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Volume 13, No. 25, 26 June 2014 |
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Red Alert On the radical, second phase of the transition: Some Brief Comments |
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By Yunus Carrim, SACP Politburo Member
The struggle for national liberation was increasingly waged for both political and economic liberation. The links between the political and economic aspects of liberation are there in the Freedom Charter, and most explicitly set out in the ANC's 1969 Morogoro Conference. Among the many references to this in the Conference's "Strategy and Tactics" document is that the struggle was aimed at " the complete political and economic emancipation of all our people and the constitution of a society, which accords, with the basic provisions of our programme - the Freedom Charter.
So it was long, long before the EFF recently surfaced to claim the space for economic freedom solely for itself, that ANC members under the most brutal conditions of apartheid and at huge personal and collective cost waged the struggle for economic freedom. The struggle for economic freedom is an endemic part of the ANC's ongoing national liberation struggle. Of course, the EFF knows this. Most of their members come from the ANC anyway.
So it's very hard to argue that the ANC's stress in the next five years on economic liberation is simply to outflank the EFF. You certainly weren't there in 1955. And you weren't there in 1969 either. So really!
Yes, yes, the world has changed dramatically since the ANC's 1969 Conference. But the need for economic liberation hasn't. 20 years into our democracy it has become more urgent. We have, of course, made significant progress since 1994. But we still have a long way to go. And the way to go, as the ANC and government have made clear, is into a second, more radical phase of our transition to a national democratic society.
The President in his recent Inaugural Address, no less, made it very clear that "this second phase will involve the implementation of radical socio-economic transformation policies and programmes over the next five years."
"Economic transformation", he said "will take centre-stage during this new term of government as we put the economy on an inclusive growth path." He repeated this in his SONA address yesterday.
Of course, as has been made clear, this second phase, cannot be mechanically separated from the first. Just as you cannot mechanically separate the economic and political aspects of the national democratic struggle. It's that the emphasis is now going to be much more on the economic aspects. And the progress made these past 20 years provides the basis for the second phase.
By the radical phase of the transition we are referring to more directly and systematically addressing the structural constraints of the economy and more decisively tackling the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality in our society. By radical we mean addressing the roots of the problem. And by radical we mean too decisive action to achieve our political and economic goals. So with the new radical phase, we are speaking both of content and, crucially, action. We are speaking of a new determination to get things done - faster, more efficiently, more effectively.
An important part of the structural constraint relates to the way in which our economy integrated into the global economy, as a supplier of natural resources and with our over-dependency on the mining and finance sectors and the inadequate development of our manufacturing sector. These constraints trap our economy in a low-growth, low-investment, high-inequality and high-unemployment cycle. Overcoming the structural problems and binding constraints requires structural solutions to transform the trajectory of economic growth, further industrialise the South African economy and accelerate social development. Over time, we will have to break out of this structural constraint, and various aspects of the programme of economic restructuring will contribute to this. The focus on re-ndustrialisation will be a key part of this. So too will the more rapid and systematic implementation of the National Infrastructure Plan.
For much of the past 20 years we've been focussing mainly on economic growth, not enough on economic transformation. Now we need to look more at transformation, but transformation that will be a source of growth, and shape the kind of growth and who benefits from it - and not simply established capital, but, crucially, emerging black capital too.
As the ANC's Mangaung resolution points out, the changes necessary will not emerge spontaneously from the "free hand" of the market. The state has to play a leading and decisive role to ensure this. It has to win over the broadest cross-section of society to play an effective role in this and also crowd in private investment. This means we have to build our capacity to be a more effective democratic developmental state. Building the capacity of, and for, a progressive state is a crucial aspect of driving the second phase of our transition.
This means too effective deployment of state owned enterprises and development finance institutions, which need to complement the State in promoting inclusive economic growth.
