Downloaded from the Within COSATU Affiliates

September 2003 BuaKo Volume 3. N0.3 Information Bulletin of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party

Deepen the Strategic Relationship between the SACP and COSATU, With and For the Workers and the Poor

SACP ADDRESS TO COSATU Contents 8TH NATIONAL CONGRESS by Blade Nzimande, SACP General 1. SACP Address to COSATU 8 th Secretary, 16 September 2003 National Congress -1

Cde President, Willie Madisha, Cde 2. 2003 Red October Campaign - 13 Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary and all COSATU national office-bearers, leadership 3. Dora Tamana Savings and Credit of COSATU affiliates, leadership of the ANC Co-operative - 6 present, Cde Jeremy Cronin and the SACP delegation, local and international guests, cde delegates. As the SACP we are deeply Everyday, on the TV, radio and in the print honoured by the invitation to come and media, there are multiple signs of distress, of address your congress. This occasion might go creeping bourgeois values, of a sharpening down in history as one of the most important factionalism within our own liberation congresses in the history of this Federation, movement. For the past 10 years we have this, the 8th Congress of the Congress of moved forward collectively, we have notched South African Trade Unions. up victories, we have made significant resource transfers to the poor, but still we remain locked into a ravenous, barbaric Why? capitalist accumulation path. We have to go forward, but we cannot just go forward with Coming just 7 months before the end of the hope and good intentions. We have to first decade of our freedom, this Congress systematically, consciously, militantly rescue comes at a time in which our revolution stands our national democratic revolution from its at the cross-roads. Since 1994 there have been present imprisonment within a persisting many advances for the working class and poor capitalist accumulation path. of our country, there have also been defeats and persisting crises for workers and the poor Unless, the working class leads, working - one million formal sector jobs have been lost programmatically and in action with the in five years, workers have been casualised widest range of the mass of the urban and rural and informalised, household income in poor, unless this is done, the promise of 1994 equality and mass poverty have worsened. will collapse into agendas of narrow self

1 enrichment, and general confusion. The SACP However, in other respects, working class is prepared to work with all potentially power has been weakened and diluted in this patriotic and progressive forces - but one thing period, especially by the staggering number of is clear, the bourgeoisie, the emergent jobs lost in the formal sector (more than 1 bourgeoisie and the emergent bourgeoisies, million), and by other drastic restructuring separately and together are incapable of measures directed at the working class charting a way out of our persisting crisis of (casualisation, informalisation, etc). This underdevelopment. The working class must major and brutal restructuring of our lead! economy, in which the working class and working class communities have borne the brunt, has, in fact, been under way in our 1. THE EMERGING WORKING economy since the mid-1970s. But, in many CLASS MEDIUM TERM VISION respects, the process has been accelerated and also extended into new sectors (retail, finance As we speak, structures of our Party are and, critically, the public sector) since 1994. preparing to start a debate on the Party's However, two and a half decades of labour- medium-term vision discussion document. shedding restructuring has left a persisting Simultaneous with this is the COSATU legacy of systemic, structural unemployment discussion document "Consolidating Working with levels of unemployment around a Class Power For Quality Jobs - Towards staggering 40%. 2015", which will be discussed at this Congress. The Party's medium-term vision The trajectory of post-1994 transformation discussion document seeks to develop a has been contested by a variety of class forces, working class vision for the next 10-12 years. including from within the Alliance itself. It asks what kind of society do we want to see There has been a notable, if still relatively in South Africa by the end of the second weak, emergence of new black capitalist and decade of our freedom in 2014? upper middle strata closely related to and dependent upon the new democratic state and Nearly a decade after our 1994 breakthrough it the ANC-led alliance. These developments is critical that the trajectory of what has been have, naturally, impacted upon the policy achieved and the trajectory of where we are perspectives and internal contradictions going, or of where we should be going, is within the new democratic state, and our assessed strategically from a working class movement. perspective. The majority (black) sector of the working The 1994 democratic breakthrough secured class and these emergent upper middle and state power for a fundamentally progressive, bourgeois strata have shared interests, not multi-class, national democratic power bloc in least in the consolidation of an effective, which the working class has been a significant powerful, non-racial, democratic state capable factor. Over the last decade, as a direct of intervening and strategically directing the consequence of the breakthrough, very economy, whose commanding heights significant constitutional, legal and continue to be dominated by established institutional power has been shifted towards domestic capitalist forces, and by the working class. There have also been major, transnational corporations (who would prefer if uneven, resource transfers (housing, to see a lean state whose principal activities electricity, water, telecommunications, health would be limited to creating an investor care, education, social security, land) to the friendly climate and protecting existing working class and to working class dominated bourgeois property rights). Our multi-class ruling bloc also shares a general vision of and communities.

