YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE OF SOUTH AFRICA (UFASIMBA)

7th National Congress Discussion Document

ON LEADERSHIP,

CONTINUITY AND RENEWAL

Approaching the Leadership Question from Communist Foundations

Prepared for delegates of the YCLSA 7th National Congress

10-12 July 2026

Theme: "Youth to the Front: Rescue the NDR. Advance Towards People's Power!"

Ref: YCLSA/PR/7NC/DISC-006

Policy & Research Committee | Office of the 2nd Deputy National Secretary

Draft v1.0 | 7 July 2026 | INTERNAL - FOR DISCUSSION

YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE OF SOUTH AFRICA Office of the National Secretary | COSATU House, 110 Jorissen Street (4th Floor), Braamfontein, Johannesburg Tel: 011 339 3621 | yclsaheadquarters@gmail.com | www.yclsa.org.za

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary of Terms 3

Abstract 4

Key Proposals at a Glance 5

1. Introduction: Why Leadership Matters at This Congress 6

2. The Historical Mission and the Leadership Tradition 7

3. The Conjuncture and the Demands It Places on Leadership 9

4. What Kind of YCLSA Are We Building? 11

5. The Principles of Organisational Democracy 12

6. The Broad Requirements of Leadership 13

7. Continuity and Renewal: The Dialectic 15

8. The Negative Challenges on the New Terrain 17

9. The Dangers of Congress-Season Leadership 18

10. How Members Take Charge: The Selection Process 19

11. Questions for Congress 21

12. Draft Resolutions 22

13. Conclusion 23

References 24

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS

This glossary assists all delegates to engage fully with the discussion.

Cadre: A member developed through political education and active struggle into a conscious communist.

Collective leadership: The principle that leadership is exercised by a collective, not an individual; decisions are taken collectively and defended collectively.

Congress-season leader: A person who emerges as a candidate for leadership only at election time, without a sustained record of organisational work — a manifestation of opportunism.

Continuity and renewal: The dialectical principle that organisational leadership must combine the wisdom and experience of tested cadres with the energy and fresh perspectives of new leaders.

Democratic centralism: The organisational principle combining freedom of discussion with unity of action.

Entitlement: The anti-communist notion that leadership is a status to be claimed rather than a responsibility to be earned through service.

Factionalism: The organisation of cliques, slates, or factional groupings that undermine collective leadership — prohibited by the Constitution.

Lobbying: The act of seeking to influence delegates’ choice of leadership; must be open and principled, not secret and factional.

Opportunism: (Lenin) The pursuit of personal or short-term advantage at the expense of the organisation’s long-term interests and principles.

Preparatory school: The constitutional role of the YCLSA as the formation ground for future communists of the SACP.

Renewal: The infusion of new cadres, new perspectives, and new energy into the leadership collective — without rupture or destabilisation.

Secret lobbying: The practice of privately influencing delegates outside constitutional structures — a violation of organisational democracy.

ABSTRACT

This discussion paper is prepared for the delegates of the 7th National Congress to guide the organisation’s approach to the leadership question — the election of the National Committee, and especially the National Office Bearers. The paper is grounded in the understanding that the leadership question is not a matter of personalities or factions but of principles, character, and the demands of the conjuncture.

The paper argues that the 7th Congress takes place at a moment of unprecedented strategic importance: the SACP’s independent electoral project, the rollout of the 12 Popular Youth Fronts, the deepening international work, and the organisational rebuilding of the League. These challenges demand leadership that is tested, experienced, rooted in the work, and trusted by the Party and the movement. They demand the dialectical combination of continuity and renewal — not rupture, not destabilisation, and not the opportunism of congress-season candidatures.

The paper draws on the traditions of the communist movement — the examples of Hani, Slovo, Kotane, Mabhida, Marks, Dadoo and others — to articulate the character of leadership the YCLSA requires. It confronts the negative trends of the post-re-establishment period (opportunism, self-promotion, secret lobbying, entitlement, factionalism) and sets out the principles by which delegates should assess candidates: sustained work, organisational loyalty, ideological clarity, and service to the people. The paper does not advocate for any individual. It argues for the principles by which the membership should make its choice.

