The SACP National Strategy Conference took place from 3-5 September. This is an edited version of SACP General Secretary, Blade Nizimande’s speech to the conference and the declaration which the conference issued. |
"We are gathered here today as South African communists for the first time since the second democratic elections. It is therefore proper for us to start by thanking all of you for the sterling role that you played as communists, and as members of the ANC, in the overwhelming victory on 2 June.
The ANC won the election on a manifesto and platform of accelerating change. Communists should be in the forefront and set a revolutionary example in the implementation of the government programme as contained in this manifesto of the people.
Our strategic priority is the working class and the mass of our people in whose interests a socialist South Africa is.
What are the key features of such a society? It is characterised by four interrelated features: democracy, equality, freedom and the socialisation of the predominant means of production.
The socialisation of the means of production is an essential condition of achieving true freedom. Some of the key features that we are struggling for are that the predominant sector of the economy and major institutions of production should be in public hands. This means a predominant public sector with enterprises owned and managed by the central state, by provincial and municipal authorities. These enterprises would need to be subject to various forms of democratic control, including trade unions and worker forums and committees. In addition to this, the socialism we envisage is where a deliberate political strategy is followed to develop a co-operative sector both in the urban and rural areas.
Deepening the NDR
Our perspective of a path to socialism is rooted on the struggle to mobilise the working class to hegemonise the struggle to advance, deepen and defend the national democratic revolution. Our perspective is that the national democratic revolution is not a detour, but the most direct route to socialism. It is on the strategic importance of deepening the NDR in itself that our Alliance is premised.
However, it is our firm belief that the strategic goals of the NDR will not ultimately be consummated unless there is a transition to socialism. What, then, do we mean in concrete terms when we say socialism must be built now? Our programme says the following:
We will seek to take these perspectives and approaches to the Alliance as a whole and the mass of our people, through struggle and collective, comradely debate. We see these perspectives as adding value to the Alliance effort in taking forward our revolution.
Key issues
The key issues confronting this conference are:
A developmental state should be characterised by its special political relationship to the working class and the poor. It should be a state that deliberately seeks to principally define itself in terms of a privileged relationship to the working class and the poor. Such a political relationship should principally include, but not be reduced to, a one-way relationship of service delivery to the mass of the people. This is because it should be a state whose political orientation and services should be guided by full participation of the working class and the poor in the prioritisation and manner of delivery of such services. The critical question, therefore, is what specific kinds of concrete features such a state should have. What kind of restructuring do we need in order to effect the political character of such a developmental state? An additional question is what kind of civil service it should have and what kind of relationship it should develop with trade unions.
Related to, and flowing from, the above features, such a state should be democratic not only in a formal sense, but also in a substantive sense of effective participation of the mass of the people in governance. This critically relates to the question of building organs of popular power as the foundation on which such a state is built. The question facing us here is what specific organisational campaigns we should be undertaking as the Alliance and the SACP to ensure the building of such popular organs.
Two key issues are identified in our programme on the struggle for socialisation of the economy - socialising the ownership function and fostering an extensive co-operative sector.
We have to ensure that the monopoly of management is not one-sidedly dominated by profit-seeking objectives. In this case, the question of work-place forums and building the political consciousness of the working class is of crucial importance. A related question that we have to deal with is that of rooting the SACP amongst organised workers, as part of empowering the workers to impact on the transformation of the workplace. The organisational question of building SACP industrial units needs to be discussed at this Conference.
Capitalist profit maximisation is not based just on exploitative production relations, but on oppressive reproductive power relations. This question is of such fundamental importance in the transformation of gender relations and the emancipation of women that it must be given adequate attention at this Strategy Conference. In discussing it, we should clearly relate it to the question of gender struggles within the working class itself, the gender transformation of the workplace and the building of the women’s movement.
Our rural areas are still characterised by some of the worst forms of poverty, violence, patriarchal oppression and slave-like working conditions. There is also increasing brutality of white farmers against farmworkers. The key strategic question is the acceleration of making land available to the landless rural masses and building effective organisation to challenge exploitation, repression and the alleviation of poverty. Without a better life for the people in the rural areas, there can be no better life for all in South Africa.
In all our deliberations, we should be guided by the objectives of building the Party and identifying ways and means to improve our capacity to develop policy in these key strategic areas".
Declaration
We are involved in a struggle to overcome the terrible legacy of race oppression and class exploitation.
The struggle to build a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa has been an abiding commitment of the SACP since our beginnings in 1921. But it is a struggle that does not belong to us alone. We will work with our Alliance partners, the civic movement, progressive religious formations, and many others. We believe in socialising the very project of socialism itself.
This Strategy Conference was convened as a direct result of a 10th Party Congress Resolution. The objective of this conference was not to revise or change the strategic perspectives adopted at the Congress, but to deepen our collective understanding of those perspectives, and to enrich them.
