May 1998
Prepare for the
10th Congress!
Through May and June all SACP structures are being mobilised to ensure
that our Party prepares for the 10th National Congress. The Congress will
convene from July 1 to 5 in Johannesburg.
With four years of
experience since the April 1994 democratic breakthrough behind us, and with one
year to go before the 1999 elections, the 10th Congress comes at an important
moment. The SACP continues to see itself as a vanguard party in the context of a
broader national liberation movement. A critical component of the vanguard role
we seek to play is to develop and propagate clear, collective strategic
perspectives, not just for our Party, but for our movement.
The need for strategic clarity in our present situation is more pressing than
ever before. How does the new, democratic South Africa connect to wider
international realities? What is the meaning of "globalisation"? What
is our assessment of the past four years? How do we steer between the twin
dangers of demoralisation and complacency? These are the kinds of critical
strategic questions that the Central Committee's draft programme discussion
documents seek to answer.
Where is the South African transition heading, and what is the greatest
threat to our national democratic revolution? The draft programme chapter that
looks at this question asserts that: "the SACP believes that the greatest
threat to the NDR comes not from without, but from within, or rather from the
strategic impact upon our alliance exerted by forces fundamentally hostile to
the NDR."
The past eight years, since the SACP's unbanning, have been complex years for
communists in South Africa, and around the world. What does it mean in the 1990s
to be a communist? What lessons must be drawn from the socialist struggles of
our century? The SACP in the 1990s has refused opportunism of the right (quietly
abandoning our traditions and our legacy), and dogmatism of the left (pretending
there are no problems). The SACP has sought to be a collective formation capable
of waging struggle for the renewal of socialism in our country, and
internationally.
The discussion of the CC draft documents, and the chapter on "Our
Marxism", in particular, provide an opportunity for SACP cadres to take
stock of the progress we have made in the collective struggle for socialist
renewal. Do we have a common understanding of the path we have covered in the
last eight years? The Congress and the preparations for it must help us to test
this question, and to forge a common perspective.
The SACP Central Committee has charged all provincial structures to ensure
that regional and provincial workshops convene before July. An important task of
such workshops will be to discuss, debate and propose amendments to the Party's
draft programme chapters. All CC members have been deployed to provinces to
facilitate this process. It is important that the nearly 500 branch-level
delegates that will attend the 10th Congress are effectively prepared and
mandated for the plenary and commission discussions.
While our potential strategic and theoretical contribution to our movement is
of critical importance, the discussion and resolutions that emerge from Congress
must also be directed to practical, organisational work. Are our present
organisational structures the most adequate for the strategic objectives we are
setting ourselves as a Party? And what is the state of organisational health in
our alliance partners - especially the ANC?
As SACP members we are particularly concerned about the organisational state
of health of the leading formation of the alliance. It is a concern that we
share with thousands of non-communist ANC members. While our political opponents
are incapable of mounting any serious threat to the ANC's huge majority, the
levels of intra-organisational factionalism, and the loss of connection with our
mass base are serious concerns.
In preparing for the SACP congress these issues must also be discussed, and
practical resolutions taken. A key resolution of our 10th Congress will surely
be a call on all Party members to play an active, non-sectarian role in
rebuilding the ANC. Party members need to be factor for cohesion, unity and
non-sectarian discipline within our broader movement.
| Lessons from the Meiring fiasco |
As a liberation movement we must take serious note of the Meiring fiasco.
This was one important message from the Central Committee of the SACP, meeting
over the weekend of 9-10 May.
General George
Meiring , a former apartheid-era general, and then head of the new SANDF,
submitted a disinformation dossier, compiled by elements in Military
Intelligence, directly to President Nelson Mandela. In doing this, Meiring
completely bypassed the Ministry of Defence. The contents of the dossier were at
once laughable and extremely grave.
The dossier, based supposedly on information supplied by one single
informant, alleged a whole cock-and-bull story about a planned
"left-wing" plot against the government. The plot was being launched,
it was claimed, from within the SANDF itself by former leading members of MK. As
it happened, the key "conspirators" are all those senior black
officers earmarked for promotion in the SANDF - promotions that will displace
former white apartheid officers in the army.