KEY PROPOSALS AT A GLANCE

For delegates who wish to move quickly to the key arguments:

Approach the leadership question from communist foundations — not from personality, faction, or sentiment.

Recognise the conjuncture demands tested, experienced leadership — the SACP’s independent electoral project, the 12 Youth Fronts, and the international work are unprecedented challenges requiring leaders embedded in them.

Embrace continuity and renewal as a dialectical principle — the wisdom of tested cadres combined with the energy of new leaders, without rupture or destabilisation.

Reject congress-season leadership — candidates who emerge only at election time, without a sustained record of work, embody the opportunism this document condemns.

Condemn secret lobbying, factionalism, and self-promotion — the selection of leaders must be open, principled, and based on record and character.

Assess candidates against the principles set out herein — sustained organisational work, ideological clarity, loyalty to the collective, service to the people, and freedom from opportunism.

Ensure the 40% gender floor and non-racial character of the leadership collective — not as tokenism but as the genuine representation of the working-class youth.

Honour the liberation tradition — leadership must reflect the continuity of the revolutionary tradition embodied by Hani, Slovo, Kotane, Mabhida and others.

1. INTRODUCTION: WHY LEADERSHIP MATTERS AT THIS CONGRESS

The question of leadership is often avoided in progressive organisations. It is treated as sensitive, divisive, or premature — as if discussing it openly would itself cause division. This approach is itself a symptom of the problem. A communist organisation that cannot discuss its leadership openly, frankly, and from principled foundations is an organisation that has not yet fully internalised the culture of democratic centralism. This document seeks to guide the YCLSA’s approach to the leadership question at the 7th National Congress with clarity, honesty, and revolutionary discipline.

The principle that must guide us is this: we differ in agreement, rather than agreeing to differ. There are no fundamental ideological differences among us. We share a common Marxist-Leninist foundation, a common commitment to the working class, and a common strategic horizon of socialism. Where we differ, it is on tactical approaches to specific issues — and these differences must never be permitted to harden into permanent divisions, factions, or personal camps. The leadership question must be approached from this understanding.

The YCLSA’s 7th National Congress takes place after a number of experiences and lessons — especially the dynamics of the 3rd, 5th and 6th Congresses. We are now in a position to confidently assert that we have learned lessons in the past decade and are not willing to repeat them. We have seen how congress-season opportunism, secret lobbying, and factional slates weaken the organisation. We have seen how the wrong approach to leadership produces collectives that cannot lead. This Congress must do better.

2. THE HISTORICAL MISSION AND THE LEADERSHIP TRADITION

The YCLSA exists to serve as a critical school of the revolution and a source of cadres to build and lead our great and glorious South African Communist Party. For this reason alone, the YCLSA cannot dare to fail in rising to the challenge of approaching the leadership question correctly and getting it right from the onset.

2.1. Distinct from Reactionary Practice

It must be apparent to all that YCLSA leadership must be distinct — based on its Marxist-Leninist organisational character — from the reactionary practice of entitlement that has become a significant trend in many progressive organisations. It has become fashionable that even opportunists would state that ‘to become a leader of the people is not entitlement and is not about an easy process attached merely to status,’ and yet actual practice shows these individuals differently. The YCLSA must reject this trend absolutely.

Those in leadership positions should unite and guide the YCLSA to be the head of youth and young workers’ struggle for radical change — for revolution to socialism and ultimately communism. Those in leadership responsibility should lead the YCLSA in its mission to inspire, excite, conscientise, train, educate, mobilise and organise young people for socialism. YCLSA leaders should be driven by the continuous desire to acquire first knowledge and information about societal matters, by the desire and commitment to serve the people, and by the desire to lead and mobilise young people for socialism.