2 a common interest in regional and continental class by then must be having a decisive and development, overcoming the existing qualitative impact on all key sites of power patterns of imperialist accumulation and and influence - particularly political, mass and underdevelopment. economic sites of power - such that no significant centre of power in society can ... However, the strategic nature of the exercise that power without a significant input democratic state's interventions into the from, and centrally taking into account the economy, the region and continent are, class interests of, the working class" (Bua themselves, contested within the Alliance Komanisi, July 2003, Volume 3 No.l p.3). itself, and this contest reflects different class interests. Should BEE be narrowly or broadly In relation to the ideological struggle, the defined, not just in theory but in practice? Is SACP's discussion document on the medium the restructuring of state owned enterprises term vision calls for: "Building a conscious geared to consolidating a more effective cadre able to impact on state institutions and development state and parastatal sector, or is policy, economic and mass formations in it, again, about creating business opportunities favour of the workers and the poor." Most for emerging elites? critically, the document states that: "In the same way that the locomotive and bedrock of However, while working class strategies face the struggle against apartheid was the serious challenges, there are important organised power of the working class, any positive factors upon which we need to build. further qualitative advance in the NDR is Our ANC-led liberation movement, while dependent on the power and political contested, remains fundamentally rooted consciousness of that working class" (Bua amongst the working class and poor. The Komanisi, July 2003, p.4). working class forces, at the point of production and in communities, unleashed in Through this ongoing discussion, the Party the struggle against apartheid, while partially intends to make it possible for the trade union destabilised by objective and subjective movement to grapple with current challenges factors, remain a significant national factor from a consistently working class perspective with important organisational and in order to tilt the balance of class forces in mobilisational revolutionary experience. The favour of poor and working people. To emergent capitalist and upper middle strata reaffirm the realisation of the emerging remain weak and highly dependent on state working class vision, let alone winning the power, which, in turn, depends upon electoral struggle to build socialism, is not possible success and therefore a relatively unified and without deepening the socialist outlook, mobilised mass base. The globally dominant consciousness and confidence of the working ideological prescriptions are totally incapable class in order that the working class turns its of addressing the socio-economic challenges daily struggles into a general offensive against of our society. the legacy of colonialism of a special type and the building of moment towards, capacity for, In response to these developments, what does and elements of socialism. the medium-term vision discussion document of the SACP say? To quote: "We cannot... guide, lead and grapple with the 2. BUILDING INDEPENDENT current period and all its developments, as WORKING CLASS POWER IN well as the second decade of our freedom, SOCIETY: SOCIALISM IS THE unless we develop a medium term vision... The fundamental goal of the SACP for the FUTURE BUILD IT NOW! next 10-11 years should be that the working In order to realise our medium term vision,

3 more than ever before we need a coherent, danger of stagnating with all of the working class-driven programme (essentially consequences that will bring. The challenge is a conscious class struggle) to transform the how do we use the substantial elements of current accumulation regime into a different political and mass power we have to realise growth and development path that favours the these economic breakthroughs towards workers and the poor. This is the only basis sustainable job creation and poverty upon which to realise further qualitative eradication. breakthroughs in the NDR. It is only an independent working class with a As the SACP we have identified the key clear medium term vision that is capable of strategic challenge (or the fundamental providing the leadership and motive power to contradiction) of the current period as that of achieve this qualitative transformation of the a revolution with substantial political power, national democratic revolution. The albeit incomplete and contested, but without bourgeoisie, of whatever hue, or the petty dominant economic power. Dominant bourgeoisie for that matter, with their eclectic economic power still remains with the same ideologies and programmes and policies that class (national and gender) forces as under are sometimes well-intentioned but never apartheid. It is on this terrain that we are transformative cannot provide effective seeking to advance the struggle to address the leadership to the national democratic national, gender and class struggles. revolution and realise its key objectives in the current period. It is precisely because of the We have made enormous strides towards centrality of capital in our economy at the addressing these three interrelated current moment that we are witnessing the contradictions of our revolution - class, problems we have in the economy. national and gender. We have seen massive resource transfers - through delivery of social The working class program, elements of services like water, electricity, housing, labour which are already articulated in our medium market reforms, etc - to the overwhelming term visions needs to develop strategies for majority of our people, principally the African the three key potential sites for consolidating people. However these advances have not transformational, i.e, anti-systemic, i.e. been able to transform the existing working class-hegemonised power. The three accumulation path, and well-intentioned as sites are: they are, they are constantly undermined by ongoing job losses, casualisation, One: state power, across all of its dimensions informalisation and the general pauperization (economic, social, juridical, safety and of the majority. What the democratic security, and legislative), and in the inter government gives is being seriously taken and national, national, provincial and local spheres stolen by the persistent capitalist character of - here the key (but not the exclusive) mass our society and the overwhelming dominance organisational formation is the ANC. The of the capitalist class in our economy. challenge is to continue to foster an ANC as a ruling party, capable of democratically The strategic and programmatic challenge dominating the electoral process, rooted therefore is that any further qualitative amongst the working class and the poor, and breakthrough in the national democratic capable of providing strategic leadership and revolution fundamentally requires significant of nurturing an effective revolutionary cadre breakthroughs on the economic front. Unless within the state. This requires, from the side of we make fundamental economic advances and the SACP and COSATU, active participation break with the current accumulation regime, of our cadres in the ANC and in the widest the national democratic revolution runs a range of state institutions in order to reinforce