It is easy to laugh at the crudeness of this disinformation. But imagine if
we were living in a country in which the government was paranoid. In the 1930s
the Red Army in the Soviet Union was torn apart by a series of purges directed
against its leading personnel. It was only years later that it was learnt that
the purges against Red Army officers were sparked by disinformation fed to
Stalin's government by German Nazi intelligence networks.
In the end, our government handled the matter with maturity and also
sensitivity. But Meiring and his followers must not now mistake sensitivity and
generosity for a lack of willingness to deal decisively with attempts to
destabilise our democracy.
In its statement the Central Committee noted that "the act of supplying
disinformation to a President of a country would, in most societies, be
considered treasonable...Meiring must count himself luck to have been handled so
gently."
This cock-and-bull conspiracy story is, of course, one in a series of similar
disinformation stories that have been around in the 1990s. In 1991 there was the
Vula "conspiracy" story - the SACP was supposedly seeking to
destabilise negotiations. In 1993, shortly before his assassination, comrade
Chris Hani was supposed to have launched an army of "dissidents" in
Zimbabwe. In 1994, on the eve of elections, Vula was supposed to have been
resurrected as Operation Sunrise, "an SACP insurrectionary plan to
destabilise elections". In 1996, there was a disinformation docket which
tried to claim that elements within the ANC were behind Hani's assassination.
The objective of all of these stories is to divide our alliance and our
movement, to stir up emotions in the ultra-right, and to weaken our capacity to
push ahead with a unified struggle for transformation.
All of these acts of disinformation have had their origin in ex-Military
Intelligence networks. As the Meiring event underlines, some of these elements
are still active in the new SANDF intelligence structures. The SACP welcomes
Meiring's resignation from the SANDF and government's initiative to conduct a
thorough-going clean-up of intelligence structures.
Left Laugh
|
Indonesia
Conflict Intensifies
The effects of the
IMF-sponsored programme of 'reform' for Indonesia have intensified social and
political conflict in this country of 200 million people. Over the last several
weeks, there have been scores of mass demonstrations and riots by student groups
and workers, sparked by the implementation of the so-called 'reforms'. Most
recently, the government announced a 70% hike in petrol prices, following
further devaluation of the Indonesian currency and a multi-billion dollar
bailout of failing Indonesian banks.
In response, the powerful Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) have launched a
crack down, publicly warning that all demonstrations against the Suharto regime
will be dealt with "firmly". True to their word, the ABRI has shot and
killed several demonstrators over the last few weeks. Several hundred students
and workers have been wounded. However, the ABRI has also embarked on a campaign
of arrest and torture, with many activists having 'disappeared' over the last
several weeks.
According to reports from the chair of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation,
over 50 activists have 'disappeared' without trace. Not surprisingly, ABRI
Generals have flatly denied this, telling the families of the disappeared that
"perhaps the people who have disappeared are drinking coffee at a café and
chatting", or maybe they are "wandering around in the jungle".
Indeed, the Suharto regime is increasingly relying on the brutal ABRI forces
to survive. As many internationalists are well aware, the ABRI has, in the past,
been responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Indonesian Communists
as well as the continuing genocide against the people of East Timor. The latest
crackdown on opposition comes in the wake of collaboration between the ABRI and
the United States military (who have long had a close 'working' relationship).
Reports from sources inside Indonesia indicate that, since the crisis erupted
late last year, US military personnel have conducted numerous high-level
meetings with ABRI Generals and have provided a wide range of training and
weapons to elite forces in the ABRI. US military participants have included
Green Berets, Air Force commandos and Marines.
It is clear that the intensified conflict is being used by the United States
and the IMF to push Indonesia from its 'crony-style' capitalism (under the
direction of the Suharto family), to a harsher, multinational and corporate
variety based on submission to global markets. Likewise, the conflict provides
these same forces with an excuse to crackdown on opposition and strengthen the
capacity of the ABRI to 'stabilise' the situation for capital to pursue their
business.
As the socio-economic situation for the vast majority of Indonesians worsens
the conflict will, no doubt, further intensify.
