28th Youth Brigade Annual General Conference (2006)

28th ANNUAL CONFERENCE of the IFP YOUTH BRIGADE ON THE THEME
“IFP YOUTH: SETTING THE AGENDA”

RESOLUTIONS

The Annual Conference of the I F P Youth Brigade met in Durban, UKZN Westville C ampus on 8th-10th December 2006 and unanimously adopted the following

RESOLUTION 1: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR EMPOWERMENT

Noting

that government efforts to include the youth in the economy through various empowerment initiatives rarely take off the ground and mostly remain on paper where they never transcend the level of platitudes.
Conference resolves
to urge the IFPYB in its capacity as a youth role player to call upon all three spheres of government to disseminate practical information about all available skills development and empowerment programmes;
to call upon the IFPYB to invite fellow role players and devise its own, alternative initiatives with the aim of promoting and coordinating development programmes and entrepreneurial projects based on self-help and self-reliance; and
to encourage the IFPYB to renew its calls for the creation of a Ministry of Youth Affairs through a nationwide and mass-based campaign of collecting one million signatures from young people across the country.

RESOLUTION 2: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR HIV/AIDS PREVENTION

Noting

that HIV/Aids pandemic and the opportunistic infections that aggravate it continue to hit the youth of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa the hardest; and

that the government’s message about HIV/Aids and its causes and treatment remains tardy and confusing.

Conference resolves

to urge the IFPYB to use its proximity to and confidence among the youth to spread the truth about HIV/Aids, its prevention and treatment;
to call upon the IFPYB to actively participate in all community projects that seek to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids and care for those infected or affected by the disease;
to urge the IFPYB as a role player in youth affairs to call upon the national and provincial governments to project an image of unity on HIV/Aids and finally break out of their denial and inaction to deal with the pandemic adequately; and
to urge the IFPYB to work at community level to help bring about a transformation in young peoples’ personal behaviour and values.

RESOLUTION 3: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

Noting

that the youth of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa continue to be sidelined in active and constructive participation in all three spheres of government.

Conference resolves

to urge the IFPYB to encourage input for local, provincial and national policies concerning the youth from the young people themselves;
to call upon the IFPYB to motivate the youth to participate in the drafting of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), in the setting of performance goals and in service delivery oversight at community level;
to urge all IFP-led municipalities to establish well-resourced youth desks in all councils where the IFP is in control; and
to call upon the IFPYB to encourage its members to participate in government-sponsored Izimbizo, Youth Parliaments and workshops, and to use these opportunities as forums to convey the IFP message and values to the public at large.

RESOLUTION 4: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR A FUTURE IFP

Noting

that the youth are the ultimate guarantee of the IFP’s political survival as a vibrant political alternative committed to the pursuit of personal liberty, social responsibility and free enterprise.

Conference resolves

to appeal to the IFP youth to spread our message of renewal and values of moral leadership to every community and area where they live; and
to urge the IFP members at grassroots level, and our public representatives, party officials and activists to use every available forum to use our status as the current Official Opposition in KwaZulu-Natal to project ourselves as the province’s next government.

RESOLUTION 5: SADESMO IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Noting that

the performance of SADESMO is essential to conveying the IFP message to the youth in South Africa’s tertiary institutions, where the IFP identifies, nurtures and trains many of its future leaders.

Conference resolves

that a written document is needed to clarify the relationship between SADESMO and the Youth Brigade so that the relationship between SADESMO and the Youth Brigade is not determined by personal understanding;
that the President and Provincial Chairperson of SADESMO shall serve as ex officio members of the IFPYB Executive;
there should be a National Administrator for SADESMO; and
IFP-led municipalities and IFP Members of Parliament should adopt SADESMO branches in their localities.

RESOLUTION 6: YOUTH AND THE 2010 SOCCER WORLD CUP

Noting

that the hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup will present us all with a unique opportunity to put South Africa on the global map.

Conference resolves

to call on the IFPYB to explore all practical possibilities at community level of making South Africa a safer place for the World Cup tournament and beyond;
to urge the IFPYB to portray the World Cup to the youth of this country as an opportunity for global interaction and exchange of ideas with the world; and
to urge the IFPYB to make necessary interventions as may be possible for the benefits of the World Cup to not only reach the youth of big cities but also the masses of rural youth.

RESOLUTION 7: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR THE 2009 ELECTIONS

Noting

that the 2009 elections will be a most fiercely contested battle for the heart and soul of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa from which the province and the country will emerge either as a stagnant one-party state or a vibrant multi-party democracy.

Conference resolves

to urge the IFPYB to capitalise on the IFP’s new role as the Official Opposition in KwaZulu-Natal by denouncing the ruling party’s gross maladministration of the province; and
to motivate the IFPYB to take part in the IFP’s campaign of highlighting ANC inefficiency through creating media opportunities for exposing the ruling party’s failure to deliver on its election promises across the province and the country.

RESOLUTION 8: YOUTH SETTING THE AGENDA FOR THE IFP’S NEW CYCLE OF GROWTH

Noting

the increasing disillusionment of ordinary South Africans with the ANC government of the day.

Conference resolves

to call upon the IFPYB to introduce new and modern methods of attracting young people into the ranks of the IFP;
to recognise NATU as an important and valuable national player in the field of education; and
to urge all IFP education activists to support NATU’s activities and programmes.

RESOLUTION 9: DRC ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY

Noting

the recent free and fair elections that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after 40 years of misrule.

Conference resolves

to congratulate President Joseph Kabila and the peoples of the DRC on reaching a milestone in the development of democracy in Africa; and
to applaud the international community in general and the South African government in particular for the invaluable support rendered to the people of the DRC in ensuring the consolidation of democracy in their country.

RESOLUTION 10: PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI

Noting

that the leadership Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi continues to provide is unparalleled in its moral and constructive dimension; and that KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa require such leadership qualities more urgently than ever.

Conference resolves

to express its gratitude to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi for the many sacrifices, personal as well as political, he has made in his relentless pursuit of social and economic advancement of our people;
to congratulate Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi on receiving the Lifetime Leadership Excellence Award bestowed on him by this august conference and also to congratulate His Excellency for receiving the Peace Award conferred by the Christians for Peace in Africa Organisation;
to appreciate Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s timely and patriotic leadership in calling for President Thabo Mbeki to be treated with the respect and dignity befitting his office;
to recognise Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s consistent role as a statesman of the highest order in always articulating crisply and candidly the dangers facing our country;
to lend Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi our unequivocal support as he now symbolises the moral compass of the country in the face of a callous, high-spending and fractious ANC-controlled government; and
to wish Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi many more years at the forefront of our struggle for social and economic advancement.