2.2. The Liberation Tradition

Those in leadership should not be there for status but as humble servants dedicated to lead, handle and cherish the work and legacy of Hani, Slovo, Mabhida, Kotane, Marks, Dadoo, Andrews, Tamana, Matomela, First, Papiyana, Nkosi, Nzula, Bunting and Makgathi — as the only jewel of their eyes. They should lead with diligence and together they should reflect a continuity of revolutionary tradition and renewal that sustains the revolutionary, working-class, youth and socialist movement in the long term.

What do these names teach us about leadership? They teach us that communist leadership is forged in struggle, tested over time, and proven through sustained work — not manufactured at congress season. Kotane led the Party for decades through the underground and exile. Hani was forged in the trenches of the armed struggle and the ideological battles of the movement. Slovo combined theoretical clarity with organisational discipline. Mabhida gave his life to the cause. None of these leaders emerged through secret lobbying or last-minute campaigns. They emerged through work, sacrifice, and the confidence of the movement built over years.

“A soldier without ideological training and political formation is a potential criminal.” - President Thomas Sankara

This warning from Sankara applies to leadership as much as to membership. A leader without ideological formation, without a sustained record of work, without the confidence earned through service, is not a leader but a liability. The YCLSA must elect leaders who embody the qualities of our liberation heroes — not leaders who mimic the practices of bourgeois politics.

3. THE CONJUNCTURE AND THE DEMANDS IT PLACES ON LEADERSHIP

The 7th Congress takes place at a moment of unprecedented strategic importance. The challenges facing the organisation in the new term are greater, more complex, and more consequential than at any previous congress since re-establishment. The leadership the Congress elects must be equal to these challenges — not merely in intention, but in tested capacity.

3.1. The Strategic Challenges

The incoming leadership will inherit the following strategic challenges, each of which demands leaders who have been tested in them:

The SACP’s independent electoral project. The Party has taken the historic decision to contest elections independently, beginning with the 2026 Local Government Elections. The YCLSA is the organised youth instrument of this project. Leading it requires comrades who have built the relationship with the Party, who understand the strategic implications, and who carry the confidence of the SACP. The bond between the YCLSA and its vanguard mother body is not forged overnight. It is built through years of disciplined service, shared struggle, tested reliability, and proven loyalty to the working-class project. At the precise moment when the Party embarks on its most consequential strategic repositioning in the democratic era, this bond cannot be subjected to the turbulence of untested hands. The incoming leadership collective must carry forward this trust — hard-won, carefully built, and essential to the advance of the entire movement. To disrupt it now would be to weaken not only the League, but the Party it exists to serve.

The 12 Popular Youth Fronts. The Youth Manifesto, with its 12 fronts, is the most ambitious programme the YCLSA has adopted since re-establishment. Rolling it out requires leaders who designed it, who understand it, and who have the relationships with communities, unions, and the Party to make it real.

The international work. The League’s engagement with the WFDY, the solidarity campaigns, and the proposal to build a Progressive Youth International Front require leadership that is embedded in these formations and trusted internationally. International solidarity is not a title to be claimed; it is a bond to be built, tested, and proven through years of principled engagement with fraternal movements across the world. The trust of the global anti-imperialist youth front is earned through presence, consistency, and the demonstrated capacity to deliver. The incoming leadership collective must inherit, carry forward, and deepen these relationships — not rebuild them from the ashes of disruption. At a moment when imperialism is on the offensive and international coordination is a strategic necessity, the continuity of these bonds is not a matter of preference but of revolutionary duty.

The organisational rebuilding. The League Building agenda — branch reconfiguration, political education, the People’s Red Caravan, the 40% gender floor, the constitutional amendments — requires leaders who understand the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses from the inside, through sustained work, not from the outside through observation.

The conjuncture itself. ANC decline, the MK Party, the Government of National Coalition, the rise of fascism and right-wing populism, the youth unemployment crisis — these demand leadership that has been engaged in analysing and responding to the conjuncture over time, not leadership that has discovered the conjuncture at congress season.