READER'S FORUM
Struggle against Tribalism in Northern Province
JUSTICE PIITSO, Secretary of the SACP Sekhukhune-Central District details
some of the political and organisational challenges facing progressive forces in
his area, in response to the so-called 'Sekhukhune lobby group'.
As part of the
movement's attempts to implement our political vision of transformation, we in
the Northern Province have increasingly been forced to confront tribalist and
regionalist tendencies that are gradually manifesting themselves as part of an
attempt to undermine the integrity of the ANC. Such tendencies are reactionary
(in a class context), because the political agenda of the ANC as a national
liberation movement is one of building a united, non-sexist, non-racial and
non-tribalist democratic state.
The agenda of the so-called Sekhukhune lobby group (predominately made up by
businessmen and ex-bantustan officials) is contrary to the political objectives
of our movement. While the movement's goal is the passage of political and
economic power from the old apartheid elites and institutions to the
historically marginalised majority, the goal of the so-called 'lobby group' is
limited to group advancement and self-enrichment. As part of this goal, the
group is pushing the people of the Sekhukhune area to identify themselves as
grandchildren of King Kgosikgolo Sekhukhune, in an attempt to separate them from
other people on the basis of personal interest and narrow ethnicity.
My own understanding is that the political vision of King Sekhukhune was not
one of advancing the narrow interests of ethnicity, but of advancing the needs
of the broad majority, particularly the rural poor. He was one of the first
gallant fighters on this continent who attempted to address key social and
political issues facing the entire society. Likewise, he courageously opposed
the narrow and oppressive interests of the imperialists and capitalists of his
time. Sekhukhune, as a visionary, interacted with leaders and people across
tribal lines. In contrast, the so-called 'lobby group' is now attempting to
advance their selfish ambitions on the basis of humiliating the legacy of King
Sekhukhune.
Some elements of the group were loyal right-hand men and women of the
discredited bantustan administration. Thus, it comes as no surprise that they
are now launching an offensive to smear the movement and its leaders in our
area. It is, as part of this offensive, that the group is becoming increasingly
ruthless as they attempt to consolidate their personal interests before that of
the movement. It is this group that is leading the attack against our comrades
who have been deployed by the ANC to lead our provincial government. Their
counter-revolutionary efforts have already impacted adversely on the delivery of
basic services and the needs of the predominately rural province. They have also
tarnished the image of the ANC.
Our revolutionary task is to advance, deepen and defend the historic
breakthrough as a means of curbing these tendencies. We must ensure that we
mobilise to demobilise this kind of gangsterism and in the process, restore the
dignity of the ANC as a broad liberation movement.
Quote of the Month
I have long been of the opinion that if work were such a splendid thing the
rich would have kept more of it for themselves. (Bruce Grocott)
Red Star and Thumbs Down3 Thumbs Down - to SASOL and its 2 Thumbs Down - to Russian
- to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and its members, for standing
- to the National Sports Council (NSC) and all those forces, including |
Provincial
Focus
Gauteng
The SACP in Gauteng held its 6th Provincial Congress from 18-19th April in
Johannesburg. The Congress was marked by lively debate and participation from
delegates. Below is the Congress Declaration, adopted by delegates as a
reflection of the mood and content of the Congress.
We the delegates of the 6th Congress of the South African Communist Party in
Gauteng Province, held on the 18th and 19th of April, at Johannesburg, declare
for our province and the country:
1. This Congress, attended by 140 delegates, observers and guests, including
international guests representing Cuba, Mozambique, Britain and Germany, is a
key moment in the history of our province. The 98 voting delegates represent
thousands of communists in Gauteng.
2. This Congress serves as preparation for the 10th National Congress of the
SACP, which will assert our conviction that the socialism is genuine people's
power.
3. This Congress takes place in the context of four and a half years of
government. In this regard we acknowledge the failure of the Alliance to become
the mainstay of driving transformation in the Province.
4. This Congress however notes that key advances have been made over the past
four years with regard to both governance and improvement in key aspects of
delivery.
5. This Congress notes the unfavourable circumstances both nationally and
internationally. In particular we note the impact of the collapse of the former
socialist bloc and the rise of neo-liberal ideology, which has the prospect of
limiting possibilities for thorough-going transformation.