4 the ANC's NDR strategic perspectives; influence, we should be guided by the SACPs programmatic slogan: Socialism is the future, Two: the point of production. We need to build it now. We believe that COSATU's consolidate working class power and capacity Vision 2015 would best be advanced within in this site. This requires organisational work, the context of this programmatic slogan, but also strategic capacity, such that working premised on building capacity for, momentum class power is able to progressively limit the towards and elements of socialism as the free-rein of capitalist dominance over basis for deepening the NDR and hastening production (including investment decisions, the transition to socialism. It would also act to job creation, labour-intensity, and skills cement the strategic relationship between our development), and progressively set two formations, as we will be arguing below. transformational agendas, with the longer We hope that as part of the political debates at term objective of transforming the dominant the Congress this matter will be taken up. class ownership patterns. Obviously, the key mass organisational means for this work is the trade union movement - but, especially in the 3. THE CURRENT GLOBAL parastatal sector, workers AND management. REALITIES AND THE AFRICAN CHALLENGE Three: the sites of reproduction, in particular (but not exclusively), the townships and Cde President and delegates, your Congress squatter camps. Here, too, we need to takes place against the background of an consolidate working class power and capacity increasingly dangerous global situation. Never - economic, social, ideological, cultural. A key has US imperialism been so naked and strategic objective in this site of struggle is to forthright about its intentions to dominate the lessen the dependency and vulnerability of world, through co-ercion and force, where it working class communities in regard to does not get its way. Allow me to quote capitalist markets and the strategic objective is excerpts from "The National Security Strategy to build sustainable households and of the United States of America" a document communities, through co-ops and harnessing produced in September 2002, to illustrate the economic resources in the hands of our nature and intentions of US imperialism: people. "The great struggles of the 20th Century The emerging working class medium term betw>een liberty and totalitarianism ended perspectives of both the SACP and COSATU with a decisive victory for the forces of should by no means be seen as parallel to the freedom - and a single sustainable model for NDR. Rather they should be seen as key national success: freedom, democracy, and platforms upon which the working class seeks free entreprise" to impact upon and provide leadership to the widest range of forces within the NDR itself. "Today the United States enjoys a position of If an emerging black bourgeois/bureaucratic unparalled military strength and great stratum hegemonises the NDR, the revolution economic and political influence. We will will fragment, factionalise, bureaucratise and defend the peace by fighting terrorists and stagnate - and there are already several early tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building warning signs of this danger in our present good relations among the great powers. We reality. will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent" Cde President and delegates, in order to realise the building of working class power in "We are attentive to the possible renewal of society and in all centres of power and old patterns of greater power competition.

