Constitution of the Youth Anarchist Collective of Cape Town – DRAFT¶

Name¶

The name of the organisation is the Youth Anarchist Collective of Cape Town, and its initialism is Y​AC-CT, or Y​AC for short.

Symbol¶

The symbol of the Y​AC-CT is a red (top-left) and black (bottom-right) circle with a black outline and stylised, white outline of Table Mountain in the center. It is encircled by the words “Youth Anarchist Collective” along the top and “Cape Town” along the bottom.

Political Principles¶

The Y​AC-CT is an Anarchist Communist group committed to environmentalism, LGBTQ+ liberation, feminism, direct democracy, equality, and solidarity with like-minded struggle movements. We strongly oppose all forms of imperialism, racism, fascism, ableism, and capitalism.

Organisational Principles¶

The Y​AC-CT is an organisation in the Anarchist tradition of Platformism. We operate according to the 4 principles outlined in The Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists (Draft), though we do not aim to become the General Union of Anarchists or the sole platform — rather, we align ourselves with the principles of Platformist organisational methodology.

These principles are as follows:

1. Theoretical Unity. Members of the Y​AC are expected to agree with the common theoretical line of the collective. This line will be achieved through internal debate and discussion. This is important, as theory is what guides action, and we must be unified in theory to be unified in action.
2. Tactical Unity. Members of the Y​AC are also expected to follow the common tactical line of the collective. This line will, likewise, be achieved through internal debate and discussion. It is important that all tactics and actions employed by the members of the Y​AC under its banner must be consistent with the general tactics and actions employed by the collective. This is important to stop confusion arising from mutually antagonistic tactics, and to focus the strength of the collective on certain objective with definite, agreed-upon goals.
3. Collective Responsibility. The collective as a whole is responsible for the political and revolutionary actions of each member (provided that these actions have been sanctioned by the collective) and likewise each member is responsible for the political and revolutionary actions of the collective as a whole.
4. Federalism. Rather than the organization driving the member, the members drive the policy and decisions of the collective. Power rests with the members, and decision making flows up from the bottom to the top. Members are expected to co-operate with collective decisions to solve the common problems of the collective, but this is not obedience to the centre.

Organisational Structure¶

The Youth Anarchist Collective of Cape Town is a horizontally organised collective of activists. All members are equal and there exists no hierarchy between members.

Members and Supporters¶

The Youth Anarchist Collective of Cape Town consists of two type of affiliation.

1. The first is membership. Members are expected to comply with all of the collective’s organisational principles: agreement with the theory of the collective, co-operation with the tactics of the collective, and are responsible for the line of the collective (and vice-versa). Members are expected to be committed to the group and be active in decision-making and attend as many meetings and congresses as possible. Membership is available by invitation (which may be solicited) from a member only, given prior consent of all members of the collective. Members must be between the ages of 12 and 30.
2. The second type of affiliation is supportership. Supporters are those who, for whatever reason, do not want to or cannot be members. They may be limited by time constraints, or may not completely share the ideology of Anarchist Communism. Supporters are not held to the collective’s organisational principles and are not imbued with decision-making powers, as they are not members of the collective. They have no responsibility to the organisation, but supportership may be revoked by a consensus decision of the collective following poor conduct, or for any other suitable reason. Like membership, supportership is available by invitation (which may be solicited) from a member only, though prior consent of the collective is not required.

Mandates¶

The collective may imbue certain members or groups of members with mandates to carry out specific activities on the behalf of the collective. Authority and power lies with the collective, but the delegates may carry out tasks on their behalf. Therefore, mandated delegates carry out an administrative function rather than executive function, because they should not make any decisions for the collective, merely implement them. These mandated delegates are recallable at any time by the collective, and should be rotated if the position confers some kind of informal power. Mandated individuals or groups may be suspended temporarily from the implementation of their mandate with a 50% majority vote, and revoked entirely by a consensus decision. After suspension, a consensus decision must be made to determine the path forward. The member under consideration cannot block any decision to suspend them or remove their mandate, but it is critical that they are able to represent themselves and are listened to fairly by the members of the collective.

Working Groups¶

Groups that are mandated to carry out certain functions on behalf of the collective are known as Working Groups. These groups can be permanent, and manage long-term tasks, or temporary, and manage short-term tasks or objectives. Additionally to the regular framework of mandates applying to these groups, they may also decide to suspend any member from participation in the group by a 50% majority of the group’s members. This suspension must then be reviewed by the entire collective, and a consensus decision made.

Suspension and Expulsion of Members¶

A member may be suspended temporarily from the collective by a 50% majority vote of its members. Following a suspension, a consensus decision on the individual’s membership must be made. The member under consideration cannot block any decision to suspend them or remove their mandate, but it is critical that they are able to represent themselves and are listened to fairly by the members of the collective. A member may be expelled only by a consensus decision, again in which the member cannot block but must be heard.

Meetings and Congress¶

The Y​AC-CT will attempt to meet at least once a month. All members are invited, as well as supporters or other members of the public who have been invited specifically to the meeting by consensus of all of the members. These meetings function as the primary decision making assembly of the collective. Other meetings may be called to achieve specific aims, or if one is required in a specific time-frame. Decisions made in these meetings must receive consent from all members of the collective, not just those present at the meeting. Consent may be given through digital forms of communication addressed to the entire group. Minutes of these meetings must be circulated internally to all members of the collective, as well as to supporters if consensus is reached by the group to do so.

The Y​AC-CT will also attempt to host a congress once a year. This congress will be open to all members and supporters of the collective, as well as members of the public that have been invited by members. It should be scheduled for maximum attendance of the members of the group. At these congresses, supporters are encouraged to give input to the members of the organisation, though they are, as usual, not imbued with decision-making powers. Minutes of congress should be available to all members of the public.

Decision Making¶

The Y​AC-CT will attempt to the largest possible extent to make decisions through consensus of all of its members. However, if consensus is not reachable within 3 meetings, then the collective can choose to hold a two-thirds majority vote. If a member has not responded to good-faith communications regarding a decision for 7 days without explanation, then until they return they can be excluded in consensus decision making and it can assumed that they will stand aside from all decisions until further notice. Members can request for decisions to be postponed if it is urgent. Members may also delegate other people to speak on their behalf if they are not able to.

Rights of Minority Factions¶

Minority factions, meaning groups of people who disagree with a majority opinion on an issue in the group, have the right to have their viewpoints discussed and debated within the organisation. However, these factions cannot present their views to the public as official views of the Y​AC-CT, and they will still be responsible for the collective line. Minority factions can also avail themselves to the various forms of disagreement within the consensus process, namely standing aside, registering reservations, or, if the matter is serious, blocking proposals.

Publications¶

The Y​AC-CT will attempt to publish a quarterly newsletter, which will contain important announcements and relevant information, updates about the activities and important decisions of the collective, general news, as well as any pamphlets or articles written by members of the collective. It shall be called // TODO @ Publications Group ?.

Co-operation with Other Organisations¶

The Y​AC-CT will attempt to co-operate as far as possible with other like-minded organisations. // do a bit on tactical unity

Amendments to the Constitution¶

The constitution can be amended at any time by a consensus decision of the entire collective, including any temporarily uncontactable members. It should be reviewed at every congress.