The South African Students Congress met (or conspired?) to elect new leaders at the end of last year and shit went down. Really bad. Comrades fought with the cops, cars were smashed. After the election the cops had to usher out winning faction. During the count, 30 votes were missing. So obviously the other delegates accused the new leadership of rigging the poll. Since then, things haven’t been the same.
But this is not about that.
The same leadership successfully presided over a policy conference held in Durban in a few weeks ago to, among other things, chart the way forward for the #FEESMUSTFALL revolution. Interesting to note the resolution to go after the national treasury. And the one about balancing the “contradictory and complimentary approach to both government and the ANC.” What the fuck is that? Does it mean you’re signing up for the gravy train or a full on revolution?? SMH.
Below is an extract of some of the resolutions.
The NPC resolved that in the mean time the NSFAS must be moved from DHET to the national treasury to expedite allocations and prioritisation
We resolved that the 2nd semester will be marked by heightened political activism in demand for free quality educatio
There will be a complete shutdown and the whole society will be mobilizedshould the government not introduce free education.
We will introduce a national student charter
SASCO will close ranks on all opposition parties and opportunistic“student organisations “ in our campus to preserve the rich history of struggles
Some of those student movements’ are GRASSROOTS. Can’t close ranks on nature, homie.
On the 5th of June 2015, 700 delegates at the National Union of Mineworkers 15th national congress voted for new leaders. Free State secretary David Sipunzi was elected general secretary, replacing Frans Baleni, who served in the position for 9 years.
He was elected by the skin of his teeth: Frans Baleni 345 votes – David Sipunzi 354 votes.
The congress was the first since the Marikana massacre and mass loss of N.U.M membership to AMCU. It also took place after the expulsion of metalworkers union NUMSA from COSATU and the dismissal of the federation’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. Baleni is accused of playing a leading role in orchestrating these two events.
There are a few moments during the conference and afterwards that are worth quoting:
N.U.M founding general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa (far right).
“Leaders must lead with humility, and serve members even if you have to go down on your knees to serve members. Members were attracted to NUM because it was on the cutting edge of serving members – Cyril Ramaophosa [iol.co.za]
ANC secretary general & former mineworker Gwede Mantashe.
Once you have a federation dominated by the public sector you are in trouble. We should have industrial unions building themselves, as well as putting on our shoulders to help this union the NUM to be strong enough to deal with Amcu. – Gwede Mantashe [news24]
Former N.U.M general secretary Frans Baleni (left) & newly elected president Piet Matosa.
I decided to campaign for another term after I was approached by nine (9) regions which nominated me for the position. I accept the democratic decision arrived at by the membership of the N.U.M – Frans Baleni [radio702]
Newly elected general secretary David Sipunzi speaks to the media at a report back session in the Free State.
The expulsion of NUMSA is not a contribution towards worker unity, that’s my belief. The expulsion of [Zwelinzima} Vavi is not going down well with the general membership at the ground level. I’m tired of being shouted by members asking when is Vavi coming back. I can no longer close my ears to those calls – David Sipunzi [ewn.co.za]
Will the election of David Sipunzi and William Mabapa [deputy GS] change the N.U.M’s position towards the other industrial unions within COSATU? Will the proletariat reclaim SA’s biggest worker federation?
It’s been almost a year since our first president Nelson Mandela died. I remember standing on the hill in Qunu overlooking the grave site while SANDF helicopters flew overhead with the country’s flag, as the sound of trumpets echoed into the distance. What a potent moment, still vivid in my memory.
During this moment, I couldn’t help thinking of Madiba’s friends and comrades in struggle. Below you will find transcripts of the testimony of one such friend; Govan Mbeki. A scholar of the ANC and SACP’s underground movement and an integral part of its communication mechanisms. Coincidentally, this is also the person whom I was named after.
Testimony of Govan Mbeki, defendant.
Direct Examination by Braam Fischer:
Fischer: Had you good reason for this [carrying on the ANC illegally after it was banned]?
Mbeki: Yes. The ANC after a number of years, a number of decades, has been the vanguard of the struggle of the African
people for national liberation And it was something that I just couldn’t accept. At the time thousands of people looked up to the ANC to lead them in the struggle against the laws which were threatening practically every right that the African had enjoyed before. As I say, I just could not accept the fact that the government should destroy the ANC. I therefore continued to be a member of the ANC under conditions of illegality….
Fischer: Has the [white supremacist] policy [of the South African government] itself changed, apart from the name?
Mbeki: No. Apart from that, the leopard has not changed its colours at all. The position was very clearly expressed by the late Prime Minister, Mr. JG Strydom, when he said ‘die wit man moet altyd baas wees’ (the white man must always remain the boss).