5 Our military must dissuade future military solidarity of all working class and progressive competition. Our forces will be strong enough forces to roll back and ultimately defeat this to dissuade potential adversaries from agenda. It is clear that our own struggles to pursuing a military build up in hopes of grow and develop our economy will be under surpassing, or equaling, the power of the the heavy hand of this "great mission" of the United States" (Cited from Research Unit for US. The struggle to roll back imperialism is Political Economy Behind the Invasion of therefore integrally linked to our own Iraq, 2003 p.71) struggles to deepen the national democratic revolution with and for the workers and the "While the United States will constantly strive poor. A critical component in advancing our to enlist the support of the international own national agenda and protecting our community, we will not hesitate to act alone" national sovereignty is to cement and deepen the unity of our Alliance and all the "The war against terrorists of global reach is progressive forces in our country. Any a global enterprise of uncertain duration " reckless handling of our Alliance relations (as we shall argue below) will directly play into "The United States will use this moment of this agenda and make us even more vulnerable opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom to this "American internationalism". We also across the globe. We will actively work to need to systematically build on our campaigns bring the hope of democracy, development, against.the war in Iraq and for peace. free markets and free trade to every corner of the world" Key in this respect is to intensify our international solidarity work on the African "The US national security strategy will be continent and the South in general. As the based on a distinctly American working class we need to take much more internationalism that reflects the union of our proactive engagement with left and values and our national interests" progressive forces on the continent, both within and outside the context of NEPAD. "The United States welcomes our There are two pressing challenges in this responsibility to lead in this great mission " regard. Firstly we need to harmonise, streamline and better co-ordinate our This is not a secret document, but an open international work, within the Alliance, and document, which I downloaded from the within COSATU affiliates. All of us have internet, from the website of US Department extensive international networks and of State (except my disk got corrupted after engagements, but these are not harmonised. saving this document onto it!)! This document For instance, how do we make use of deliberately and cunningly conflates the fight COSATU's vast linkages with the trade union against terrorism as simultaneously a struggle movement in Africa as a platform for the to impose "free markets" in every comer of Alliance as a whole to forge left links and a the globe, conflated with US national and left agenda on the continent. The second global interests. challenge, in which COSATU will have to play a leading role, is that of the establishment We have seen what this strategy means, an of the Civil Society Forum of the AU - The invasion of Afghanistan and a unilateral Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the invasion of Iraq, surely also to "place Iraqi oil African Union. This is an important platform under the control of US markets". through which we can forge systematic linkages with a whole range of progressive Never in the history of working class formations on the continent, and for these to internationalism have we needed international gather when the AU Assembly sits. We all

6 need to begin some discussion and work in approach still remains that enunciated by earnest in this regard. Lenin in 1900. Allow me to quote from this: "Social democracy is a combination of the As we speak, the all-round crisis, political, labour movement with socialism. Its task is economic and social, in Zimbabwe deepens. not passively to serve the labour movement at The SACP agrees with the ANC and South each of its separate stages, but to represent African government that the immediate the interests of the movement as a whole, to priority is to ensure that there is rapid progress point out to this movement its ultimate aims towards a transitional government of national and its political tasks, and to protect its unity, involving the two major political political and ideological independence. formations in Zimbabwe. However, there will Isolated from Social-Democracy, the labour be no rapid progress in this direction, unless as movement becomes petty and inevitably South Africans we forcefully express our becomes bourgeois: in conducting only the condemnation of persisting and mass-scale economic struggle, the working class loses its human rights abuses, the oppression of worker political independence; it becomes the tail of organizations, and the masking of other parties and runs counter to the great bureaucratic ambitions beneath a demagogic slogan: 'The emancipation of the workers rhetoric of anti-imperialism. The SACP is not must be the task of the workers themselves'. In in the business of providing electoral support every country there has been a period in to one or another side. The SACP, however, is which the labour movement existed separately absolutely committed to fostering democracy from the socialist movement, each going its and respect for human rights. We are also own road; and in every country this state of absolutely committed to ensuring that any isolation weakened both the socialist settlement in Zimbabwe is not a mere elite movement and the labour movement. Only the pact, but that popular forces actively drive it. combination of socialism with the labour This is critical for any break-through, but it is movement in each country created a durable also critical for any genuinely basis for both the one and the other" (Lenin, transformational agenda beyond any 1900) breakthrough. The above approach is as relevant today as it was relevant then. The enemies of the working 4. THE STRATEGIC NATURE OF class everywhere know this, that is why one of THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN their strategies will always be an attempt to THE SACP AND COSATU drive a wedge between communists and the labour movement, thus aiming to weaken both and strengthen the capitalist character of Cde President allow me to turn into a matter society. That is where the highly sectarian left that is of vital importance to our two works to the agenda of the bourgeoisie when formations, the relationship between the they call for COSATU to split from the SACP and COSATU. This is a relationship we Communist Party and the Alliance, and need to continue to deliberately foster, deepen transforms itself into a workers' party. The and consolidate. It is a relationship forged in bourgeoisie would love this as it would isolate struggle, and must continued to be fostered organised workers from the Party and the through common struggles. masses and drive it into a cocoon! In the first instance in order to understand this Cde President I would like to submit to this relationship properly it is important to locate it Congress that we should consciously see the within the context of what the relationship relationship between our two formations as of should be between communists and the labour a strategic nature. The South African movement. The most definitive guideline and

