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SOUTH AFRICAIn bed with the enemy
24/08/05, Africa Today
The possibility of an electoral challenge from the left to ANC's rule
loomed large last month with the formation of a new umbrella group of
organisations modelled on the United Democratic Front (UDF) - the
organisation which led the township revolts against apartheid in the
80's. The announcement of a new civil society coalition against
poverty and unemployment was made by the leader of the Congress of
South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape, Tony
Ehrenreich. The fact that it was made against a background of a wave
of strikes, as well as increasingly violent confrontations between
police and demonstrators, added weight to the view that the new group
is intent on capitalising on the despair amongst the poorest of the
poor about their working and living conditions.
The Western Cape chapter of the new umbrella body was due to be
launched on the 22nd anniversary of the founding of the United
Democratic Front. Following a denial by the Cosatu and SACP leadership
that they were linked to any attempt to organise a new United
Democratic Front against their ANC ally, Ehrenreich clarified the
position, saying: "The coalition for jobs is a partnership; it will
not have an elected leadership. It is not the new UDF. I think what
concerns people is that it is similar to the UDF."
But the Western Cape leader of Cosatu went on to warn that "The real
worry should be that our existing movement has been unable to maintain
the confidence of our people as the only vehicle to drive the
transition. The UDF filled a political vacuum; we have a political
space that is not adequately tended."
He said the ANC would be invited to join the coalition so as to
advance the interests of its core constituency, the working class.
Government, he said, had not always been able to do this "because of
their desire to balance a host of class interests." He pointed out, in
an interview with the Mail and Guardian, that the ruling party had
never endorsed the unpopular GEAR economic policy which was
responsible for the many hardships confronting working people today.
The fact that this coalition has sprung up in the Western Cape is a
signal of its ideological colours. This is the traditional home of the
so-called ultra-left in South Africa. Under apartheid they were
organised in the Unity Movement, led by Neville Alexander who served
time on Robben Island. Although Ehrenreich says the groups involved
range from ultra-left to conservative and include the Western Cape
Council of Churches, it's seen as an "ultra-left" initiative and he's
associated with a militant "ultra-left" minority tendency in the
labour movement - although it must be said that the labelling of
different sections of the political spectrum in post-apartheid South
Africa is a little risky, since it tends to be subjective. Many of
those labelled Trotskyites are simply opponents of the
ANC/government's jump to the right in the 90's when they overnight
abandoned the redistributive RDP economic policy and introduced GEAR,
which has been described by the organisers of the new coalition as
Thatcherite.
The majority tendency in Cosatu is largely loyal to the small but
influential South African Communist Party and sees its future in
strengthening the hand of the left in the ANC Alliance. The Western
Cape Cosatu leader admits that delegates to the recent ANC National
General Council won political space which makes this strategy look
more realistic than before. As Ehrenreich told the Mail and
Guardian: "The ANC's NGC was a watershed in asserting greater
democratic control of the ANC." But he clearly sees room for a dual
strategy, mobilising inside and outside the alliance for socialist
policies; and this kind of union-civil society alliance is nothing
new, nor necessarily a threat to the ANC Alliance. The Cosatu national
leadership was quick to point out that it participates in a number of
such alliances, including one that has been campaigning without
success for a basic income grant to give a hundred rand a month to
each South African. (This would go a long way to dealing with the
immediate needs of the poorest in society, but government is adamant
that the country can't afford the BIG.)
Although the new coalition against poverty and unemployment is non-
racial, like the Unity Movement it has found a home among so-called
Coloured intellectuals and workers who are numerically dominant in
Cape Town thanks to old apartheid divide and rule policies. That
situation is fast changing, however, as Africans from the Eastern Cape
and other parts of the country flood to Cape Town in search of jobs
and houses. Tensions between Coloureds and Africans in the Western
Cape have been particularly marked around the issue of housing
delivery, with many Coloured residents arguing that they have been on
the waiting list far longer than newer African immigrants who are
sometimes fast-tracked, they feel.
The ANC in the Western Cape is taking the strain, with racial and
other tensions threatening its very new hold on power in the province.
The ruling party recently won control of the Western Cape, but holds
it only by a very small majority which might be wiped out in the next
floor-crossing window period when Parliament re-opens. During this
period, MP's are allowed to cross the floor to join another party.
Previously this worked in the ANC's favour, but that might not last.