3.2. The Implication

The implication is not that only incumbents may lead. The implication is that the conjuncture demands the dialectical combination of continuity and renewal — the tested experience of those who have carried the organisation through this period, combined with the energy and fresh perspectives of new cadres who will be brought into the collective. What the conjuncture does not permit is rupture: the displacement of tested leadership by untested alternatives, at the moment of greatest strategic challenge, for reasons that have nothing to do with principle and everything to do with ambition.

As Lenin cautioned, revolutionary tactics cannot be built on revolutionary moods alone. The enthusiasm of a new candidate is not a substitute for the tested capacity of a leader who has navigated the organisation through real challenges. The desire for change is not itself an argument for change — especially when the change would destabilise the organisation at the moment it most needs stability.

Questions for Congress

What are the strategic challenges the incoming leadership will inherit, and what capacities do they demand?

Does the conjuncture favour continuity with renewal, or does it demand rupture?

How should delegates weigh enthusiasm and promise against tested experience and sustained work?

4. WHAT KIND OF YCLSA ARE WE BUILDING?

The kind of leadership we elect must flow from the kind of organisation we seek to build. In broad strokes, the YCLSA seeks to be:

A revolutionary communist mass youth movement — a tight unit, a dynamic, portable, flexible, mobile, disciplined, exemplary and dedicated strike force ready for any eventuality in the struggle for socialism.

Democratic and mass-based — within its ranks, the YCLSA ensures the participation of members in shaping the movement’s policies and programmes.

A non-racial organisation — representing and uniting young people of all races in the common struggle.

A non-sexist organisation and a conscious agent for gender equality — with at least 40% women in all leadership collectives.

A revolutionary leader in the broad youth movement — leading the PYA and the progressive youth front.

A champion of progressive youth and working-class internationalism — connected to the global anti-imperialist struggle.

An exciting organisation — one that attracts, energises and retains young people through the dynamism of its work and the example of its leadership.

Leadership that cannot build this kind of organisation is not the leadership the conjuncture demands. The 7th Congress must elect leaders who can build this YCLSA — and that assessment must be based on record, not on promise.

5. THE PRINCIPLES OF ORGANISATIONAL DEMOCRACY

The collective practice and experience of revolutionary organisations everywhere has distilled the following basic principles for organisational democracy. These must govern the leadership question:

Elected leadership — leaders are elected by constitutional structures, not self-appointed.

Collective leadership — leadership is exercised by a collective, not by individuals; decisions are taken collectively and defended collectively.

Effective, disciplined and working leadership — leaders must deliver, not merely occupy positions.

Branches as basic units — the leadership question begins at the branch, where members know the actual work and character of cadres.

Consultations and mandates — delegates carry mandates from their structures, not personal preferences.

Criticism and self-criticism — the assessment of leaders is conducted openly, through the prism of comradely criticism, not through whispers and labels.

Democratic centralism — in both directions: freedom of discussion before the decision, unity of action after it.

Duties, roles, rights and obligations of every member — a high level of communist discipline applies to leaders no less than to members.

Duties of delegates at Congresses — delegates are accountable to the structures that elected them, not to factions or slates.

6. THE BROAD REQUIREMENTS OF LEADERSHIP

As a revolutionary communist youth organisation, the YCLSA needs revolutionary leaders and cadres. It must put in place leadership collectives that satisfy the character of the YCLSA. Broadly and collectively, YCLSA leaders should represent the nature and character of South African youth, which is overwhelmingly working class.

6.1. Ideological Clarity

A YCLSA leader should understand League and Party policies, basic communist ideology and programmes, and be able to apply these creatively under all conditions and phases of our revolution. Ideological clarity is not measured by the ability to quote Marx or Lenin — it is measured by the ability to apply Marxist-Leninist analysis to the concrete conditions of South African youth and to chart a course of action.

6.2. Rootedness and Accessibility

A leader should constantly seek to improve their capacity to serve the people; they should strive to be in touch with young people at all times, listen to their views, and learn from them. They should be accessible and flexible, and not arrogate to themselves the status of being the source of all wisdom. But we must ask: what shapes a communist leader? What is the meaning of serving the people, being in touch, accessibility and collective wisdom? What class forces and struggles shape these values? A communist leader’s accessibility is not a performance; it is a reflection of genuine rootedness in the working-class communities and struggles they serve.

