away at around 11:00 on January 22, 2008.

His family has decided that the funeral be held on February 9, 2008 in Uitenhage.

[COSATU has] produced an initial obituary, which will be published in the Mail and Guardian tomorrow, January 25, 2008. A more detailed obituary will be produced with the assistance of Jay Naidoo, Moses Mayekiso, Enoch Godongwana and others who worked closely with him in COSATU and in his union NUMSA.

Messages of support to his family as well as flowers could be sent to his home address at No.35 Matanzima Road, P.O. KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage.


Thanks to COSATU for the above.


In the first linked document below you will find messages from the SACP, NUMSA, ANC and again COSATU, on the passing of John Gomomo, one of those great ones whose leadership straddled the time of the old regime as well as the democratic breakthrough. Let us try to learn from the memory of this worker leader as it is recounted in the coming days.


The second ANC 52nd National Conference resolution is on Social Transformation and deals with many matters including Health and Education. See the second link below. We have to try to master the detail of these resolutions, comrades. If we do not do so we will be at the mercy of the “analysts”.

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frias, is well loved and respected nationally and internationally. When he announced that he was intending to lead the country towards “21st Century Socialism”, and was founding United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for that purpose, Chávez asked the Communist Party of Venezuela (CPV) to disband itself in favour of its members joining the PSUV. The CPV had a Congress and debated the matter, but concluded that it would not liquidate itself but would continue to exist as an independent vanguard working-class party.

The third linked item is a short and powerful article by CPV Politburo member Carolus Wimmer, originally published in German, in the magazine Junge Welt. It explains very clearly the position of the CPV, and how the alliance between the CPV and President Chávez’ PSUV has now been restored to a condition of alliance, as we in South Africa would call it.

FAWU continues to lead the struggle against the insane and ugly monopoly capitalist exploitation of the poor through their life-giving food, which is virtually a blackmail of life and death. See the fourth item.

The questions around Eskom and the power cuts continue to multiply, and more information comes out in dialogue. The next item is a compilation of two of the contributions to e-mail debate on this subject.

The YCL National Committee will be holding an extended plenary for the remainder of this week. See the linked notice below, and note the crucial items that are on their agenda. See also Coming Events, which continues to grow.

Click on these links:

Messages on the passing of John Gomomo, 24 January 2008 (1378 words)

ANC 52nd National Conference 2007, Social Transformation (2434 words)

Importance of CP as revolutionary organisation, Wimmer, CPV (1240 words)

Bread Prices and Competition Probe, FAWU (368 words)

Load Shedding Debate, Cedric Gina, NUMSA e-mail discussion, and a response (1663 words)

YCL Extended Plenary of National Committee 25-27 January 2008 (Notice)

Coming Events

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