7 Communist Party is the only credible political to the overwhelming majority of our people voice of the working class, with a proud history of struggle and a clear political theory • Harmonising and co-ordinating existing of the NDR and its relationship to the struggle working class campaigns on jobs and for socialism. We have a programmatic poverty eradication, transformation of the perspective grounded in advancing the financial sector in favour of the workers and interests of the workers and the poor. the poor, a comprehensive social security COSATU is the largest trade union federation, system, building a progressive working progressive in its orientation, with a proud class led women's movement, fighting history of militant struggle for the workers against HIV/AIDS and effective worker and embracing the NDR and the struggle for participation in ANC and SACP structures socialism. • The strategy and tactics of the working class What do we mean when we say that we should in the NDR and transition to socialism must see our relationship as a strategic relationship? emerge from the programmes and the Put simply, the future and fate of South strategic thrust of the relationship between Africa's working class lies with this our two formations! relationship. The struggle for socialism is entirely dependent on this relationship. To pose our relationship in this way is not to Without understanding the strategic nature of elevate it above that of the ANC as the leader this relationship and consciously giving it this of the Alliance. Part of the strategic purpose of strategic purpose and thrust, the future of the our relationship is precisely aimed at working class, the NDR and indeed socialism strengthening the working class bias of the is at stake. ANC as the leader of the Alliance and government. Were Lenin writing in South Africa in 2003 what he said in 1900, he would have added There is also a dialectical relationship that for South Africa, the primary strategic between the strategic nature of our two relationship for the future of the working class formations and the leading role of the ANC in lies in deepening and consolidating the this period. It is only under an ANC led strategic relationship between the SACP and Alliance, an ANC which safeguards its COSATU. working class bias, that creates the most favourable conditions for a working class led How should the strategic nature of this NDR and the struggle for socialism. relationship manifest itself? Conversely, it is the strategic relationship of the SACP and COSATU that provides the • The foundation for the strategic nature of locomotive for the NDR and an ANC with a this relationship must derive from a proper working class bias. However what holds grasp and concrete campaigns around the together this dialectic and the Alliance as a programmatic slogan of socialism is the whole is an independent, politically conscious future build it now working class capable of acting as a motive force. • The public sector as the basis of our growth and development strategies, and a programmatic platform from which to LET US TAKE THIS engage private capital RELATIONSHIP ONTO EVEN A HIGHER STRATEGIC UNITY! • An overarching state led industrial strategy, driving an accumulation regime beneficial

8 5. THE TRIPARTITE ALLIANCE arguably sections of the black petit and middle AND THE CHANGING CLASS strata. We need to constantly analyse the class FORMATION AND TERRAIN IN trajectory of the accumulation regime underway, and the manner in which it is THE NDR impacting on the nature of the alliance, and how we should seek to respond collectively to It is from the above perspectives that we it. Objectively speaking the interests of the should approach the fundamental question of working class and the black sections of the building and strengthening the Alliance. But it bourgeoisie still coincide and diverge at the is critical that as the working class we also same time. take a step back and look critically at our Alliance and the class context within which it In this context there are two immediate operates. It is indeed possible that we are dangers to our Alliance. The one comes from correctly, but mechanically, asserting the need the extreme, sectarian and opportunistic left for Alliance unity, without a simultaneous and which seeks to exploit some of the objective on-going analysis of the changing subjective constraints deriving from the apartheid legacy, and objective terrain within which the and some of the subjective weaknesses of our Alliance is operating today. own formations. This is the opportunistic extreme left which seeks to transform We need to remind ourselves that our alliance COSATU into a political party. It is still very is fundamentally a class alliance, and it is not weak and seeks to hijack some of our unions, a love affair! We have tended to regard the like the case of CEPPAWU in the Wits region. alliance principally and almost exclusively as If we do not watch this sectarian left closely it an alliance of organisations, somewhat losing may grow. sight of the class basis and composition of that alliance. On the other hand there is a rightist opportunistic tendency - as manifested by its Our alliance is fundamentally a class alliance offensive last year against the SACP and of the black, mainly African, working class COSATU as controlled by an ultra-left. It and the broader mass of urban and rural poor circulated a highly sectarian and defeatist and marginalised, a black petty bourgeoisie, paper, using the language of Marxism- progressive nationalists, the black middle Leninism, with a deliberate objective of class and an emergent black bourgeoisie. creating strains in the Alliance. Interestingly Clearly our government policies have the very ANC structures and those of the benefited, in one way or the other, all these Alliance defeated this offensive. An important class forces and strata. But at the same time, lesson we must learn from this is that it is some of the government policies may be a urgent that we build the strength of the threat to the working class or even to the Alliance from below. sections of the middle strata and the emergent bourgeoisie. Opportunistically using the language of the socialist left - Marxism-Leninism - this attack Given a hostile global terrain and the impact on the "ultra-left" is nothing but an attempt to of imperialist and neo-liberal policies, as well initially dislodge the dominance of the as the emergence of new class interests within ideology of the socialist left within our the ranks of the Alliance and society in movement. We must understand this attack for general, there are bound to be new what it is, and our challenge is not to concede contradictions that emerge. For instance the even an inch to this offensive, we must expose current growth path and accumulation regime and combat it in all its manifestations. We will is on the whole against the consolidation of do this, of course, in a firm but disciplined the interests of the working class, and