6.3. Courage and Conviction

A leader should win the confidence of the people in their day-to-day work. Where the situation demands, a leader should be firm and have the courage to explain and seek to convince others of the correctness of decisions taken by constitutional structures, even if such decisions are unpopular. A leader should not seek to gain cheap popularity by avoiding difficult issues, making false promises, or merely pandering to popular sentiment.

6.4. Communist Ethics and Example

A leader should lead by example. They should be reproachable in political and social conduct. Through force of example, a leader should act as a role model to members and non-members alike. At the most basic level, leading a life that reflects commitment to communism includes being free of, and actively fighting against, sectarianism, dogmatism, intolerance, dishonesty, corruption, patronage, individualism, selfishness, sexism and racism.

Because of the capitalist base of our country and the world, these virtues are meaningless and idealistic if not approached from the standpoint that in the process of struggle we are building a new society, culture and civilisation.

6.5. Forged in Struggle, Not Manufactured

In the communist and youth movements, there are no ready-made leaders. Leaders evolve out of the class struggle. In these battles, cadres will stumble and some will fall. However, the abiding quality of leadership is to learn from mistakes, to appreciate one’s weaknesses and correct them. A leader should seek to influence and to be influenced by others in the collective. They should have the conviction to state their views boldly and openly within constitutional structures, without cowering before those in more senior positions in pursuit of patronage, nor relying on cliques to maintain their position.

An individual with qualities of leadership does not seek to gain popularity by undermining those in positions of responsibility. Where such a member has a view on how to improve things or correct mistakes, they should state those views in constitutional structures and seek to win others to their thinking. They should assist the organisation to improve its work — not stand aside to claim perfection out of inactivity. These are even more important in the communist movement.

7. CONTINUITY AND RENEWAL: THE DIALECTIC

The central principle this paper advances for the 7th Congress is the dialectical combination of continuity and renewal. This is not a slogan. It is a strategic conclusion drawn from the conjuncture and from the lessons of our history.

7.1. What Continuity Means

Continuity means that the organisation does not rupture its leadership at the moment of greatest strategic challenge. It means that the experience, the relationships, the trust, and the tested capacity of leaders who have carried the organisation through this period are not discarded lightly. Continuity recognises that leadership is built over time — through work, through struggle, through the confidence of the movement — and that this accumulated capacity has real, material value at a moment when the organisation faces unprecedented challenges.

The SACP’s independent electoral project begins in less than four months. The 12 Youth Fronts require leadership that designed them. The international work requires leadership trusted by the WFDY and the fraternal organisations. The Party’s GS needs a YCLSA leadership he knows and trusts at this moment of strategic repositioning. These are not arguments for any individual. They are arguments for the principle that continuity has strategic value — and that rupture has strategic cost.

7.2. What Renewal Means

Renewal means that the leadership collective is not static. It means that new cadres — tested through sustained work, not through congress-season emergence — are brought into the collective, bringing fresh energy, fresh perspectives, and the representation of new generations of working-class youth. Renewal is the infusion of the new without the destruction of the tested. It is the expansion of the collective, not the replacement of its core.

The National Committee elected at this Congress will include twenty (20) directly elected members in addition to the six National Office Bearers. This is the space for renewal — the space to bring in tested new cadres, to strengthen the collective, and to build the next generation of leadership. Renewal does not require the displacement of the tested; it requires the strengthening of the collective.

7.3. The Wrong Kind of Change

There is a kind of change that is not renewal but rupture. It is the displacement of tested leadership by untested alternatives — not because the tested leadership has failed, but because ambition, factionalism, or the desire for a ‘clean break’ has been dressed up as ‘renewal.’ This kind of change destabilises the organisation, destroys institutional memory, breaks trust with the Party and the movement, and leaves the organisation weaker at the moment it most needs strength.

The YCLSA has experienced this before. We have learned from it. We are not willing to repeat it. The 7th Congress must choose continuity with renewal — not rupture.

