14 June 2001
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is shocked and extremely concerned at recent reports on developments in the South African Airways (SAA).
The focus of the reports on the SAA debacle are centred around amounts paid to Coleman Andrews's, the role of the former SAA Chairman, Saki Macozoma's a range of decisions taken by Andrews and Macozoma's and statements by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Jeff Radebe. The sensation over individuals and their names could blur fundamental issues related to restructuring of state assets and the roles which must be played by managements and boards of parastatals and.
The filing of a Section 77 application to NEDLAC by COSATU is a further reminder that all is not well in the restructuring process there are serious problems in the restructuring process. All the problems in Telkom, the SA Post Office, Umgeni Water, the Dolphin Coast and many local governments ESKOM, etc. point to a serious situation which calls for a sober discussion and could hamper our objectives of providing free basic services to our people and the developmental role of parastatals. At worst these problems could possibly have the effect of turning the public sector into a mere regulator with no strategic power, positioning and role.
Key amongst these problems are:
1. Attempts to project restructuring of state assets as it means wholesale
privatisation of state assets.
2. The illusion that the best form of mobilising and directing private
capital to invest in our economy is through privatisation.
3. The undermining of the role of the state as the major shareholder by
sections of management of some of these parastatals.
4. The undermining of the National Framework Agreement between labour and
government by some of the managers of the state assets. Our experience has
been that the managers of many of these assets have imposed restructuring
without any meaningful consultation and participation by workers.
5. The displacement of a popular debate on economic transformation, the
needs and interests of workers and communities, the majority of whom are
black and poor, in the restructuring of state assets. For example, the
likely increase of water and electricity tariffs could undermine our stated
objective of providing free basic services to our people. Already too many
jobs continue being lost in parastatals. The public sector can ill-afford to
contribute to the deterioration of our people's living standards through
further job losses, price hikes and decreasing levels of service delivery.
6. Primitive capital accumulation by an elite which plunders state assets
through outsourcing, the extravagant use of consultants, contracting out,
and corruption is some instances as if there is anything scientific or
socially efficient about these essentially political choices about which
class will benefit from restructuring.
All these developments vindicate the SACP Central Committee call for government and the ANC-SACP-COSATU alliance to conduct an urgent and comprehensive audit and review of all restructuring of state assets which has taken place all throughout the public sector. This review must include all national parastatals, provincial parastatals, local government and the public service as a whole. This review must also frankly assess who the beneficiaries of restructuring have been and whether we have advanced our developmental objectives with current restructuring.
This review must be followed by an ANC-SACP-COSATU Alliance consensus on a restructuring programme which creates jobs, delivers basic services at affordable prices and contributes to economic growth and transformation led by the state.
This review must be part of broader discussions on an appropriate economic growth and development path for our country. As the SACP we have consistently argued for a strategic debate on economic transformation which would be premised on a state-led industrial strategy with the following sectors of our economy remaining in the public sector - education, health, water, municipal services, central banking, development finance, transport, communications, electricity supply, energy including liquid fuels, mineral rights and housing.
Unless and until there is a full debate and agreement, the issues of restructuring of state assets and our chosen path of economic growth and development are going to continue causing fundamental problems which could unravel our transformation agenda.
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information Publicity South African Communist Party
Tel: 011 339-3621/2
Fax: 011 339-4244
Cell: 083 651 0271
Email: sacp1@wn.apc.org