Fischer: Has any one of the last three Prime Ministers including the present Prime Minister ever met any leading member of the African National Congress?
Mbeki: Not one of them.
Fischer: Talking about methods of protest. Since this government has been in power what has happened to the right of Africans to hold meetings or demonstrations or processions?
Mbeki: In the reserves (i.e. African occupied rural areas), since the early 5Os meetings have been banned except those that have the approval of the Native Commissioners. In an area like the Transkei, Proclamation 400, which was passed about four years ago to meet the specific situation, has become a permanent feature of the administration. In the urban areas it is virtually impossible to find a place to hold political meetings of Africans chiefs or headmen who do not approve of government policies have either been deposed or banished. I think that since the Nationalist Party came into power in 1948, no less than 133 chiefs have been banished to different areas where their language is not spoken, or where they couldn’t make a living….
Fischer: I think you worked for eight years in Port Elizabeth?
Mbeki: Yes, I worked for eight years in Port Elizabeth and during that time I was never able to live with my family.
Fischer: Why was that?
Mbeki: I was not allowed to rent a house because I had not qualified to be permanently resident in Port Elizabeth because I had not worked for one employer continuously for a period of ten years.
Fischer: So you were never able to bring your family to live with you?
Mbeki: For the eight years I was there I was never able to do so.
Fischer: Your case is not unique?
Mbeki: No, it is not unique. Not at all, because lots of other men who live in single men’s barracks lived there without their families.
Cross-examination by Percy Yutar:
Yutar: I think you will also agree that, despite the evil influences of the South African government, we have not got ritual murders in this country.
Mbeki: What would that explain in any case?
Yutar: Do you know that the South African Medical Research officials, apart from helping the Bantu in this country, have sent some of their serums to help the non-Europeans in other countries? Do you know about that?
Mbeki: I have heard about that.
Yutar: Do you know that if you present a balance sheet, you should present a true and fair account? Have you, when you fulminated against the South African government and its people, represented the other side—the benefits which the Bantu have in this country?
Mbeki: What benefits? What benefits have they been given? I am not aware of any benefits the Africans are getting from the South African government.
Yutar: Not aware at all? And yet millions try to remain here in this country?
Mbeki: That does not explain it.
Yutar: You have given your evidence here in a calm quiet voice. To make certain I was listening to the same person, I had your tape played back (the tape of a speech by Mbeki broadcast over the illegal Radio Liberation). You don’t always speak that way do you? You can raise your voice?
Mbeki: If I must raise it, yes.
Yutar: And you speak a little faster than you have spoken here?
Mbeki: If I must speak a little faster, I do.
Yutar: And not so sanctimoniously as you have tried to speak here?
Mbeki: That is your opinion.
Yutar: [Reading from an issue of the newspaper Spark:] ‘Beneath his quiet charm and gentle smile, a ruthless determination to reach his goal—the emancipation of his people.’ Is that a fair description of you?
Mbeki: I think so.
Yutar: A ruthless determination. And in some of your speeches you could be ruthless, not so? And in fact you were in speeches which you addressed when you attended meetings throughout the country. Do you deny that?
Mbeki: I spoke the truth and exposed what was the hardship of the Africans. If you call that ruthless—speaking the truth—then I was ruthless.
Yutar: No. I am just trying to convey, not the subject matter, but the way in which you put it across. You were not the gentle, quiet, sanctimonious human being that you are now showing in the witness box.
Mbeki: Well, that would have to be the opinion of whoever was listening to me.
Yutar: Which group [within South Africa’s Communist Party] were you a member?
Mbeki: The Communist Party group.
Yutar: I know. Which group? I am asking you which group?
Mbeki: The Communist Party group, I say.
Yutar: But how many groups were there in Port Elizabeth?
Mbeki: I don’t know. I was only concerned with my group. That is the group I want.
Yutar: What was its name?
Mbeki: The Communist Party group has no name. It is not like a football club.
Yutar: And who were the members of your group?
Mbeki: That I am not prepared to say.
Yutar: You are not prepared to tell us? Why not?
Mbeki: Why should I do so? I am not prepared to incriminate anybody….
Yutar: Well, Mbeki, I will put it to you in very brief form. Four charges against you and you have replied to all of them. You have replied ‘yes’ to all of them. Can you tell his Lordship why you have pleaded not guilty to the four counts?
Mbeki: Yes. I did not plead guilty to the four counts for the simple reason, firstly, that I should come and explain from here under oath some of the reasons that led me to join Umkhonto we Sizwe. And secondly, for the simple reason that to plead guilty would to my mind indicate a sense of moral guilt to it. I do not accept that there is any moral guilt attached to my actions.