9 way. Failure to confront this agenda may expanded public works programmes and the result in the actual political dislocation of the building of co-operatives to harness the working class and the socialist left within our energies and economic creativity of the movement, which is the ultimate aim of this ordinary mass of our people. This is a very offensive. important shift from some of the GEAR assumptions. We must defeat both these tendencies. The sure way to do that is to build the Alliance • It potentially rolls back the notion that there from below, and the working class must take a is only one comer that has all the wisdom much more active responsibility to defend and about how to grow and develop our cement the Alliance. We agree with COSATU economy, and a recognition of the need to that workers need to actively participate in mobilise the wisdom and organisational ANC and SACP structures. In addition we muscle of all our people in order to achieve need to ensure that we create a layer of worker a radically different growth path. Most leadership that is conscius about the historical importantly a recognition, even if on paper, mission of the working class. the importance of the working class and the resources under its control

6. THE SIX KEY PRIORITIES In this way the GDS resolutions provides the FACING THE WORKING CLASS most itnmediate platform to struggle for an IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE accumulation regime in favour of the workers and the poor. However the working class needs to mobilise to ensure that it drives the Within the context of consolidating and implementation of these resolutions. In deepening the national democratic revolution, particular, focus should be on the following: and the emerging medium term vision for the working class, the following are the six key • Driving convening of sectoral summits priorities for the working class in the towards concrete measure for job creation immediate future: • Building of a co-operative movement 6.1 Implementation of the Growth and • The building of a progressive savings and Development Summit resolutions credit co-operative movement to fight against the high indebtedness of the Whilst the GDS resolutions do not meet the working class to omashonisa working class objective of an overarching state led industrial strategy, it nevertheless is • Struggling for worker's control of an important advance in the following retirement funds manner: • Deepening the struggles in the financial • It marks an important shift from a growth sector, and building on the achievements and development strategy premised on made thus far privatisation, liberalisation and attraction of FDI as the principal locomotive for a • Campaigning for labour intensive growth path approaches in the formal sector • Instead it is premised on mobilisation of • Driving a public works programme through domestic resources from the financial infrastructure investment sector, domestic investible income, increased investment in infrastructure,

10 • Energetically taking up BEE to ensure that 6.3 New forms of working class concrete measures are developed for the organisation benefit of the mass of our people, rather than an elite. This also calls for an intense In the light of informalisation, casualisation and conscious ideological offensive against and stratification of the working class, we attempts to hijack BEE only to benefit a need to creatively think about new forms of small elite organising workers. This means new strategies to organise informal sector workers, casual workers, hawkers and a whole range of the 6.2 Building a caring South African nation new layers of the working class created by the based on social solidarity and uplift- neo-liberal restructuring of the economy. ment of the majority of our people Amongst other things this means creating advice offices, building a co-operative It is important that the working class be in the movement, organising new workers through forefront of the struggles to address the their sites of struggles for sustainable national question. The national question livelihoods - in stokvels, burial societies and cannot be effectively addressed unless its other arenas where the informalised, class content is properly understood and retrenched and casualised working class is to addressed, just as we need to address the be found. This is where we should concretely national content of the class question. There is seek to merge struggles for jobs with some of a very real danger that as our transition the areas that our Party has been organising in. unfolds, emphasis tends to be placed on the national question devoid of its class content. It We feel that whilst the labour movement is is only a politically conscious working class, acutely aware of these challenges there has with independent power that is best capable to not been adequate discussion of new ways to lead the struggle to address the national organise the vulnerable and peripheralised question. workers in our country.