All of this is not to say, that the crucial role of the private sector is not recognised. On the contrary, the President made clear last night the efforts being made and to be made to win the confidence and support of the private sector for the second phase of the transition
The NDP, complemented by the NGP and IPAP, provides the framework for the second phase of the transition. Aspects of this phase will involve accelerating the pace of delivery of existing programmes; other aspects will entail new ways of implementing existing programmes, and there will also be new programmes.
The ANC's Election Manifesto is clear: "the radical second phase of our transition must bring about the economic emancipation of our people.
….In the next five years, despite the global economic outlook, we are determined to act decisively and boldly to increase investment in the real economy and infrastructure, stimulate faster levels of inclusive growth, speed up social development, substantially reduce poverty and unemployment, and place the economy on a qualitatively different growth path."
The ANC's Mangaung resolution on economic transformation notes: "The ANC's economic vision rests on the Freedom Charter's call that the people shall share in South Africa's wealth. Through economic transformation we intend to build an equitable society in which there is decent work for all."
The resolution goes on to note that: "We intend to transform the structure of the economy through industrialisation, broad-based black economic empowerment, addressing the basic needs of our people, including women and youth, strengthening and expanding the role of the state and the role of state owned enterprises"
…..Now we heard today from the Deputy Speaker of Parliament that Mr Maimane is the new Leader of the Opposition. I wonder if Mr Malema recognises the Mr Maimane as his leader? The brand new Leader of the Opposition, the posterboy boy of the suburbs, delivering his maiden speech, said the President had disappointed him. He said he was hoping for bold new ideas. But what did Mr Maimane offer instead? The same old lamentations, the same old suburban whining, the same well-coached culture of pessimism. A new Leader of the DA with nothing new to say. Wow! What a not-new start.
Now we have Mr Malema beginning his maiden speech by speaking on behalf of the indebted in South Africa. Of course, he carefully forgot to speak on behalf of his debt to the SA Revenue Service! On Nelson Mandela Day, I suggest you clean up your own indebtedness - rather than exercise your mediocre carpentry skills on school building.
Back to what matters. The implementation of the key recommendations of the SIMS report on mining should be considered, particularly the greater beneficiation of our natural resources and industrialization, and set-asides at a favourable price of key commodities for local energy production, such as coal and gas and industrial manufacturing, such as iron ore and manganese.
The exploitation of minerals must optimise their developmental impact, especially job creation, across the economy. Mining should catalyse broader industrialisation through the realisation of all the potential backward and forward linkages, including a much greater degree of beneficiation.
SA's competitive advantage is our abundant mineral resources. However, for over a century the major mining and financial interests that have dominated mining in our country have locked us into a growth path that relies heavily on exporting un-beneficiated primary resources extracted through cheap - and still today, often, contract - labour. In many respects this pattern continues. The overweening dominance of monopoly finance and mining conglomerates within our economy has had many negative impacts - including the stifling of our manufacturing sector.
With the downgrading by two international ratings agencies the print media has been filled with articles about what "Business says". But if you read the articles carefully you will quickly realise that "business" is not a monolithic reality. For some CEOs, the over-riding imperative is maximising dividends for foreign shareholders in South African mines or in companies like SASOL. But that over-riding imperative is likely to be in conflict with local manufacturing interests, for instance.
Through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and its amendments we have taken important steps forward to leverage our mineral resources for industrialisation, job creation and shared growth. The mining conglomerates no longer own the mineral resources - the Act declares, rightfully, that all the mineral resources below the ground belong to the people of SA as a whole, with government acting as custodian. Private mining companies receive time-bound mining rights in exchange for fulfilling certain conditions.
Last year, amendments to the Act took us important steps forward, by empowering government to declare certain minerals strategic and to ensure that a percentage of the output of these strategic minerals is made available for local beneficiation. That's an important step forward that will help to turn around the de-industrialisation of our economy.
However, as we consolidate the second phase of the transition we need to consider further amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. There should not only be domestic market set-asides of strategic minerals - but also domestic prices for these quotas. It makes no sense that local industry is often forced to procure iron ore, or manganese, or coal as if these inputs had come all the way from Australia or Papua New Guinea!