Yutar: Alright, let us forget about moral guilt. Having now admitted, after making some political speeches, that you were on the National High Command, have committed sabotage, that further acts of sabotage had been conspired to be committed, and you furthered the aim of communism, that you and your colleagues solicited money both here and abroad in order to advance these campaigns, do you now plead guilty?
Mbeki: I am not pleading guilty!
Yutar: No, you don’t. You don’t even admit you are legally guilty?
Mbeki: I have explained my position….
Rest In Peace Mr. Govan Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001)
The very public scrap between former trade union leaders John Copelyn and Marcel Golding, both now billionaire business people, has raised a crucial question for the labour movement: the role of union investment companies.
Central, in this case, is the SA Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu), two of its former general secretaries and the present incumbent.
Copelyn was the long-serving Sactwu general secretary who went to parliament in 1994 as an ANC MP. He was joined by Golding, former deputy general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). But they soon deserted parliament to launch in 1997, an investment company, using union funds.
Sactwu remains the largest single shareholder in Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI). This company has interests in many areas known for low-paid labour: hotels, casinos, coal mines and transport. And while the Sactwu investment arm has boomed, the clothing and textile industry has lost tens of thousands of jobs. A number of premises that once housed a thriving garment trade are now part of an HCI rental property portfolio.
Copelyn’s successor as Sactwu general secretary, Ebrahim Patel, is now economic development minister in the Zuma government and has been accused of trying to exert influence on the editorial content of free-to-air commercial station, eTV, owned by HCI. Current Sactwu general secretary, Andre Kriel has also been implicated.
And it was not for the first time that Kriel has stepped outside his union role to intervene in commercial matters. In December last year in the wake of the controversial takeover of Independent Newspapers by Sekunjalo Investments, Kriel initially demanded that all queries relating to the takeover and the subsequent sacking of Cape Times editor, Alide Dasnois, be referred to him.
Although Kriel would not confirm it, it is understood that Sactwu’s investment vehicle may have contributed some R200 million toward the Independent purchase. Whatever the details of the case, there is more than a hint here of how unions involved in big business and investment, may blur the lines between the interests of labour and capital.
In our economic system, it is in the interest of employers is to maximise profits while workers want to improve wages and conditions, a cost on profits. This leads to what supporters of the system sometimes refer to as “creative tension”, that is resolved by negotiation.
It is not in the interests of workers to weaken, cripple or destroy a business to which they sell their labour in order to survive. But it is certainly in the interests of capital to undermine the strength of labour and to ensure a regulatory environment that favours employers.But what happens when the representatives of labour, the unions, also become employers, relying on maximised profits in order to ensure higher dividends?
Supporters of this development maintain that the profits then go to benefit union members.
Critics point out that this is at the expense of other workers and amounts to “crumbs from the table of capital”.
It is a contradiction that, at the least, leads to confusion. Yet there is an understandable history of unions and their federations openly supporting — usually after debate and democratic decision-making — political parties and campaigns, both financially and in terms of volunteer labour.
In South Africa’s case, Cosatu, although not all of its affiliates, is part of the governing ANC-led alliance, a lingering legacy of a common battle against the apartheid system. By and large, this qualified as unadulterated rank and file support, at a particular time and for openly debated and supported policies that workers saw might strengthen their position. It is the antithesis of moves to increase the power of capital.
Unions crossing this boundary, brings to mind the opening line of a song from the 1931 miners’ strike in the US state of Kentucky: “Which side are you on?”
AMCU members picket at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana in January 2014.
When a delegation of African National Congress leaders met with the owners of the world’s biggest mining houses in the early 1990’s, a defining compromise on ownership of the country’s mineral resources and the distribution of profits that followed was made.
Mining giants such as Anglo American and Goldfields were able to retain control and ownership of valuable mines in exchange for including previously sidelined leaders in their deals – and most importantly – a commitment to improve the standard of living of its employees.
A loan agreement signed between South Africa and the International Monetary Fund on the eve of the first democratic elections then became the proverbial nail in the coffin of any aspirations of a socialist state in 1994, affirming capitalism’s victory in Africa’s newest democracy. In an opinion piece published on the guardian’s website, ANC and SACP stalwart Ronnie Kasrils recalls this as the moment the liberation movement sold us out.
Fast forward 20 years and as the country celebrates two decades of freedom, its mining industry has been flipped on its head. The platinum and gold giants that were able to retain its riches have failed to improve the lives of the majority of its people. As a result, thousands of miners on the platinum belt and gold reef continue to down tools demanding better wages.
