1 The Shopsteward The official publication of the Congress of South African Trade Unions Volume 28.4 • COSATU News Bulletin • October/November 2019 SOUTH AFRICAN www.cosatu.org.za NATIONALwww.cosatu.org.za HEALTHOct/Nov INSURANCE 2019 ∙ The Shopsteward 2 Editorial Note E d ito rs n ote and DFIs should be proved time and again that it is it not the us that all of this cannot be left at the about building the solution to our economic challenges. hands of the market. This dire economic Developmental State South Africa’s economic challenges situation calls for a strong, visionary in a manner that call for bold measures of transformation and decisive leadership. We need an encompasses them as and not in marginal programmes and alternative development strategy, which part of a wider public projects. Foreign Direct Investment can take various forms, ranging from sector that integrally (FDI) is not a panacea and sometimes auto-centric development to socialist and seamlessly works worsens the situation by encouraging development paths. with the public external dependency and stifles economic All reports show poverty trends in service. SOEs and transformation. The president is doing a South Africa confirm our fears that the Development Finance commendable job in attracting FDI but socio-economic status of the majority Institutions should he needs to do more to transform the in South Africa is deteriorating whilst be properly aligned local economy so that those who are on few people are getting richer due to and reoriented in the periphery can be brought into the economic policies that favour the rich. terms of the planned mainstream economy. All the figures When applying the food poverty line, investment targets and statistics show us that the neoliberal which is the rand value below which Bheki Ntshalintshali and development policies based on “market forces” and individuals are unable to buy food for objectives. We cannot international competitiveness are not adequate health. Editor in Chief and we should not going to solve our economic problems. worship our SOEs but These policies have seen more and About 14 million people that are we should understand more people sliding into poverty in this extremely food poor and unable that they are a weapon country. to obtain enough food to provide to help improve them with sufficient diet for healthy his copy of our Shopsteward comes people’s lives. As COSATU, we are ready to provide development. These figures should not out at a time when the debate The latest job figures and economic the necessary leadership and work with come as surprise as 17 million people are around the economy is intensifying projections paint a dire picture of the other stakeholders to engage and explore depended on social grants. because of increasing poverty pending gloom and also suggest that bold solutions that will help this country Poverty is a product of wrong economic tlevels. In all of the noise and commotion, in the coming months more and more chart a new developmental path. The policies and is not natural. South Africa we want to recall from the grave the wise people will be plunged into poverty. The key to finding a solution is for everyone is endowed with minerals, which are words of Amilcar Cabral, when he said; economy continues to be bogged down to leave their bunkers and collectively in demand in the world’s automotive “Always bear in mind that the people are in a crisis that has persisted over the last participate to a process of finding a medical construction electrical, energy not fighting for ideas, for the things in ten years. uniquely South African developmental industries, land, skills, and ability to anyone's head. They are fighting to win path that will both comprehend and manufacture high technology products material benefits, to live better and in This is very alarming considering address the legacy of our evil past. such as a rooivalk helicopter. It is a scandal peace, to see their lives go forward, to that of the 36 million people in the and unacceptable that we have highest guarantee the future of their children” . working-age population, 29.1% are Our approach is informed by Deng poverty levels and unemployment. officially unemployed according to the Xiaoping who said: “No matter if it is a There has been a lot of noise regarding latest Quarterly Labour Survey. This is white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch South Africans are poor not because our position on State Owned Entities. calamitous for the country because it mice, it is a good cat." SA is poor but because firstly of The reality is that we continue to reject means millions of young people will be We need an economic developmental inherited colonial apartheid laws which privatisation that takes the resources dependent on the state for their well- model that will dismantle the current sought to deprive black Africans of their of the country out of the hands of the being and that of their families. colonial and apartheid economic and main source of living which is land and people. SOEs should be fixed so that It is therefore bizarre to see that there social policy paradigm and that is to entrench a docile weak cheap labour they strengthen the capacity of the are attempts by government to weaken unsustainable. We need an economic for the SA mining sector and secondly state and not become a burden on the the capacity of the state through public trajectory that will ensure that there is a the apartheid economic policies that state. Their role is to help the people service retrenchments and possible. proper redistribution of income and that have been adopted by the democratic and not take money from the people. This is either a sign that government is more people are allowed to participate government. Since 1994, the government They need to help drive government’s in denial about the extent of the crisis in the economy. The Polokwane on the advice of colonial institutions developmental agenda and central to or it has run out of ideas. The National resolutions called for “an effective such as the World Bank and IMF has this is the provision of affordable, good Treasury remains rooted in the neo- strategy of redistribution that builds a focused on supply side economics or quality services to all South Africans. liberal capitalist trajectory of the late new and more equitable growth path”. trickle down economic policies which The discussions around the SOEs 19th century. This unfortunately has The last two decades have shown promoted reduction and elimination ediTor iN CHieF: Bheki Ntshalintshali EDITOR: Norman Mampane lAyoUT & deSigN: Nthabiseng Makhajane ediToriAl boArd: Bheki Ntshalintshali, Zakhele Cele, Norman Mampane, Sizwe Pamla, Nthabiseng Makhajane SUbSCripTioN & diSTribUTioN: : Nthabiseng Makhajane priNTerS: Shereno Printers AdverTiSiNg SAleS: Nthabiseng Makhajane Tel: +27 (0)10 219 1341 Fax: 086 481 6163 email: [email protected]/Nov 2019 ∙ The110 JorissenShopsteward & Simmonds Street , Braamfontein, 2001 PO Box 1019, Johannesburg 2000www. cosatu.org.za www.cosatu.org.za Tel: +27 (0)11 339 4911 Fax: +27 (0)11 339 5080/6940 www.cosatu.org.za © Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Editorial Note 3 of taxes on business transactions, and executive of R20 million per annum. and technology. Therefore, it is not means that we must urgently revisit our taxes on individuals and companies, Therefore, the poverty is the result of the surprising that black Africans constitute employment equity laws and BEE laws reduction in wages and right to hire and lack of distribution of income and wealth 90% of the poor. This is very disappointing to re-define and establish a hierarchy of fire, subsidies to private monopolies in than for any other reason. If 9.3 million because black Africans constitute 80% historically disadvantaged persons and the form of tax credits and tax breaks and are without jobs noting that this is a of the population and the inability of economically marginalised to ensure that privatisation of profitable state owned conservative figure the actual numbers government to liberate them from pro the beneficiaries are firstly blacks and companies such as Telkom to the private are higher because of short term work, corporate monopoly capital democracy coloured and then others. Current policies individuals.The major policy failure was this high unemployment rate means is a danger to democracy. Between 2011 have clearly benefited white women and to allow free movement of capital that that many South Africans do not have and 2015 the percentage of black Africans Indians /Asians and have entrenched the entailed allowing SA companies to take purchasing power to drive the economy. and coloureds living in extreme poverty apartheid colour bar rule in the workplace profits produced by SA labour from the increased from 43.4% to 47.7% for blacks whereby firstly white women are given Republic to other countries and taking Whilst a trade union traditionally and for coloureds from 20.2% to 23.3% training and promotion opportunities away the government’s power regulate should only use class as a tool of analysis and regardless of sex, black Africans followed by Indians. export of capital and to limit imports. in SA it is an inescapable fact that the have always had high numbers of people victims of colonialism and apartheid living in extreme poverty. Contrarily, the This is the last edition of Shopsteward The World Bank describes SA as an are black Africans not because blacks percentage of poor Indians and Asians and we wish all of our readers happy upper middle income country because do not like to work and run successful decreased from 2.9% in 2011 to 1.2% holidays and a safe festive season.