As the National Development Plan outlines, the structure of the economy will be transformed through industrialisation, broad-based black economic empowerment and through strengthening and expanding the role of the state in the economy. The NDP is clear about the need for participation of the fullest range of the people and stakeholders of our country.
The state cannot on its own effectively implement the second phase of the transition. We need the active participation of the people. Not just this, but the concerted involvement of key stakeholders such as business and the trade unions.
We need a massive united effort to implement the second phase of the transition. There's a role for all of us to play in this, whatever our political backgrounds. Find this role. And play your part to the fullest!
Zille's distorted view of the NDP: A substitute for the ANC election manifesto
By Justice Nkomo, Ian Beddowes and Alex Mashilo
In her reaction to the State of the Nation Address presented last week in Parliament by President Jacob Zuma, DA leader Helen Zille (DA, 22 June 2014; The Citizen, 23 June 2014) says 90% of voters voted for parties that endorse the National Development Plan (NDP). She then accuses ANC alliance partners the SA Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) of blocking the implementation of the NDP. In particular she asserts that "The ANC's alliance partners (especially COSATU) demand the power to veto government policy without a voter mandate".
What does Zille propose as a solution to her idealistic perception that the problem with the ANC is its alliance partners?
Obviously, the ANC must break from its alliance with the workers' organisations the SACP and Cosatu!
By the way, the ANC derives its main strength from the working class and poor, who constitute the majority of the SA population and ANC's membership and support base. In fact, members of the SACP and Cosatu affiliates are ANC members in their own right and stand for elections through the ANC as the leading formation of the alliance.
We have yet to hear Zille make even the smallest criticism of the way in which, in their own class interests, unelected private enterprise and banks, institutions of imperialism and monopoly capitalism, and foreign government agencies, bully and coerce African governments, including ours, to implement or not to implement particular policies. Similarly, in the face of the first step towards the second, radical phase of our transition, ratings agencies have down-graded South Africa. Justifying this, Zille says ratings agencies are "not alone in wanting to see the NDP translated into action".
But when did the ratings agencies stand for election in South Africa?
Especially in the light of Zille's opposition to the banning of labour brokers and her opposition to the payment of a living wage to agricultural workers in the Western Cape, it is clear that her view of the NDP is that it should be a vehicle for the exploitation of the many in order to produce super-profits for the few. There can be no doubt that Zille has a problem with the ANC's election manifesto which makes a commitment to investigate the introduction of a legislated national minimum wage in the next five years. Zille's DA marched to Luthuli House against this manifesto, which she now seeks to wish away as the reason why the overwhelming majority of South Africans voted for the ANC into government rather than the DA with its different manifesto and distorted understanding of the NDP.
Our view of a national development plan is that it must be an instrument for the transformation and development of the economy in the interest of the people as whole, whose majority is the working class, raise their living standards and cultural levels, totally eliminate poverty, address unemployment and inequality, and complete the liberation process! The ANC-led alliance is united: the NDP is not cast in stone, it is subject to democratic change. The New Growth Path's job drivers, Industrial Policy Action Plan and strategic infrastructure development programme, have thus become part of the further development of the NDP, this in terms of the ANC's election manifesto and the President's State of the Nation Address.
In its attempt to preserve colonial-apartheid era white privilege forged at a huge cost to the overwhelming majority of our people, Zille's DA is trying to strengthen and consolidate the compromises which the liberation movement had to accept during the negotiations to end apartheid.
The ‘ANC Strategy and Tactics' adopted in Polokwane (2007) and reaffirmed in Mangaung (2012) clearly states that those compromises did not constitute a dead-end to the revolution, but a basis for its uninterrupted advancement under new conditions. Let us quote from ANC Strategy and Tactics:
"During negotiations, representatives of the previous order sought an outcome that would leave many elements of the apartheid system intact... The transitional measures [which were finally adopted] were seen by the liberation movement as necessary compromises to ensure the broadest possible legitimacy of the new order and to use the advances made as a beach-head to a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. [para. 67]
...many of the parties sought constitutional outcomes that would guarantee white privilege..." [para. 68]
While the ANC and its allies seek to move beyond the compromises of the 1990s through the second, radical phase of our transition, Zille's DA remains the principal party fighting to guarantee white privilege. In order to do this, the DA seeks to co-opt and distort almost every ANC-led government policy such as BEE (in its narrow, not broader sense) and the NDP.