6. This Congress acknowledges that the process of transformation, occasioned
by the 1994 breakthrough, has also catalysed a web of counter-revolutionary
tendencies. At the same time, reactionary elements of the state, specifically in
the army and the police, remain a threat - and these are not the only ones.
7. Most seriously, but not unexpectedly, this Congress notes the threats that
have been brought to the progressive movement: the possibility of a timid
political agenda on the one side, and voluntarism on the other, are both
threats.
8. Furthermore, this Congress observes that the possibilities of careerism,
bureaucratism, disdain for mass contact, over-theorisation on one hand, and a
fear of theory on the other hand, can also derail transformative possibilities.
9. As the SACP:
- We call upon the Youth. You belong to the future. The future is Socialism.
- We call upon the Women - in the factories, in the huts and in the shacks.
Capitalism is incapable of resolving your problems. In addressing your
problems, your oppression at home, the Party is your shield. - We call upon the Workers, who produced Moses Kotane and Chris Hani, who
produce the wealth of the country, which they are denied. We say Socialism
is your future. The Party is your home.
10. This Congress is convinced that the Alliance remains the strategic
locomotive for transformation - that the unity of the Alliance remains the most
important challenge for all revolutionaries in our country, communists and
non-communists alike.
11. The upcoming elections will be crucial in consolidating the National
Democratic Revolution. All communists will be centrally involved and at the helm
of the elections campaign for a decisive ANC victory.
For the transformation to sharpen its radical edge, the SACP will continue to
be the ideological spear of the revolution. This does not mean we will reduce
the Party to a debating society. It is our task as communists to provide
leadership in the popular organs of civil society, to mobilise society and to
implement practical programmes to transform society. The Party must be both
ideologically sharp and have a mass base with political muscle. The Party will
seek to hegemonise and to accumulate around itself social forces such as
religious groupings, the movement of homeless and landless people, co-operative
movements, hawkers, the organised working class, the unemployed and the rural
poor. Finally as the South African Communist Party in Gauteng, we look to the
future, confident and strong in our resolve that socialism is the only answer
for this province, for this country, and for the world. All energies must be
focused to achieve this objective now.
A new Provincial Executive Committee was elected, as follows:
Trevor Fowler (Provincial Secretary); Bob Mabaso (Provincial Chairperson);
Nomvula Mokonyane (Treasurer); Emmanuel Kgomo (Deputy Secretary); Charley Lewis
(Deputy Chairperson)
Additional members elected were:
Sibusiso Buthelezi, Trish Hanekom, Themba Kgasi, Obed Maila, Pule Malefane,
Amos Masondo, Dale McKinley, Dan Mohapi, Jabu Moleketi, Sisa Njikelana, Hope
Papo, Norman Ralegoma, Vishwas Satgar, Langa Zita.
Mozambique
Debt 'RELIEF' isn't what appears to be
Last month, the World Bank and the IMF announced that they were providing
a "debt-service relief package" to Mozambique in order to "reduce
the external debt burden, free budgetary resources and allow Mozambique to
broaden the scope of its development effort." Many have hailed this
decision as a positive step. On closer inspection though, it is clear that the
'cancelled debt' only applies to that debt which would never have been paid, and
debt service payments will actually increase.
Calls for the
cancellation of the debt of developing countries has gathered pace over the last
year as the effects of debt-servicing, coupled to the implementation of
structural adjustment programmes (SAPS), has crippled the capacity of
governments to provide adequate social services. One of the most highly indebted
countries, Mozambique, has received particular attention due to its massive
debt, accumulated as a result of the harsh SAPS implemented since the
devastation of the Mozambique's civil war.
