Thanks to John Gomomo for his masterly address. South Africa’s wealth is not measured by its minerals, but by the calibre of the men and women it has produced. Almost every day we see that South Africa has outstanding leaders. The address that Comrade John Gomomo has given today is a striking illustration of that fact. The address should be read not only within COSATU and the Alliance, but by all those who want to understand the South Africa we are building. Anyone who is involved in the building of the new South Africa is advised to read this address, and I want to thank Comrade John Gomomo from the bottom of my heart.
COSATU was with us in the difficult anti-apartheid days. COSATU is with us in the more difficult time of building and retaining political power. I have no doubt that we will win the 1999 election with an overwhelming majority. We were not able to attain two-thirds majority in the last election. We were not able to campaign properly, and we had to contend with a powerful and evil enemy. On election day, ballot papers were found packed into warehouses. Democratic South Africa is now in control of the election process. We are now in a position to see those who want to get into power by chicanery, cheating etc. Sam Nujoma, our ally in the liberation struggle and our ally today, was also not able to get a two thirds majority due to similar events. It taught him how to negotiate with his enemies. In the second election he got the two- thirds majority. We must learn from this.
The opposition parties are squealing that we must avoid a one-party state. They have short memories – they do not remember that for more than three decades they had a one party state in this country.
May I therefore start my speech…
It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of this, COSATU's Sixth National Congress. May I therefore start by thanking you most sincerely for inviting me to be a part of it.
It was my privilege also to take part in the Fifth National Congress, in September 1994.
Then, we were fresh from the election of a democratic government led by the ANC, a historic victory made possible by organised workers acting in unison with other democratic forces.
Then, we were witnessing the launch of elements of the government’s programme of action, with the RDP'S Presidential Lead Projects that shone like beacons in our nation's quest for a better life for all. These projects - for school feeding; better health care; access to clean water; land reform and urban renewal - were also markers of our determination to focus especially on improving the lives of the poor.
Then, our Alliance was yet to take the measure of its responsibility as the leading force for transformation in the current phase.
Today, we have behind us three years' experience of striving to implement our vision; three years in which together we have made great strides; three years in which the scale of the challenge on which we have embarked has become clearer; three years in which the opportunities and constraints of our work within and outside of government have been tested.
We can rejoice in the fact that, on average, every single day since the democratic movement took office, 1 000 people have gained access to clean water; that each week has on average brought another two clinics with access to health-care for some 20 000 people; that currently 1 000 electricity connections are being made each day and 1 000 houses are being brought into construction or completed under the government's capital subsidy progrmnme every two-and-a-half days.
It is puzzling therefore that a perception persists that government is not addressing basic needs. It is perhaps natural that those who were privileged under apartheid are less appreciative of the changes. It is only to be expected that our opponents, especially those who have lost power and who have no alternative policies of their own, will pretend that our work lacks substance and, with scowls on their arrogant faces, scoff at us when we celebrate our achievements.
There are so-called Black leaders who suddenly appear with clear support from reactionary forces. Their statements appear on the front pages of the media. When someone in the democratic movement responds, it is put in the correspondence column in small print. At other times, when we want to reply, we are told "No, there is no space," by the editors. I hope they have listened to the workers today.
In this situation it must surely be amongst the tasks of Alliance leaders to help communicate the reality that the cumulative impact of such processes is changing millions of lives which were blighted by apartheid's inhuman policies. The foundation for a better life has been laid. Our task is to speed up implementation.
We could add much to the list of gains made between COSATU'S last congress and this one, in particular for the workers of South Africa.
Our new constitution and other laws secure and entrench new rights of workers, most of them unheard of in the history of our country; many of them among the most advanced in the world. In NEDLAC we have an institution which formalises and promotes the participation of civil society in the determination of policy. We could point to the intense consultations between unions in particular sectors and corresponding government departments in the formulation of policy and legislation.
We cite such gains not because they are the sum of what has been achieved, nor because we can be satisfied with them. Rather they form the backdrop to an acknowledgment that we need still more effective liaison and consultation in the field of policy. They provide a context for broaching issues which remain unresolved or are being debated, not only between Government and organised labour, not only between the ANC and COSATU, but also within the ANC as much as within COSATU itself.
These matters are lightened by the successful recent Alliance Summit, and its agreements on processes for continuing discussion where differences remain.
It is common cause that restructuring of the public sector; macro-economic policy; the labour market and industrial development strategy are fundamental to the process of transformation. These are precisely the areas in which, as partners, we most need to focus on strengthening our consensus on the policies and measures that will promote our shared goals.