The ANC's perspective of the NDP and that of the DA are based on opposed historic missions which define not only the policies but fundamental ideologies of these two parties. This is why there exists contest between the ANC in alliance with the SACP and Cosatu on the one hand, and on the other, the DA.
FACT: The DA lost election to the ANC in alliance with the SACP and Cosatu!
Justice Nkomo is SASCO regional Chairperson and an Intern at the SACP, Ian Beddowes is General Secretary of ZimCom and Alex Mashilo is SACP Spokesperson, writing in personal capacities.
The housing crisis in the Western Cape: The case for national intervention
By Khaya Magaxa
"It is not the responsibility of government to build people houses." This is the statement made by DA Western Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela, in his response to Premier Helen Zille's State of the Province Address. He went further and insisted that nowhere in the Constitution does it require the state to provide free houses to the people. In her response to the debate, the Zille confirmed MEC Madikizela's sentiments which is clearly DA policy.
The reply by the two highest ranking officials in the provincial government, concerning human settlements, came in response to my assertion in the same debate that the Western Cape has a crisis in human settlements. In fact, what we could gather from the MEC's response was that the provincial government, together with the City of Cape Town have no plan to address the serious housing crisis. Adequate housing and sanitation are just not a priority to the DA provincial and City of Cape Town administrations. It is the poor after all who need these.
For a moment let us take a look at what the records show: from 2004 to 2009, the period in which the ANC governed the province, we were able to build 72 729 houses excluding the servicing of sites for other housing opportunities. The DA provincial government, on the other hand, has only built 59 764 houses during its first term, 2009-2014. Yet the DA provincial government receives double the budget from national government than the ANC provincial government did.
With regards to the bucket system, Zille's denied in 2012 that there was anybody in the province using it. On the contrary, the City of Cape Town actually has over 80 000 people using the bucket system.
Naturally, the Premier, note not MEC Madikizela, disputes these figures. Apparently, she claims that she launched an investigation into these housing figures. Nevermind, wasting tax-payers money in launching this "Forensic Investigative Unit" just to score political point; Zille has never made the results of this investigation public. She alluded to this investigation in her early State of the Province Address early this year. In fact, those who conducted this "audit" are to be found right inside her department, we are told. Too close to home, to be independent surely?
Yet what is important to note is the mindset of this provincial government when it comes to providing housing and building integrated, sustainable human settlements. This mindset found its expression most aptly in the sentiments expressed by MEC Madikizela in his response which was then confirmed by Zille.
The DA, masquerading themselves as the guardians of the Constitution, conveniently forgets section 26 and the Bill of Rights which compel the state to provide measures which will realize everyone's right to access adequate housing. How could we, in the Western Cape, forget the case of Irene Grootboom which made it to the Constitutional Court and which stated that the state was obliged to provide people with housing.
The DA provincial government sweeps the Constitution out of the door and throws the National Development Plan out of the window. Both spell out the imperative role the state, in particular, plays in both realising Vision 2030 but also in realizing rights and redress. In the area of human settlements in particular, the DA once again shows that it easily pays lip-service to the Constitution and the NDP which it claims to religiously adhere to.
But there is a deeper political agenda that is at play. We have seen it happen in areas such as Isiqalo and Colorado Park and recently in Blackheath or Macassar and Lwandle. The DA government deliberately does not wish to address and provide integrated human settlements.
Their thinking is to make sure that the "refugees" from the Eastern Cape have a difficult time staying in this province whilst making sure that backyarders and those on the housing lists never get houses – thus creating the hostilities we have seen recently. With the few houses that they do build, the impression must be created that those who arrived recently get houses while those who have been on the housing list must continue to wait.