“Revolutionary tactics cannot be built up on revolutionary moods alone.” - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, ‘Left-Wing’ Communism: An Infantile Disorder

The mood for change — the sentiment that ‘it is time for new leadership’ — is not itself a revolutionary tactic. It is a mood. And moods, as Lenin warned, are an insufficient basis for strategic decisions. The leadership question must be decided on the basis of sober assessment, principled analysis, and the genuine interests of the organisation — not on the basis of mood, sentiment, or the lobbying of factions.

8. THE NEGATIVE CHALLENGES ON THE NEW TERRAIN

The post-1994 period has seen the emergence of negative trends that threaten the communist character of our movement’s leadership. These trends must be confronted honestly at this Congress, because they directly affect the leadership question.

Opportunism — the pursuit of leadership positions for access to government, public profile, status, or private-sector opportunities, rather than for service to the working class.

Entitlement — the notion that leadership is a status to be claimed by virtue of seniority, connections, or factional alignment, rather than a responsibility to be earned through work.

The ‘members of members’ phenomenon — personal loyalty to individual leaders rather than loyalty to the organisation and its collective leadership.

Corruption, mismanagement and abuse of power — the use of organisational position for personal enrichment.

Liberalism — the avoidance of principled struggle, the toleration of weaknesses, and the prioritisation of personal relationships over organisational discipline.

Labelling — the use of labels (‘factionalist,’ ‘conservative,’ ‘radical’) as weapons to score political points and win positions, rather than engaging in principled ideological struggle.

Congress-season leadership — the emergence of candidates only at election time, without a sustained record of work (see Section 9).

Each of these trends distorts the leadership question. They replace the principled assessment of candidates — based on record, character, and capacity — with the politics of personality, faction, and ambition. The 7th Congress must consciously reject these trends and elect leadership on the basis of the principles set out in this document.

9. THE DANGERS OF CONGRESS-SEASON LEADERSHIP

A particular danger that the 7th Congress must confront is the phenomenon of congress-season leadership — the emergence of candidates for leadership positions only at election time, without a sustained record of organisational work.

9.1. The Pattern

The pattern is familiar. In the weeks before a congress, previously inactive or peripheral figures suddenly become visible. They begin to attend meetings, to make statements, to visit provinces and branches, to promise what they will do if elected. They lobby delegates privately, build slates, distribute positions in advance, and present themselves as the agents of ‘change’ or ‘renewal.’ Once the congress is over — whether they win or lose — they return to inactivity until the next congress season.

9.2. Why It Is Dangerous

Congress-season leadership is dangerous for three reasons. First, it rewards opportunism over service: the candidate who campaigns for four weeks is preferred over the cadre who has worked for four years. Second, it destabilises the organisation: the slates, the lobbying, and the factional manoeuvring that accompany congress-season campaigns divide the organisation at the moment it most needs unity. Third, it produces leaders who cannot lead: a candidate elected on the basis of congress-season promises, without a tested record of work, discovers upon election that leadership is harder than campaigning.

9.3. The Test

The test is simple, and every delegate should apply it: what has this candidate done in the period between congresses? Not what have they promised. Not what have they said. Not what have they lobbied for. What have they done? Where were they when the organisation needed work done? Where were they when the campaigns were being run? Where were they when the branches needed servicing? Where were they when the relationship with the Party needed building? Where were they when the international work needed advancing?

A cadre who has been present, who has worked, who has delivered, who has built the trust of the organisation and the movement over the term — that cadre has earned the right to be considered for leadership. A candidate who has been absent and emerges only at congress season has not. This is not a judgement on character. It is a judgement on record. And in a communist organisation, record is the measure.

Questions for Congress

How should delegates distinguish genuine renewal from congress-season opportunism?

What test should be applied to every candidate: what have they done between congresses?

How does the organisation prevent the leadership question from being captured by factions and slates?

10. HOW MEMBERS TAKE CHARGE: THE SELECTION PROCESS

The selection and election of leaders must reside firmly in the hands of the membership. This can only happen if there are open and frank discussions in the formal structures of the organisation. Quiet and secret lobbying opens the movement to opportunism and even infiltration.