Another province where the ruling African National Congress is in some
trouble is KwaZulu Natal, home to the sacked deputy president, Jacob
Zuma. His replacement as deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, was
heckled at a Women's Day rally in KZN on August 9th. This contrasted
with the warm reception she's received elsewhere from most South
Africans, even former Zuma supporters. There seems to be a bit of a
news blackout of Zuma's activities by the state broadcaster - although
he does get coverage occasionally - while regular coverage is
understandably given to the president and his deputy as they visit
every corner of the land, trying to improve communication with
ordinary people and officials, and speed up delivery.
Police throughout the country have been struggling to contain
demonstrations for faster service delivery, for anti-retroviral drugs,
and higher wages. Their earlier restraint has, however, given way to
tougher action, with some allegations that they are using unnecessary
and excessive force. The police counter by claiming provocation by
demonstrators. But one eyewitness who phoned a radio programme claimed
he saw police and private security agents drive picketing supermarket
workers into the Sea Point branch of Pick and Pay, then seal off all
exits and attack the strikers with teargas and sjamboks - the whips
which came to symbolise apartheid police brutality. "It was just like
the old days," said the eyewitness. Police have also been criticised
for their violent dispersal of some AIDS demonstrations.
Provocation by some strikers was certainly evident in the case of a
municipal workers' strike last month. Media workers were among those
attacked by strikers who also trashed city streets. The municipal
workers' union is regarded as led by the "ultra-left", and the
demonstrations in Cape Town were particularly nasty. The union in turn
claimed that undisciplined actions by its members were provoked by
unacceptable policing methods. It's hard to tell whether police tactic
signals a hardened resolve by government or frustration by an over-
stretched, poorly paid police officers, many of whom were trained and
were active under apartheid.
Public sympathy has generally been with striking workers, especially
in the case of the South African Airways and Pick and Pay strikes.
This is largely a reflection of widespread concern about the huge
differentials between workers and top executives. This gap in South
Africa has grown in the last ten years and can be as big as fifty to
one. In addition top executives pay themselves huge bonuses worth
millions of rands each, while calling on underpaid workers to practise
wage restraint.
In all the struggles taking place in the country, the government seems
to be trying to locate itself on the side of the poor and win enough
time to try and solve their problems. Both the struggles and the
government's energetic response are linked to upcoming local
government elections in December. The steady shift to the left within
ANC and government continues. Last month there were a number of
demonstrations of this trend: -
President Mbeki was reported to have said that he didn't believe the
theory that if one country in the region, say Malawi, created
conditions attractive to investors, then foreign investment would flow
there. (This remark reflects the fact that the response by foreign
investors to South Africa's home-grown structural adjustment policy,
GEAR, has been a disappointment to government and an eye-opener).
The president called for an end to "pro-rich" property development
that ensured the best located land was reserved for the rich.
Predictably this caused a stir in business and opposition party
circles, who accused him of tampering with the property market and
frightening off foreign investors. Mbeki was opening a model low-cost
housing project in central Johannesburg.
Both the president and his deputy made public statements about
Zimbabwe's land reform process that indicated an intention to
accelerate South Africa's redistribution programme. At a land summit
last month government agreed to review the willing seller, willing
buyer principle which has held up the purchase of land. White farmers
do not readily part with the best land at an affordable price for the
state. But while redistribution may be speeded up, analysts say they
do not foresee wide scale expropriation.
Immediately after the land summit, the Young Communist League policy
conference called for the nationalisation of the land and mines. This
call came in the wake of the first gold mining strike in 18 years.
Mining houses soon moved to settle the strike, apparently under
pressure from government. Business Day reported that South Africa
accounts for about 15 percent of global gold output, and a prolonged
strike could have played havoc with the gold price.
The Young Communist League also called for the Communist Party to
contest some seats in the local government elections independently of
the ANC. This is unlikely to be acted on by the party's leadership, as
it tries to close ranks with its comrades in government and the ANC
leadership now that they all seem to be heading more in the same
direction than before, after half a decade or more of serious
differences over economic policy. But the threat of a possible
electoral challenge from the left or ultra-left will no doubt
encourage the government and ANC in their efforts to deal decisively
with the crushing poverty most working class families in South Africa
are still facing in the second decade of freedom.
September 2005
PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office 608 262 4067
Home 608 422 6089
Cell 608 381 0407
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is
in his heart."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office 608 262 4067
Home 608 422 6089
Cell 608 381 0407
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is
in his heart."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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