The discontent, division and disorder are therefore the direct results of a deliberate DA plan: we will provide as few houses as possible so that they (the poor) can fight among themselves for the little they provide.
We always knew that "fit-for-purpose" was a farce.
Why re-appoint Madikizela if he has been a total failure in the last term?
We always knew that the DA liberally cherry-picks those parts of the Constitution and NDP which suit them. What is becoming even clearer is that their intent to sow division and discord is so deep that the ANC will have no other choice but to call upon more intervention and action from national government as was done in the case of Lwandle.
Khaya Magaxa, Western Cape Secretary of the SACP and ANC MPL Spokesperson for Human Settlements
Exemplary leadership
By Tom Mhlanga
"Members active in fraternal organisations or in any sector of the mass movement have a duty to set an example of loyalty, hard work and zeal in the performance of their duties…" (SACP Constitution)
I was one of those who welcomed the deployment of Jacob Mamabolo, SACP Gauteng Provincial Secretary as MEC for Human Settlement and Local Government. He is one of the dedicated leaders who demonstrates a correct understanding of the struggles facing the working class and the poor. His deployment brought hope to many who were subjected to evictions and landlessness in the province.
The evictions cannot be understood outside the global capitalist system and its representatives who continue to perpetuate neo-liberal policies and parasitic exploitation of the poor. Since the adoption in 1996 of the macroeconomic policy Growth, Employment and Redistribution (Gear) we have seen persistent high levels of inequality, unemployment and poverty because of the ‘privatisation of everything' including water, and failure to redistribute land, among others.
In the main, these challenges are as a result of apartheid spatial planning and patterns of Bantustan segregation. This confined many black people to underdeveloped areas with no access to clean water, electricity and located them far away from towns and cities where they could easily travel to work without spending a lot of money on transport.
With the dawn of democracy, we have witnessed a rapid process of urbanisation which put substantial pressure especially on Metropolitan Municipalities with Gauteng being the most affected province. As Africa's economic hub, Gauteng also has to deal with the challenges of immigration. This has fuelled demand for basic services and goods such as housing, water, electricity, education and health. The unintended consequences is the plethora of "service delivery protests" which are often characterised by lumpen conduct and violence (a legacy of apartheid and some of the methods we used to fight it), destruction of public property, attacks on houses and families of public representatives. All these are concentrated in a province that has seen massive delivery of basic services and goods, some of which in rural areas still represent a luxury they are yet to see.
Just less than a week after his deployment, MEC Mamabolo was quick to address some of the challenges facing the poorest of the poor in the province. He swiftly met with community representatives of Lenasia, Newtown, Tembisa, Tswelopele Ext 8 and Phumula. It is pleasing that the MEC afforded these communities the opportunity to engage with him on issues that affect them, and to find long-lasting solutions to their problems. His move to immediately provide shelter to the residents of Alexandra after their eviction and to have houses damaged by hailstorm in Mamelodi repaired should not be underestimated.
The MEC's move will go a long way in addressing the longstanding problem of some public representatives who only visit communities when canvassing for votes. Mamabolo is bringing government closer to the people and hopefully many other leaders will follow suit. But such actions should not be driven by personal glory, but rather by commitment to serve the people wholeheartedly and restore their dignity.
It is important to note that that no leader or public representative can resolve problems facing the people alone. Communities should work together with public representatives to confront their problems. The time to fold arms and wait for government to do everything for the people is over; now is time to work together to move South Africa forward.
As politically committed youth, it is very good to know that there are leaders who we can look up to, who are committed to serving the people rather than leaders whose daily business is to discuss positions, tenders and deployments. This is what our forebears like Chief Albert Luthuli, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Ruth First, Lillian Ngoyi and many other heroes would have wanted to see.
With commitment to the people our government can suppress corrupt elements, eject them from the public service and focus on serving the community.
Tom Mhlanga is a BA student at Wits, writing in his personal capacity.