10.1. Open Discussion, Not Secret Lobbying

The YCLSA Constitution asserts the right of individuals to stand for and be elected to formal positions. However, the conduct, behaviour and commitment of every candidate must be thoroughly scrutinised — openly, in constitutional structures, on the basis of record and principle. Members should not be discouraged from canvassing openly for those they support. But secret lobbying — the private influencing of delegates outside constitutional structures, the building of slates, the trading of positions — must be rejected as a violation of organisational democracy.

10.2. Assessing Candidates

In assessing candidates, delegates should consider the following factors:

Sustained organisational work — what has the candidate done over the term, not just at congress season?

Ideological clarity — can the candidate apply Marxist-Leninist analysis to the concrete conditions?

Rootedness in the working class — is the candidate genuinely connected to the communities and struggles of working-class youth?

Loyalty to the collective — does the candidate uphold collective leadership, or do they pursue personal ambition?

Communist ethics — is the candidate free of corruption, factionalism, opportunism, and the trappings of status?

The trust of the Party — does the candidate have the confidence of the SACP, whose strategic project the YCLSA serves?

Continuity and renewal — does the candidate strengthen the collective without rupturing it?

Gender and non-racial representation — does the candidate contribute to the 40% gender floor and the non-racial character of the leadership?

10.3. The Process

Nominations should take place in constitutional structures, based on fairness and predetermined rules and procedures. The following should be considered when assessing the individuals nominated:

The role and character of the YCLSA.

The tasks and programme of the YCLSA for the new term.

The broad requirements of YCLSA leadership in the current period (set out in Section 6).

The balance of political, organisational and ideological skills in the leadership collective.

The principle of continuity and renewal (Section 7).

The candidate’s record between congresses (Section 9).

The selection of candidates and the election of leaders is not a ‘natural selection’ where things develop by chance. It is a conscious and well-considered act on the part of each YCLSA member. The 7th Congress must make this choice with revolutionary discipline, communist clarity, and the genuine interests of the organisation at heart.

11. QUESTIONS FOR CONGRESS

The following questions are placed before Congress for open, principled discussion. They are not rhetorical. They demand honest answers from every delegate, and they should guide the approach to the leadership question throughout the electoral process.

Questions for Congress

What kind of leadership does the present conjuncture demand — and does the answer favour continuity with renewal or rupture?

How should delegates assess candidates: on the basis of promises made at congress, or on the basis of work done between congresses?

How does the organisation distinguish genuine renewal (new cadres, tested through work, strengthening the collective) from congress-season opportunism (candidates who emerge only at election time)?

What is the strategic cost of displacing tested leadership at the moment of the SACP’s independent electoral project, the 12 Youth Fronts, and the international work?

How should the organisation prevent secret lobbying, factional slates, and the politics of personality from distorting the leadership question?

Does the leadership collective reflect the non-racial, non-sexist, working-class character of the YCLSA — including the 40% gender floor?

What lessons has the organisation learned from the dynamics of past congresses, and how will the 7th Congress apply them?

12. DRAFT RESOLUTIONS TO CONGRESS

The following draft resolutions are presented for the consideration and adoption of Congress.

RESOLUTION 1: ON APPROACHING THE LEADERSHIP QUESTION FROM COMMUNIST FOUNDATIONS

This Congress notes that:

1. The leadership question is not a matter of personality or faction but of principle, character, and the demands of the conjuncture.

2. The negative trends of opportunism, entitlement, secret lobbying, and congress-season leadership have weakened progressive organisations, including our own.

This Congress therefore resolves to:

Approach the election of the National Committee from the principled foundations set out in this document — not from personality, faction, or sentiment.

Reject secret lobbying, factional slates, and the politics of personal ambition as violations of organisational democracy.

Assess every candidate on the basis of their record of sustained work between congresses, their ideological clarity, their communist ethics, and their contribution to continuity and renewal.