It is no secret that, globally, the last decade has generally been unfavourable to progressive forces. According to the most recent UNDP figures, 80 countries are poorer at the end of this decade than they were at the beginning of the nineties. Reckless and avaricious speculative capital flows dominate the fortunes of the world in which we live. Casino-like decisions, made in a split-second on the basis of computer data in a few Western capitals, literally condemn tens of thousands of people in Third World countries to misery, starvation and death.
We have not tried to blind ourselves to these realities at this Conference. We have sought to analyse and understand soberly the power of capitalism in our country, and in the world at large. At the end of the day, we have been guided by the idea that the point is not just to analyse reality, but to CHANGE it.
At this Conference, we have adopted concrete and specific resolutions on a wide range of issues. It now remains for all of us to carry our discussions and resolutions into all the structures of our Party, and into our broader alliance.
In 1952, one of the giants of our communist movement, comrade Moses Kotane, said that "South Africa needs a people’s policy serving to fire the minds and hearts of our people with that vision of a better South Africa which is in our grasp." We have contributed, this weekend, to that ongoing task.
The COSATU Special Congress called for a Special CEC to develop a programme on many key policy areas and to develop a comprehensive programme of action. The CEC endorsed the detailed programme that puts these resolutions into effect. The key features are:
The priority is an Alliance Summit to define the nature, extent and structure of co-ordination that will drive an Alliance programme of transformation. This will include mass mobilisation at national, provincial and local level.
A key consideration at this Alliance Summit is job losses and the need to create new employment.
The CEC decided to urgently convene Sectoral Summits, in line with the Job Summit's resolutions, to deal with key structural and other problems in specific sectors.
The issue of a basic income grant will be taken up with the Department of Welfare. COSATU will ensure that the new housing policy provides for different tenure options. While engaging parastatals to release land for housing, we will also encourage pension and provident funds and union investment companies to invest in housing.
Large-scale organisational renewal will include education and capacity building programmes across the federation. COSATU has taken steps for greater co-ordination of Collective Bargaining and various campaigns.
This campaign will start in September, with education programmes for shop stewards until 25 November (the International Day against Violence against Women). Across the country, all workplaces will have extended lunchtime meetings, where shop stewards will conduct discussions on domestic violence. COSATU will hold its main event at the Johannesburg City Hall, where it will announce phase two of the ongoing campaign. The month of November will be the focus month on Domestic Violence.
COSATU will negotiate a day off for all our shop stewards to undergo union training on HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment. This training will conclude with workplace lunch meetings meetings on 1 December (World AIDS Day), where shop stewards will conduct discussions on HIV / AIDS.
COSATU will participate in the activities planned to commemorate the first anniversary of the launch of the partnership against HIV/AIDS on the 9 October. As directed by the Special National Congress resolution, our focus will be on vulnerable areas such as single sex hostels, long distance drivers, informal settlements, the youth, etc.
The month of October will see a massive recruitment drive to organise all workers into COSATU. The establishment of the SACP Industrial Area units in areas already organised by COSATU will be an important feature of this campaign.
COSATU calls for the reconvening of the Public Sector Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) as soon as possible to take these negotiations forward and to conclusion. We are committed to seeking a solution to the impasse and will contribute to creating a climate conducive to good faith bargaining.
COSATU also supports the public service unions' call for further mass mobilisation should these processes not lead to a successful conclusion to the current deadlock.
COSATU has filed a section 77 application with NEDLAC to protest against the ongoing job losses.
We have adopted the following programmes to highlight and explain the effect of this crisis to all our members.
| October | - - |
brief civil
society organisations |
| November | - | hold community meetings. |
| February | - | sectoral protest action during different weeks |
| March | - | each province to embark on weekly protest action |
| May | - | General Strike |
We hope these various actions will provide a solution and remove the need for mass mobilisation. For economic justice to exist, the first step is employment.
The Special CEC rejected the manner in which the Greater Johannesburg Metro Council has conducted the process leading to Igoli 2002. While we support local government restructuring, no bona fide negotiations took place between SAMWU and the Council in the Bargaining Chamber. The Council has unilaterally announced its intention to implement key elements of Igoli 2002 and has largely ignored the consensus of the Alliance's extensive discussions on this issue.
We are taking the matter up with the Alliance so that a solution can be found. Should this fail, COSATU will have no option but to file another Section 77 notice to protest at both the unilateral action of the Council and the specific issues we disagree with.
COSATU’s
Executive Committee met on from 12-13 October. The following is a summary of the |
The Special National Congress resolved to consult with organs of civil society in search of a rigorous programme of job retention and creation and the economy’s ability to create jobs. This process, which will culminate in a National Jobs Crisis Conference of civil society early next year, begun last week with a meeting between the federation and six organisations.
Today, and over the next two weeks, we will hold discussions with, among other groups: Non Governmental Organisations, the Media, Civics, religious formations, the youth and student movement, women, the unemployed, rural organisations, traditional leaders and other trade union federations.
We will strive to reach consensus on key issues related to the ongoing job losses, the structural limitations of our economy to create jobs and the plans needed to curb job losses and produce more jobs.
We have, as part of our campaign to end the jobs bloodbath, lodged a Section 77 notice at Nedlac. The Executive Committee expressed concern over the delays in the hearing of notice by the special committee established to hear Section 77 notices as well by the management committee of Nedlac.