This year has seen a particularly interesting situation develop. For the first time in the country, Anglo American Platinum has decided to sue the Association for Mining and Construction Workers Union, AMCU. The platinum giant wants AMCU to pay nearly 600 million Rand for losses it’s incurred due to the intimidation of its non striking workers. The company claims this intimidation has led to it not being able to produce more than 60 thousand ounces of platinum.
What makes the situation interesting is that the lawsuit has been filed slap bang in the middle of a strike by more than 10 thousand AMCU members at Amplats.
One cannot deny that the two are linked – and the message from the boardroom is that AMCU hasn’t budged a “centimeter” in negotiations aimed at finding a settlement. Of course, these talks are all about compromise, and AMCU’s relentless pursuit of a living wage of 12500 certainly makes a multi-million Rand lawsuit a useful bargaining chip.
So it seems we’ve reached a stalemate. Now, the moral evaluation must arise; how much have the mine bosses given to the people & how much have they made? Who bears the moral responsibility to either pay more – or – demand less?
A difficult question, not because the figures are hidden in stacks of financial reports, but because one cannot measure the mining companies’ contribution in monetary terms.
It’s an age old tactic used by politicians across the globe to woo voters ahead of an election. Just next door, in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party is accused of buying votes from as early as the 1980’s by donating food, land or technology to the underclass which often has limited access to all of the above.
The Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe told the country’s Independent newspaper vote buying is essential to “sustaining ZANU-PF’s political regeneration”.
Now, we must assess what political regeneration means for liberation movements that were established to overthrow oppressive regimes but don’t necessarily possess the capacity to govern. In this case ZANU-PF and South Africa’s ANC are in the same boat; first time governments.
Liberation movements that ascend to power after some sort of struggle are often regarded as heroes until the time comes for them to roll out services and take care of the people that put them in power. Unlike Zimbabwe, where ZANU-PF consolidated its control of the state after ridding Rhodesia of Ian Smith, Nelson Mandela facilitated the creation of a multi-party state, governed by the ANC, that tolerates strong opposition and a critical media landscape.
These two elements have become crucial voices in exposing the shortfalls of the ANC government during their first two decades in power. To the elderly, the ANC flag and its past leaders evoke memories of defeating apartheid and overcoming brutal beat-downs by white state security officers and the massacre of hundreds of black people in order to maintain a minority rule in SA. To the youth, the ANC flag is a fading shade of liberation and instead has been brightly coloured by corruption and financial scandals, a perception largely created by the opposition and media.
Highly publicized and criticised shortfalls are threatening the ANC’s ability to secure a majority win in this year’s general elections. So, if you’re not able to collect votes by riding the liberation wave due to poor service, alternative methods of winning the elections must emerge. Enter the politics of the stomach.
When the underclass is made up of a majority of young people disgruntled with the ruling party but their parents remain loyal due to the victories of the past, township conversations become politically charged and who to vote for becomes a matter of loyalty or respect to those who were killed in the struggle. But when you’ve been living off one meal a day and an average of a R700 welfare grant per month for more than two years, your vote becomes a bargaining chip.
The department of social development ‘s reaction to today’s report in the City Press newspaper on the ANC using (govt funded) food parcels to secure votes some be summed up as this: “It is insulting to suggest that our people can be bought with food parcels.” Well, I disagree.
My father served as a ward councilor in our Eastern Cape community for four years (I was about 9 or 10 years old when he was elected). During this time, we would travel through our humble province during every election, be it local govt or national. I vividly remember food parcels loaded on trucks or bakkies being handed to the underclass and community halls flooded with people who looked to the ANC as their refuge, though I could never establish who bought the food! Needless to say the Eastern Cape has always been a stronghold that’s brought home the majority of votes in nearly all the elections since the dawn of democracy for the spear and shield. I’ve always wondered what impact those machangani goodie-bags had on persuading the people to vote for a better life for all.
The beauty of South Africa’s democracy is of course that your vote is your secret, so whoever you promise your X on the ballot paper to, may not get it in the end.
One of South Africa’s most revolutionary leaders sits down with the VNS collective to discuss a range of issues. Among them; uMkhonto we Sizwe’s operation Wankie, the Pretoria Minute and multiple assassination attempts on his life.
Leaders Uncut – Chris Hani, an Afravision production.
*Martin Thembikile “Chris” Hani served as the chief of staff of the ANC’s armed wing uMkhonto We Sizwe (the people’s army) and general secretary of the South African Communist Party. He was assassinated outside his home in Boksburg Johannesburg on the 10th of April 1993 by a polish immigrant named Janusz Waluś.
GRASSROOTS 