When the World Bank and IMF made their 'debt-relief' announcement, the
general response was to welcome the move since it would reduce the debt of one
of the poorest countries in the world. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Debt
service will increase, not decrease. Under the 'Heavily Indebted Poor Countries'
(HIPC) programme of the World Bank and IMF, Mozambique will use 20 percent of
export earnings to pay the principal and interest on the remaining debt. By
1999, exports will exceed $500 million per year. Exact projections have not been
published yet, but the 20 per cent figure means Mozambique must pay at least
$100 million per year. The Mozambique News Agency reports that debt service in
recent years has been:
1995 - $66.3 million
1996 - $71.5 million
1997 - $80.3 million
1998 - $86 million predicted
This means Mozambique still must divert essential funds away from health and
education to repay debts. The Ministry of Education has already deferred
universal primary education until 2010, and a recently leaked Ministry of
Education report put the blame entirely on lack of money due to the need to meet
debt service payments.
Minister of Finance and Planning Tomaz Salomao, is quoted in the World Bank's
own press release on the programme as saying: "Considering that Mozambique
is one of the poorest countries in the world, and one devastated by war, it
would have been our desire to receive total debt forgiveness... (but) the HIPC
deal (is) what is possible now".
The World Bank and IMF have billed their HIPC Initiative as an
"exit" strategy - as the end to debt negotiations. But Salomao's
comments make clear this is not true in the case of Mozambique. The World
Bank/IMF decision is just that -- it is a decision that debt will be cancelled
in June 1999. Cancellation will only take place if Mozambique continues to
follow the much-criticised structural adjustment programme. This includes the
partial privatisation of profitable port and railway facilities.
Much of this article comes from the analysis of JOSEPH HANLON, who works
with the anti-debt organisation, JUBILEE 2000
News Breifs
Mass Action and Electrol Boycott Puts Nigerian
Dictator on Defensive
General Sani Abacha, Nigeria's ruthless military dictator has been handed a
severe setback in his plans to retain political control of Africa's most
populous nation. After years of mis-rule, including massive suppression of basic
human rights, banning of political opposition and large-scale environmental
destruction, Abacha announced several months ago that new national assembly
elections would take place in late April, and that he would be running as a
Presidential candidate in national elections scheduled for August. In response,
all major opposition groups called for Nigerians to take to the streets in early
April as a show of popular rejection of Abacha's "democratic" charade.
Over one million people demonstrated in Lagos alone. This was followed by a
successful opposition boycott of the national assembly elections, held on 25th
April, in which an estimated 80% of eligible voters shunned the rigged polls.
The people have spoken!
Zambian Government 's Bullying Tactics Backfire
As part of its ongoing attempts to crush all political opposition, both
in and outside Zambia, the government of President Frederick Chiluba, recently
despatched Minister without Portfolio, Michael Sata, on a trip to South Africa.
Before arriving in Johannesburg, Sata had stopped in Namibia, where he publicly
threatened exiled opposition activists, stating that "we know who you are
and we know where you are". After less than a day in Johannesburg Sata,
whose main target was the South African-based exiled General Secretary of the
opposition Zambian Democratic Congress, Azwell Banda, was publicly exposed by
the SACP. Sata quietly slipped out of the country the next day to be met by a
front page headline in the Zambian Post entitled "Sata hounded out of
Johannesburg by SACP". Chiluba and his cronies may want to think twice
about how they deal with progressive forces in the region and, even more to the
point, in their own country.
Debate
Strategies for Socialism
In this first installment of Umsebenzi's efforts to encourage debate
around key issues for our Party, LANGA ZITA puts forward an argument focusing on
socialist strategies.