Sectoral Summits
The Presidential Jobs Summit agreed to convene Sectoral Jobs Summits in all sectors of the economy. Exco resolved to consolidate our approach to the summits so that we make a meaningful and far-reaching participation for the success of the summits.
We will engage Nedlac so that the summits take place as soon as possible and thereby halt the further loss of jobs.
Our participation will be based on the need to save jobs and strengthen the economy as a whole.
HIV/AIDS and Violence against Women and Children
The labour movement, in partnership with the government and the rest of the civil society has pledged to increase our fight against HIV/AIDS.
Our unions are currently negotiating with employers for all our shop stewards to be released on 22 November to attend training sessions on the fight against HIV/AIDS. From 23 – 30 November, these shop stewards will teach HIV/AIDS awareness in each workplace in the country. This will be followed by the distribution of COSATU-produced HIV/AIDS material at work places and some public areas on 1 December – World AIDS Day.
Our affiliates will also be tabling demands on HIV/AIDS during the 2000/2001 collective bargaining round. The contents of the demands, which will be finalised at a
leadership workshop scheduled for early November, will, in the main, be in line with the Special National Congress resolution.
The holding of a conference on HIV/AIDS in April 2000 will further consolidate this process.
COSATU will also wage a campaign against Women and Child Abuse. We will participate in a series of activities, including the ‘Africa Human Rights Day’ organised by the Department of Health on 21 October, the Children’s festival to be addressed by President Thabo Mbeki on 6 November, the 16 days of Activism against Women and Children’s Abuse which begin on 25 November and the International Rights Day on 10 December.
Our Education and Communication Departments will develop education material on sexual offence legislation – the Maintenance and Domestic Acts and the Domestic Violence Act, which come into effect on 15 December.
We will also encourage our members and communities to report cases of abuse to the police.
This campaign is supplemented by the work we are doing in raising awareness on exploitation based on sex and gender and power relations.
Organising the informal sector
COSATU has begun a discussion aimed at conceptualising our approach to organising the informal sector.
Pension funds
The Executive Committee reiterated is opposition to employers having access to pension funds surpluses. Any surplus should be used to improve members’ benefits. The legislation should also regulate movements from pension to provident funds, as employers often benefit from the surplus accumulated to pension funds in the process of these transfers.
The Presidential Investment Council
We have noted the convention of the Presidential Investment Council aimed at promoting investment.
We will participate in the Council as invited by the President. In doing so, we will seek clarity on the relationship between Nedlac and the Investment Council.
Open Democracy Bill
The Executive Committee welcomed the government’s efforts at speeding up the introduction of the Open Democracy Bill before Parliament. In our view, the Bill will go a long way towards restoring the rights of workers, the working class and the poor to information, as required by our Constitution.
We are, however, concerned about the following areas in the Bill:
The African Renaissance
The Executive Committee discussed the concept of the African Renaissance. We are convinced of the wisdom of the concept and the accompanying process resulting from the conceptualisation.
Africa must emerge from the perceived and real problems that manifest themselves in corruption, military dictatorships, economic under-development, lack of human rights and other social ills.
The timing of the call for the rebirth of Africa is perfect – as all of us face a challenge to reposition our organisations to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
We are committed to ensuring the next century becomes an African one.
We believe that the debate and process of the African Renaissance must include, as a fundamental element, a class perspective. In practical terms, this includes the involvement of mass movements and workers. The working class must be part of the leadership and the major beneficiaries of the continent’s renewal.
We will develop a position paper that details our understanding, including practical ways in which the Renaissance should proceed.
Trade Agreements
COSATU supports the broad objectives of the agreement. We will be closely monitoring its impact on our economy, our industries and jobs. Our experience with other trade agreements is that they do not always lead to benefits and may even lead to massive job losses.
This agreement applies to the Southern African region. It is broadly in line with COSATU’s call to strengthen the region. The way in which this agreement is structured, however, raises certain concerns for COSATU:
- Job losses result from companies moving to areas with lower labour standards. There is no social clause in the trade agreement /protocol.
- We would want to see more substantial discussion on these agreements and the involvement of unions in the various countries that are signatories to the protocol.
The next round of Ministerial meetings will take place in the USA in November. COSATU has agreed that a number of trade union leaders should be included within the government delegation. Our key concern would be to ensure that the trade agreement has a development focus and that no further liberalisation takes place without a study of the impact of the previous Uruguay round. The international experience is that the present trade regime does not benefit developing economies. We will be aligning ourselves with the international call by NGOs to completely overhaul the trade regime to ensure it has a development focus. We will also be participating in the demonstrations that are planned for Seattle.
May Day
In line with the Special National Congress resolution on organisational renewal, we are going to celebrate May Day in a manner befitting the year 2000. We are proceeding with plans to hold a massive workers’ celebration at the FNB soccer stadium.
Workers and their families from Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, Northern Province and North Free State will be mobilised to celebrate May Day here We will also organise activities in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Durban.
