The system of capitalism-imperialism causes poverty and suffering, not farm subsidies!

The UN representatives and the NGO’s at the WSSD are singing the same song that agricultural subsidies in the imperialist centres are to be blamed for blocking access of exports from Africa and the rest of the neo-colonial countries. They are saying that these subsidies are causing poverty.

They are deliberately trying to focus people’s attention away from the root cause of world poverty and suffering, namely the capitalist system itself. To expose the lies of the UN and the NGO’s we first have to look at what is really happening. The first assumption that the UN and NGO’s make is that the food industry exists to feed the world. In fact, under imperialism, the aim of the control of the food resources of the world is to keep the working classes of the world in a permanent state of hunger or semi-hunger. If this were not the case, why is there starvation while the capacity just the US can feed the world several times over.

If we include the other imperialist centres, we can see that there is no logical reason why starvation takes place even for one person.. If they have so much, why do they need subsidies? Clearly the subsidies are not to help them produce. So what are they for, then? The US state pays subsidies to the farmers to NOT produce food! In other words a deliberate scarcity is created so that the price of processed food can be kept artificially high.

This means a higher rate of profit to the capitalists! In Europe the companies are sitting on mountains of food. Often thousands of tons of food are dumped into the sea. Even in South Africa, the food companies let the ‘excess’ milk run into the drains and have been known to dump many tons of meat into the sea. With so much over-production, what hope has the neo-colonial countries of increasing in any significant way, their exports to the imperialist centres?? What the UN and NGO’s do not say is that if all subsidies and cheap loans are abolished for the US and EU, then this would apply to all countries.

With their high level of technology, the US and EU would still be able to produce more cheaply than any other place in the world. Therefore there would be a tendency for more products to go to the neo-colonial world than vice versa. The only way the neo-colonial countries can ‘compete’ is by imposing slave conditions. Some of the food sectors in the neo-colonial countries may even close down. But the biggest markets for food is the US and Europe. This brings us to the real reason why the UN is talking about the food subsidies. The level of food subsidy is higher in the EU , under the CAP – Common Agricultural Policy, than in the United States. A lowering of the food subsidies would substantially benefit US capital as their exports to the EU would dramatically increase. The talk of subsidies, therefore, is a fallout among the imperialists and they are cloaking it in terms as if it is about rescuing the plight of the world poor! Subsidies or no subsidies, the position of the working classes in the neo-colonial countries would still be that of super-exploitation and suppression by world imperialism of all shades.

Imperialism, through price-fixing have manipulated downwards the price of raw materials from the neo-colonial countries. Indeed, there are 30% more exports from Africa today than in 1980, but in real terms income is 40% less than what it was in 1980. Further, already Africa’s trade with the rest of the world is 46% of it economic activity, while trade only makes up 13% of the economic activity of both North America and Europe. Will the US monopolies give Africa the technology to become self-sufficient in food production? No, as this would threaten the markets and profits of imperialism. [If workers across the neo-colonial world were well fed, do you think they would slave for a few pennies for any capitalist company?] Instead, the dependence on world imperialism capitalism is entrenched at all costs. Earlier this year Zambia had a huge grain surplus.

The IMF/World Bank instructed them to sell it off for gaining foreign exchange. This foreign exchange went towards a debt payment, so this was a double plunder by imperialism. Now that the crops have failed, Zambia as well as huge parts of Southern Africa faces a famine of unprecedented proportions. Imperialism is slow to deliver food ‘aid’, yet it was its policies that led to the starvation in the first place. This ‘aid’ is a fraction of the wealth that imperialism plunders from Africa. But this ‘aid’ also plays a more sinister role: The UN is the channel for the surplus food from the capitalist monopolies. This food is bought at a premium so the capitalists still maintain their high profits. This ‘aid’ comes with conditions.

For example, food ‘aid’ was given to Angola in exchange for rights for the oil monopolies to explore and extract reserves from the country! The image of the giant corporations is also boosted by the UN, as they are seen as the ‘rescuers’ of the poor, instead of being seen as the plunderers that they really are! For years, the imperialists have been instructing the African governments to replace local food production with cash crops such as coffee, for export. Countries that used to be self-sufficient in food became dependent on the imports from imperialist countries.

The world has been turned into a genetically modified Kellogg’s country. The working classes of the world are slowly being genetically modified, having our health undermined and resources plundered by imperialist policies, and the UN and Oxfam and the like, have the audacity to say that subsidies and not the giant corporations and banks are to blame!