It is in the nature of an alliance that its partners will not agree on all matters that fall within the broad vision that binds them. What is important is the readiness to discuss disagreements when they do arise and the shared commitment to find solutions. It is therefore not in keeping with the character of our Alliance when COSATU declares that positions it holds that differ from those of the ANC or government are non-negotiable. By the same token it is wrong for the ANC to present its own positions as non-negotiable, even while exercising its broader responsibilities in government.
Our starting point must be the need to ensure that we produce the resources to achieve the goals of reconstruction and development; to use them to the greatest effect to improve the lives of our people, especially the poor; and to adopt the policies which promote the achievement of those goals. As we agreed at the recent Summit, macro-economic strategy must bc measured against the objective needs of transformation and the real constraints the country faces.
Like any policy, it is not cast in stone. Its usefulness must be measured against its goals. Its appropriateness must be judged in the light of prevailing conditions. For the same reason, any proposed elaboration or modification must find justification in changes in objective conditions and not merely in a desire for agreement, or in a sectoral drive to satisfy narrow self-interest. And while our measuring-rod must always be improvement in the lives of the poor, democracy dictates that any such decisions must be with the involvement of all major sectors of our society, including labour and business.
What we do know is that we cannot continue to give up one-fifth of our national budget to servicing debt; that jobs performing no useful function in government should not consume resources that could bc used to provide services and productive investment; that it defeats our purposes to produce goods that our own people cannot afford and others will not buy; and that we should restructure and streamline public corporations in line with the challenges of transformation.
There are also dilemmas that arise from the competing nature of some of our goals, from the multiplicity of interests not only among the former victims of apartheid in general, but also within the ranks of the poor, including the organised and the unorganised; the employed and the unemployed; as well as rural and urban communities.
For example, allocating fishing quotas away from big corporations to allow a share of this sector to poor fishermen excluded by apartheid, is seen by the workers in the big corporations as a threat to their own employment
I have told a story of how 97% of the fishing quota was allocated to companies and only 3% to the rest of the country. What a serious blow this is to the fishing community around the country – they must share only 3%. Comrade Pallo Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, decided to begin the process by reducing by 4%.
He went to one of the corporations – they wagged a finger at him: "Now you are reducing the fishing quota, we are going to reduce jobs. Stop this nonsense."
We understand the difficulties of workers in industry when it has to be restructured, but it must be clear that government can never be bound to that to stop whole process of transformation because we want to please those workers in that particular industry or corporation. I hope that Comrade Zweli is not going to have a heart attack when I remind him of what he said. If I was not amongst my security guards, I think he would have chopped me to death.
We must distinguish between these situations. There will be cases when we agree right from the start. There will be a second category where we will start from different angles with views conflicting, but because we have been allies since the early 20s, because we are lifelong allies, we will then compromise in that give and take. We will have to abandon some of our positions, as the ANC and COSATU will do the same thing. We want to maintain this revolutionary alliance. There will be a third category of cases like this one of the fishing industry where we won’t agree. When I left that summit I made sure that he was seated - otherwise he might have followed me.
And though they differ in scale, such dilemmas and hard choices are, in the end, of a kind with those which have delayed the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill. The problems that have attended this Bill not only testify to the importance of the issues involved. They also bring out in bolder relief the debate about our reading of the current situation and the route we should adopt towards the common objectives of a democratic, caring and prosperous society.
We have now reached consensus with COSATU and we hope to place the Bill before parliament this session. I must congratulate the Minister of Labour, Tito Mboweni, for a job well done. I must in the same breath congratulate Sam Shilowa for having seen that he was prepared to compromise with Tito. If I had money I would take them to the shebeen tonight. There are important questions about the precise nature and scale of unemployment in our country, but there can be no doubt that the level is unacceptable….
I am confident that, as we have done before, we will find a solution in the form of a compromise acceptable to all sectors. More important still, when we do this, we will be opening the way for a major improvement in the working conditions of the overwhelming majority of South Africa’s workers. That the Bill is a strategic advance, there is no question. But the issue is how we resolve outstanding matters in a manner that is consistent with our broader objectives of reconstruction and development.
Such an achievement will stand us all in good stead as we face still greater challenges, not least that of job-creation. There are important questions about the precise nature and scale of unemployment in our country. But there can be no doubt that the level is unacceptable. There can be no doubt that we have been more successful in turning the economy around and generating growth than we have been in creating jobs.