The challenge of "socialising reforms"
Gone with the model of Eastern European socialism is the notion of a big bang
approach to the achievement of socialism. The history of capitalist societies
over the past 150 years offers little sustenance for the faith in an
"inevitable" collapse of that system, preceded by an equally
inevitable crisis. I want to present the notion of a long but systematic
supercession and transformation of capitalism, in the same way that capitalism
evolved from the womb of feudalism, as the preferred strategic option. Yet,
whilst recognising these historical trends, it is not to say that change cannot
occur in certain extraordinary circumstances - in a concentrated form
("revolution"). Whilst these extraordinary forms of transition can
occur, I would argue that they should not be the preffeed option for advancing
to society a programme for fundamental socialist transformation. The content of
a mass revolutionary upsurge should have distinct objectives depending on the
specific context of the country in which it unfolds. If it is in a undemocratic
society, its objective should be simultaneously to pursue the social agenda, as
well the establishment of rule of law ( i.e., freedom of choice, multi party
political contestation that could both be in the form of representative as well
as popular and participative democracy), with the emphasis on rule of law. Rule
of law in which people can differ and can proclaim various programmes, including
a programme in which people can (in the case of a post capitalist society) argue
and mobilise democratically for a return to capitalism, must be guaranteed. If
these civil liberties are not guaranteed it is easy for a revolutionary movement
to end up as a dictatorial force, capable of committing serious crimes against
the people. I make these particular emphases because a socialism that works and
is thoroughly democratic is still to be achieved, and its pursuit cannot but be
an experiment. Thus in proceeding we should create an enviroment, a culture and
institutions that can make it possible for the people to change the government
in case the experiment goes wrong, or to elect another socialist government, if
they still want to continue with the experiment. The only context in which such
a sustainable and democratic social experimentation can proceed, which can avoid
unimaginable disasters, that humanity has developed is with all its limitation
is representative democracy - with a rule of law.
In the context of a country with deep representative democratic roots,
popular upsurges should also rethink the pursuit of classical dual power - in
which at that particular moment a socialist popular "soviet"
government stands parallel, and in opposition to, the representative
parliamentary system. Such moments risk a possible cancellation of the exercise
of the rule of law and can also lead to the rise of a political monster. In
thinking about the role of the masses in a representative democratic context, we
need to rethink the concept the change in the balance of forces that can lead to
a new and socialist power equation in society. We should think of the change in
the balance of power as reconcilable with the maintenance of the rule of law. We
should see these shifts as a result of multiple change involving changes in the
orientation of the state, in the legislature, but principally due to the
pressures of a mobilised and active people. The impact of this mobilisation
should not be seen as leading to a momentous stand off between a reactionary
state on the one hand, and mobilised people on the other. Essentially we should
see mobilisation as capable of changing the relations within the state and
capable of restructuring the relationship between the state and the people (in
organised formations) and ultimately capable of changing the very character of
the state.
Building Socialism Now!
The SACP specifically proclaims that "Socialism is the future: Build it
now " to underscore the fact that the socialist transformation should not
be postponed because we are living in a capitalist reality. Therefore, in our
case, I am arguing for socialising reforms (structural changes to social
relations) that are socialist in character (i.e., advance popular control of all
aspects of society). In particular, we argue for socialised state control of the
economy. This should proceed in such a way that the balance of forces changes
immediately but also over time in favour of the workers and popular forces, in
the economy and in society broadly.
The Left and state power
State power remains a critical arena for the achievement of socialist
transformation. However, we must not interpret this to mean the endorsement of a
narrow statism, which is essentially elitist and undemocratic. Moreover, the
tendency to turn the conceptual distinction between state and civil society into
a complete and practical divide is erroneous. The fields in which social
relations are established (i.e., civil society) and public power (i.e., in the
state) is exercised, constantly overlap. In conceiving our exercise of state
power, we should at all times ensure a dialectical interplay with popular and
other social forces at play in civil society - hence the concept of the
socialisation and absorption of the state by popular forces in civil society. By
this we mean that peoples organs, such as trade unions, student organisations,
progressive religious alliances and hawkers association must all be mobilised to
bring their views as well as their social weight on the operation of the state.
This could encourage, at first, a process where the popular forces can co-govern
with the democratic state and, over time, the state could, as a result of this
popular weight, be absorbed by it. Thus the state would not even contemplate
movement without this constant sanction from the people.
Implications of underdevelopment to a Left project
In the South African case the socialist project has to take regard of the
level of development of the forces of production in our society. Therefore, in
contrast to the developed world where the challenge is to change the character
of social relations, we still have to develop to some degree, the productive
forces in our country. This does not imply an endorsement of the argument that
we should pursue growth first, at all costs - the standard trickle-down theory
of development. For us growth means the accumulation of the forces of
production, not only profiting from those forces. Because of this, accumulation
not only resides in the forces of individual entrepreneurs but can also be
pursued by the state and collective. The central point is that we are challenged
by the twin process of accumulating wealth (on a national scale) and
simultaneously transforming and socialising the accumulation and consumption of
that wealth.