In this respect the working class needs to contest and seek to give direct ion to the moral 6.4 Deepening and systematising values upon which the emerging new South internationalist and solidarity work African nation is based. This concretely means rolling back the capitalist market, This is a critical area that needs to be unflinchingly promoting non-racialism and addressed as outlined above, prioritising non-sexism, fight corruption and elitism and solidarity in the African continent and the the "dog-eat-dog" mentalily of capitalism and South. promote values of social solidarity and upliftment of the overwhelming majority of our people. These values need to be reflected 6.5 ANC victory in the 2004 elections in all sectors of society and is the only platform on which to address the national This constitutes the most immediate priority question. This means the working class being for the working class and the national in the forefront of protecting our national democratic revolution as a whole. Workers of sovereignty and in the moral regeneration our country in general need to ensure an movement. overwhelming majority for the ANC in the elections next year. As workers, it is in our deepest interest to return the ANC government overwhelmingly. The ANC is the best placed organisation to take forward transformation in

11 our country, and the only government best Let us get down to work to ensure a capable of addressing the interests of the convincing victory for the ANC next year! overwhelming majority of our people.

It is also important that as a matter of urgency 6.6 Forward to Workers' Co-operative we ensure that workers fully participate in all Bank and Worker-Controlled the ANC election structures. We must also Retirement Funds! ensure that we participate in the drafting of the election manifesto and ensure that the When the SACP spoke at your last Congress, interests of workers are prominent. The it was a few weeks before we launched the immediate task however is to throw our Campaign to Make Banks Serve the People. weight behind the ID campaign. It would be Since then we have witnessed the holding of crucial that this Congress adopts specific the NEDLAC Financial Sector Summit in resolutions on how COSATU is going to be August 2002, the publication of draft part of this important electoral effort. regulations to govern Credit Bureaus, the discussion by cabinet of a new Co-operatives' There are additional challenges facing our Bill and Community Reinvestment unions in relation to the election campaign. Legislation, initiatives by some banks to We need to ensure that we reach out to the introduce a charge-free banking card for millions of workers to ensure that they come recipients of welfare grants, the Financial out and vote. Particular attention needs to paid Services Charter, the AVBOB announcement to the urban African working class, to remove HIV/AIDS discrimination in its particularly in areas like Durban and funeral insurance policies, and other important Pietermaritzburg in order to ensure that we developments. But these developments are not win that province. Part of the problem is that about to change the capitalist character of the our people in these areas have in the past not financial sector in our country. come out in the numbers we need. What is the role of COSATU in this regard? The campaign has reached a stage where workers must use their organisational and Another key challenge is that of focusing on financial muscle to create worker-owned and the Coloured working class in the Western worker-controlled financial institutions. We Cape. If COSATU and its affiliates throw their are calling for the formation of savings and full weight behind this effort, our job will be credit co-operatives as an important step half done in the Western Cape. towards a workers' co-operative bank, providing savings and affordable credit and An important challenge however is that as we other services to the workers of our country. draw up the ANC election manifesto we need As the SACP we are launching the Dora to ensure that we begin to draw up a joint Tamana Savings and Credit Co-operative in Alliance programme to make sure that the October this year. implementation of the manifesto is driven collectively. We should see the election As the working class, we are already campaign itself as part of building the controlling billions of rands through our Alliance. This will overcome the problem of stokvels, burial societies and retirement funds. tensions that sometimes arise out of the Let us ensure that this 8th COSATU Congress interpretation of the implementation of the passes resolutions to ensure worker control of manifesto. This is also important in order to all retirement funds as part of defeating the ensure that joint Alliance work does not only mashonisas, private commercial banks, and happen during the election campaign and not rolling back business unionism and unilateral after it. control of workers' funds by un-elected and

12 unaccountable asset managers. We call upon With these words we wish you a successful all COSATU affiliates to encourage members Congress! to form their own savings and credit co operatives as part of this overall offensive to build the financial muscle of the working class. We are also calling on this COSATU Congress to resolve to build a vibrant, democratic, popular, progressive and indepen 2003 RED OCTOBER dent co-operative movement. CAMPAIGN Further, the struggle for workers' control of retirement funds, for the building of SACCOs The August meeting of the SACP Central and a Workers' Co-operative Bank is a clear Committee decided that the 2003 Red October rejection of the call by sections of business for Campaign will focus on: workers' pension, provident and other savings • mobilisation of vulnerable workers (farm to be used to promote narrow black elite workers and domestic workers in the main, economic empowerment and to incentivise and to a lesser extent, un-unionised workers narrow transformation for the benefit of the in SMMEs) Brenthurst group and their cronies. • assessment of service delivery, in particular free basic services (water, electricity and Finally, we call on COSATU to join us in sanitation) by municipalities to poor and taking the banks campaign to a higher level by working class communities (townships, paying attention to the following: inner cities, rural villages and informal settlements) • Mass pressure on banks against continuing • social security registration picking up from redlining and for the enactment of the 2002 Red October experience. community reinvestment legislation • ID campaign

• Ensuring that the boardroom-negotiated The CC stressed that where possible these Financial Services Charter does not focal points must be integrated as part of promote narrow black elite economic launching SACP work on the elections empowerment campaign.