We have all accepted the proposal of the Labour Market Commission to convene a national jobs summit, so that all social sectors can join together in taking responsibility for the development of programmes for employment-creation. Certainly, this matter will create challenges and dilemmas for all of us - government, employers and employed workers - as acute as any that we have faced.
We are confident about our economic future, because the fundamentals are in order. The long-term trends include growing strength in manufacturing; improving export performance; and falling inflation. Major investment in mega-projects and Spatial Development Initiatives are helping fuel what is akin to an industrial revolution. As was agreed at the Summit, we need together to elaborate our industrial strategy to take us into the new millennium on a high road of sustainable growth. We need to work together to mobilise the investment to achieve goals, public and private, local and international.
Comrades, I have dwelt on the challenges that face us as allies, because we bear so large a responsibility for dealing with them.
But we should also remind ourselves of the broader Alliance vision from which these issues derive their meaning; the deepening of democracy; the entrenchment of human rights; freedom of speech and other rights that we gained in struggle - all of them underpinned by the Reconstruction and Development Programme. It is our joint responsibility to defend and advance these gains and guard them like the apple of our eye.
Nor should we forget that the Alliance has a mission to lead not only its own constituencies but the whole of society in the building of a new nation founded on a partnership of all social sectors. Reconstruction and development depend on, and in turn promote, reconciliation and nation-building, and these too form part of our mission.
Such are the reasons that make this Congress, and the forthcoming conferences of the ANC and the Communist Party, to have such critical importance.
That is why the structures of the Affiance must not fail us. The processes set in motion at the recent Alliance Summit should ensure that all of us make a decisive contribution in charting the way forward into the twenty-first century.
In the three years since we achieved democracy, we have laid the foundation for a better life.
I have congratulated Comrade John Gomomo for his brilliant presentation. It is a landmark in trying to address very frankly the problems facing the country. But my admiration of his address, my high respect for him does not mean that I accept everything that he has said here.
In particular I have serious reservations on what he has said about GEAR. I am not the only one. I have gone to other federations of workers and I told Comrade Sam Shilowa and others about what some of them say about GEAR - one of the well-known secretaries of a big federation. I have serious reservations about GEAR, some of them fundamental, but I pointed out to another Comrade of another federation that GEAR is a good strategy to drag our economy out of the mess that apartheid left us. It has enabled us to turn the economy around. GEAR, as well as the budget that we are preparing, is not the work of one person, not of Trevor Manuel. It is a collective effort of the entire cabinet.
I fully support the policies of this government generally, and in particular I fully support Comrade Trevor Manuel in what he is doing - although I am annoyed because he cut down my own budget. This is one of the most brilliant young men that this country has produced. He is an expert I highly respect and support. One of the problems in the alliance (this affects ANC, COSATU, SACP) is that each party thinks it is the only party in the universe and does not want to listen to the views of other parties. This is a common mistake in the alliance. Every one of the affiliates is guilty. Once you look at the matter from your own point of view, you haggle with the other party and he refuses to budge. I also do this, not because I am an old man. I don’t want to be a dictator. If someone takes a hard line, that is a mistake that the alliance should avoid. We are comrades. Throughout the world if we take 5 years to agree we are entitled to respect the view.
It was unfortunate that here in GEAR we did not have sufficient consultation with other members of the alliance. In fact even the ANC learnt of GEAR when it was almost complete. We ignored those who put us in power. There is nothing more dangerous as the government forgetting its constituency, forgetting the views those who put them in power. In the course of our work we find that there are deficiencies.
If our allies are unhappy about GEAR we must address it. We must remember the lessons of history.
You have had very famous figures, some of whom have served in exile under difficult conditions. Others spent years in their own countries underground, tortured. Comrades died, or were killed - famous freedom fighters who have spent many years in prison without changing their principles. We have had the freedom fighters who have commanded invincible liberation armies - when victory came they made an honest effort to address living standards and deliver basic services. As time went on - because power corrupts absolutely - they started associating with very influential forces, not so progressive and they made that association very fruitful for you.
As time went on, those same freedom fighters who have become international household names, they started to say we are not responsible to political organisations, we decide policy - not COSATU, not intellectuals, not SACP. That has been a danger. There is no reason why South Africa should be immune to that weakness.
The only way of keeping that government on track is that cabinet ministers must go to the grassroots, to listen to the complaints of those who put them in power, to have that community of not distinguishing between themselves and decision makers but also to involve the ordinary masses of the people in the decisions that they take.
Our government is convinced that a people-orientated policy is the best for this country. It may well be that their best is not good enough, that there should be more consultation with the people and all stakeholders in debating legislation.
Today the call is to build on those foundations.