One thing is clear is that the UN and the NGO’s are tools of imperialism! In a Socialist world order, all the most modern technological advances would be made available for free to all people in the world. There would be no question about any single person starving. The riches of the world would be put to use for the benefit of all humanity. The giant monopolies and banks, cannot do this as these handful of parasites base their very existence on keeping knowledge and the wealth of the world in the private hands of a few.
Imperialism-capitalism is responsible for world hunger and suffering!
Down with the UN, the tool of imperialism! Down with the NGO’s and all the capitalist regimes of the world!
Down with imperialism! Down with the WSSD, NEPAD and GEAR!
Capitalism sustains itself on tear gassing, detentions and hunger of the world working classes!
Capitalism is not sustainable! Forward to the rebuilding of the revolutionary Communist International, the Fourth International! Socialism now!
Issued on 2.09.03

IMEKO YOBUNGXOWA NKULU YOBU-IMPIRIYALI (UBUNGXOWANKULU OBUBANGAZONKE) INGUNOBANGELA WENDLALA NETSOKOLO, HAYI UKUXHASWA NGEZIMALI KWABALIMI NABAFUYI
Abameli bezizwe ezimanyeneyo kunye nemibutho engaphandle koburhulumente bebecula
iculo elinye lokuba ukuxhaswa kwabalimi kumazwe ama-imperiyali ngunobangela oxingisa ukungena kwezinto zangaphandle e Afrika nakuwo onke amazwe ayesakuba ngamathanga. Eli licula elaliculwa kule nkomfa idlulileyo yase Rhawutini imalunga nokulondolozwa kwendalo. Bathi le nkxaso yenza indlala.

Babetha abantu ngemfe emehlweni befuna ukuba bangayiqapheli ingcambu yendlala kunye nokusokola ehlabathini. Unobangela bubungxowa nkulu uqobo. Ukuveza elubala ubuxoki bezizwe ezimanyeneyo kunye nemibutho engaphandle korhulumente, kufuneka siqale sijonge ukuba yintoni kanye kanye eyenzekayo. Intelekelelo yezizwe ezimanyeneyo kunye nemibutho engaphandle korhulumente yeyokuba abavelisi bokutya bavelisela ukondla ihlabathi. Inyani phantsi kobu-imperiyali imveliso yokutya ehlabathini yenzelwa ukugcina abasebenzi behlabathi kwimeko yisigxina yokulamba nokuhlala belamba. Oongxowankulu bathi bazuze inzuzo ngale ndlala yabasebenzi.

Ukuba le ibingeyonyani kutheni le nto kukho ukusokola xa zikhona imeko zokuba iMelika ingondla ihlabathi amatyeli amaninzi? Ukuba sidibanisa ezinye iindawo zama-imperiyali singabona ukuba akukho sizathu sokuba indlala ibhuqe nomntu omnye. Ukuba banakho ukuvelisa ukutya okuninzi kangaka kutheni kufuneka baxhase amafama ngezimali nje? Ngokucacileyo ukuba le nkxaso ayibancedi ukuba bavelise okuyakuthi kuhluthise wonke umntu. Ngako oko bakholo ntoni? Uburhulumente base Melika bubhatala intywenka yemali kumafama nge-akile nganye engasetyenziselwa mveliso, ukuzama ukukhuthaza amafama ukuba angavelisi mveliso ezakungela ukuhla kwexabiso lokutya.

Ngamanye amazwi kwenzelwaukuba ukutya kunqabe khon’ ukuze amaxabiso okutya abephezulu kakhulu. Lo nto ithethe ukuthi kobakho ingeniso enkulu koongxowa nkulu abavelisa ukutya! EYurophu iinkampani zihleli nentaba yokutya. Amaxesha amaninzi amawaka eetoni zokutya zilahlwa elwandle.Nalapha emZantsi Afrika iinkampani zokutya zilahla ubisi kwimibhobho yelindle kwaye ziyaziwa ngokulahla iitoni zenyama elwandle. Ngokuvelisa kakhulu, leliphi ithemba lamazwe aphantsi kobu-imperiyali lokunyusa ukuthunyelwa kwemveliso yawo kumazwe ama-imperiyali. Into ethethwa zizizwe ezimanyeneyo kunye nemibutho engaphandle korhulumente kukuba, ukuba inkxaso ngemali kunye nemboleko ephantsi bezinokupheliswa eMelika kunye naseYurophu, ize loo nto yenziwe kuwo onke amazwe indlala ingaphela. Ngokomgangatho ophezulu wobuchwepheshe, iMelika kunye neYurophu banokuvelisa ngaphezulu ngamaxabiso aphantsi kunayo nayiphi na indawo ehlabathini. Ngako oko kungakwazeka ukuba kuveliswe ukutya okuninzi okunokuthengiswa kumazwe aphantsi kobu-imperiyali ngamaxabiso aphantsi. Eyona ndlela ayakuthi la mazwe ayesakuba ngamathanga akhuphisane ngayo kukuba kwenziwe iimeko zobukhoboka. Amanye amacandelo okutya kula mazwe ayakuthi avalwe. Kodwa iimalike zokutya ezinkulu yiMelika ne Yurophu.