• Mobilising for a People's Financial Charter Farm workers • Implementation of Regulations to govern Credit Bureaux Activities will include: • Leaflet/poster blitzes and farm visits • Mobilisation against HIV/AIDS discrimination in the financial sector as a • At least 1 mass meeting with farm workers whole per province to focus on: Education and information on rights of * K« * * farm workers in terms of the constitution, labour law and the sectoral Crosscutting our work in the above priorities determination on wages and working should be deepening ideological work and conditions of farm workers cadre development, gender transformation and Reporting and processing of individual building a women's movement and the worker cases through the Department of struggle to defeat the HIV/AIDS pandemic Labour

13 and factory lunch-hour meetings, and visit • National SACP focus on the case of ZZ2 pension pay-out points, and Social workers in the Limpopo province Development and Home Affairs offices.

• Making communities aware of their social Other Vulnerable Workers security rights.

Activities will include: • Assisting, where possible, those who need • Leaflet/poster blitzes and door to door work help.

• At least 1 mass meeting with domestic • Listening to problems, and identify issues workers per district to focus on: that must be addressed. - Education and information on rights of workers in terms of the constitution, labour law and the sectoral determination on wages and working conditions of domestic workers - Mobilising workers to join trade unions DORA TAMANA SAVINGS AND CREDIT • Reporting and processing of individual worker cases through the Department of CO-OPERATIVE: FORWARD Labour, advice offices and trade unions TO THE COMMUNIST STOKVEL!

Service Delivery During the 2003 Red October Campaign, the SACP will launch the Dora Tamana Savings Activities will include organisation of and Credit Co-operative (DTSACCO) as a community meetings with ward councillors new initiative to form a primary savings and and councillors on service delivery issues; credit co-operative providing comprehensive door-to-door visits looking at problems of savings, credit and basic insurance products to service delivery (cut-offs, high bills, indigent its members at reasonable interest rates. families, etc). Since October 2000, our Party has led a During the 2002 Red October focus on social campaign to transform and diversify the security registration, the problem of IDs was financial sector in our country. One of the reported on many occasions. This must be central demands in this campaign is the taken up during this year’s campaign. building of a co-operative banks in our country. The campaign must also include a focus on the debit order campaign and building of SACP Through the DTSACCO initiative, the SACP workplace structures. is making a clear statement that nothing less than purpose-built legislation and other supportive measures are required to create a ID Campaign and Social Security conducive environment for the promotion of co-operative banking. SACCOs are not co Learning from the 2002 Red October operative banks, but a foundation of co Campaign, activities will include:• operative banks. This is why we need tailor- made legislation for these, and not exemption • door-to-door visits, community meetings from the Banks Act.

14 Like other SACCOs, the DTSACCO will be a • Funeral Insurance democratic, unique member-driven, self-help, not-for-profit financial services co-operative. • Life and Loans Insurance It will be owned and governed by members who share a common bond. • Fixed Deposits

These will be offered on competitive rates and Advantages of the DTSACCO terms. In the future, the DTSACCO will explore other financial and banking services The DTSACCO will offer the following and products. advantages to its members:

• Members will collectively mobilise savings Membership outside of the exploitative private commercial financial system. The DTSACCO is open to SACP members. The common bond for DTSACCO members is • Providing savings and loans that are their membership of the SACP. generally better than rates given by private commercial institutions. The Founding Meeting of the DTSACCO will be held in Johannesburg during the Red • Encouraging members to save through October Campaign. This will require a various products. Savings is important for minimum of 200 founding members. asset accumulation and economic empowerment.

• Educating members in financial matters by teaching prudent handling of money, how to keep track of finances, how to budget and why to keep away from hire purchases and CONTACT loan sharks. Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara Department of Media, Information Even though the DTSACCO is initiated by our Party, primarily for its members, it will be an and Publicity South African independent organisation from Party Communist Party structures, and will be controlled by its members, with its own board democratically Tel - Oil 339 3621 and directly elected by DTSACCO members. Fax - Oil 339 4244 Cell - 072 275 4723 Products and Services Email - [email protected] Website - www.sacp.org.za Initially, the DTSACCO will provide the following products to its members: P.O. Box 1027, Johannesburg, 2000

• Savings (Regular Savings, Special Savings, Fixed Deposits)

• Loans