Umsebenzi Discussion
The 1998 Budget - Gear(ing) up for more job losses
The SACP's position on the 1998 budget was far too timid, argues DALE T.
McKINLEY.
Even before Trevor
Manuel unveiled the 1998 budget in March, there was ample evidence to suggest
that it would fall comfortably within the macro-economic framework as laid out
in GEAR. Like the adoption of GEAR, the 1998 budget process was a top-down
affair and despite inflation-related increases in social spending, the budget
basics remain faithful to GEAR's neo-liberal agenda. Most importantly, the
failure of the 1998 budget to provide a coherent strategy for implementing the
most central of government tasks - the creation of jobs- has serious
implications for our Party's strategy and tactics.
When the 1997 budget was unveiled, much of the South African left adopted a
wait-and-see attitude. Besides being the first full budget to be 'untainted' by
the old apartheid order, it was also the first budget within the framework of
GEAR. Despite high hopes in some quarters of the movement that the 1997 budget
represented the long-awaited redistribution of public resources, it was not long
before it became clear that the 'redistribution' was itself secondary to the
dictates of GEAR's sado-monetarist growth model.
The 1998 budget serves to confirm this trend. To begin with, the budgeting
process itself was run by the Finance Department as if the national budget was
its own private property. The stated desire for 'public debate and input' was
simply ignored, and the role of Parliament in overseeing and amending the budget
process was approached in an ad-hoc manner. Indeed, COSATU publicly announced
that it would not participate in the budget hearings due to the lack of
seriousness on the part of government to "meaningful participation" in
the budget process.
However, it is questionable whether or not a more participatory process would
have fundamentally altered the content of the budget. The commitment of
government to GEAR's deficit reduction formula (3.5% of gross domestic product -
GDP) has made it virtually impossible for serious compromise over spending
patterns, job creation strategies and redistribution of wealth. This formula, to
be implemented through massive public sector lay-offs and cuts in certain areas
of social spending, is complemented by providing increased relief to the
capitalist class in the form of tax relief, subsidisation of corporate
investment and the further relaxation of exchange controls.
Within this framework, the inflation-related increases given to such social
services as housing, education and health, and the once-off levy on the
demutualisation of Sanlam and Old Mutual, are more than off-set by the
longer-term effects of the budget's 'hands-off' approach to the existing
distribution of wealth and monetarist-driven 'downsizing' of the public sector.
How are we to respond to the 84% cut in the budget of the National Public
Works programmes, the mainstay of any public-sector led, job creation strategy?
Last year our Party, fully informed by the SACP Strategic Perspectives, made a
clear call for:
- the popularisation and empowerment of community-based public works
programmes - the implementation of labour intensive public works projects (work
brigades) - the provision, through the public works programmes, of waged employment to
the most vulnerable sectors of communities - the establishment of a public works strategic policy unit
And yet when the budget was unveiled, a Party press statement was released
which, while noting displeasure at "self-imposed and excessively
restrictive" constraints, stated that the budget "represents a
generally constructive and well-balanced approach to meeting the social delivery
needs of our society". Our analysis and our political choices need to be
much clearer.
The bottom line is that the budget relies completely on 'sending the right
signals' to international and domestic capital in order to hopefully spur
growth, create the (private) jobs to replace the ones it is shedding and thus
provide increased income to government. It is a classic trickle-down budget and
those who want to pretend otherwise are simply being naïve, or worse,
dishonest.
Our Party should pay close attention to the character of responses to the
1998 budget coming from the capitalist camp. When the South African Chamber of
Commerce publicly states that "we could not have hoped for a better
budget", we should know that something is seriously wrong. Likewise, we
cannot shrug off the clear failure of GEAR-inspired budgets to: maintain any
kind of balance between sustained growth and redistribution; generate sizeable
increases in domestic fixed investment rather than massive capital outflows; and
stem the speculative and short-term foreign capital inflows that do little to
generate either jobs or productive use of capital.
We need to display both political maturity and courage in confronting the
framework and practical effects of the 1998 budget, but confront it we must.