RESOLUTION 2: ON CONTINUITY AND RENEWAL

This Congress notes that:

1. The 7th Congress takes place at a moment of unprecedented strategic challenge: the SACP’s independent electoral project, the 12 Youth Fronts, the international work, and the organisational rebuilding.

2. These challenges demand leadership that has been tested in them — combining the continuity of tested experience with the renewal of new cadres.

This Congress therefore resolves to:

Embrace the dialectical principle of continuity and renewal as the framework for the election of the National Committee.

Recognise that the conjuncture demands tested, experienced, rooted leadership — not rupture, destabilisation, or the displacement of proven cadres for reasons unrelated to principle.

Use the twenty (20) directly elected NC member positions as the primary space for renewal — bringing in tested new cadres to strengthen the collective.

RESOLUTION 3: ON CONGRESS-SEASON LEADERSHIP

This Congress therefore resolves to:

Condemn the phenomenon of congress-season leadership — candidates who emerge only at election time, without a sustained record of organisational work.

Apply the test of record to every candidate: what have they done between congresses?

Direct all structures to conduct open, principled discussions on candidates in constitutional structures, and to reject secret lobbying and factional slates.

13. CONCLUSION

The 7th National Congress will elect the leadership that carries the Young Communist League of South Africa into the most consequential period since re-establishment. The SACP’s independent electoral project. The 12 Popular Youth Fronts. The People’s Red Caravan. The international solidarity campaigns and the Progressive Youth International Front. The organisational rebuilding. The constitutional renewal. These are not small challenges. They demand leadership that is equal to them.

This document has argued that the leadership question must be approached from communist foundations — from the principles of collective leadership, democratic centralism, sustained work, ideological clarity, and service to the people. It has argued that the conjuncture demands the dialectical combination of continuity and renewal: the tested experience of those who have carried the organisation through this period, combined with the energy of new cadres who will strengthen the collective. It has warned against the dangers of opportunism, entitlement, secret lobbying, factionalism, and congress-season leadership — the negative trends that have distorted the leadership question in the past and that we are determined not to repeat.

The 7th Congress must make its choice with revolutionary discipline and communist clarity. The choice is not between personalities. It is between principles. It is between a leadership rooted in sustained work and tested capacity, and a leadership manufactured by congress-season ambition. It is between continuity with renewal, and rupture. It is between the interests of the organisation and the interests of factions.

Let us choose wisely. Let us choose on the basis of record, character, and the genuine demands of the conjuncture. Let us honour the tradition of Hani, Slovo, Kotane and Mabhida — leaders forged in struggle, tested over time, and trusted by the movement. Let us build a leadership collective that combines the wisdom of experience with the energy of renewal — a collective equal to the historic tasks before us.

The youth of the working class are watching. The Party is watching. The movement is watching. Let us not fail them.

Forward to the 7th National Congress! Youth to the Front: Rescue the NDR, Advance Towards People’s Power! Socialism is our lifetime! Amandla!

Comradely Always,

Cde Siphelele Gavu 2nd Deputy National Secretary Young Communist League of South Africa (Ufasimba) Ref: YCLSA/PR/7NC/DISC-006 | Draft v1.0 | 7 July 2026

REFERENCES

1. YCLSA Constitution and Code of Conduct, 5th National Congress, Alice, 2018.

2. Marx, K. and Engels, F. (1848). Manifesto of the Communist Party.

3. Lenin, V.I. (1902). What Is To Be Done?

4. Lenin, V.I. (1920). ‘Left-Wing’ Communism: An Infantile Disorder.

5. Lenin, V.I. (1920). The Tasks of the Youth Leagues.

6. Sankara, T. Selected speeches on political formation.

7. Gramsci, A. Prison Notebooks (selections).

8. SACP. The South African Road to Socialism (Programme).

9. YCLSA. Building an Effective and Exciting YCL (2006).

10. YCLSA Discussion Documents 1-5 and Constitutional Amendments Booklet (7th NC, 2026).

11. The liberation tradition: Kotane, Marks, Dadoo, Slovo, Hani, Mabhida, and others.