Lo nto ithi isise kowona nobangela nokuba yintoni le nto umbutho wezizwe ezimanyeneyo uthetha ngokusasazwa inkxaso yamafama okutya. Izinga lokusasazwa kokutya linyukile eYurophu, phantsi kwesivumela ekuthiwa yiCommon Agreement on Agricultural Products, xa uthelekisa ne Melika. Ukuhliswa kokwabiwa kokutya kuba yingeniso kwezoqoqosho neMelika njengoko izinto abazithumela eYurophu zinyuka ngokukhawuleza. Ukuthetha ngokunikezelwa kokutya ngokufikelelekayo ebantwini kukuwa kubu-imperiyali kwaye bakusoloko bethenga ixesha labo ngelithi benza iindlela ezinceda abantu abasokolayo behlabathi. Lo gama bababenza amaxhoba endlala mpela. Ikhona inkxaso yamafama ingekho, imeko yabasebenzi kumazwe aphantsi kobu-imperiyali iyakuhlala injalo – intlupheko phantsi koongxowankulu abafumana konke abakufuna ukufezekisa ubomi.

Phantsi kobu-imperiyali nokungxowankulu abasebenzi bayakusoloko bexhatshazwa ngelona zinga lakhe laphezulu nokucinezelwa ngama-imperiyali ngazo zonke indlela. Ubuimperiyali buye barhwaphiliza ngokuthi Buhlise amaxabiso emveliso yemveli okanye engagqibelelanga esuka kumazwe aphantsi kobu-imperiyali ngemeko yorhwebo olusekwe ngobuqhophololo.

Nangona kukho umlinganiselo ongama 30% kwizinto ezisiwa ngaphandle ziphuma e Afrika namhlanje, xa kuthelekiswa nomnyaka ka 1980, kodwa ngokwenyani ingeniso ingaphantsi ngokomlinganiselo ongama 40% xa kuthelikiswa ngomnyaka ka 1980. Ukongeza koku urhwebo lwase Afrika lunga 46% xa luthelekiswa nehlabathi liphela ngokwezoqoqosho lwalo, nangona urhwebo lwaseMelika kunye ne Yurophu lenza umlinganiselo oli 13%.

Ingaba iinkampani ezinkulu zase Melika zingayinika iAfrika ubuchwephesha obunokwenza ukuba iyeke ukuxhomekeka kuyo ekuveliseni ukutya? Hayi ngoba lo nto iyakuthi isengele phantsi ubungangamsha baseMelika nobo-imperiyali. [ukuba abasebenzi kumazwe aphantsi kobu-imperiyali bebefumana ukutya ngokwaneleyo, ucinga ukuba bebenokuba ngamakhoboka eepeni zamashishini oongxowa nkulu?] Ukusuka apho ukuxhomekeka kubu-imperiyali kubekwa phambili ngazo zonke indleko. Ekuqaleni kulonyaka iZambia ibinengqolowa eninzi. Ingxowa mali yehlabathi (IMF), kunye nebhanki yehlabathi (WB) zayalela ukuba urhulumente ayithengise azokwazi ukufumana imali yokuhlawula ityala langaphandle. Ngoku abantu bayalamba isivuno sephelile yaye amatyala asekhona. Loo myalelo wokuthengisa wawuliyelenqe lokuba iZambia ihlale ixhomekeke kuma-imperiyali ukutyisa abantu bayo lisenziwa ngama-imperiyali. Ngoku izityalo zaphanza. I Zambia kunye namazwe esemaZantsi e Afrika ajongene nendlala ezisa ubhubhane wokufa ngeyona ndlela yakha yambi. Ama-imperiyali arhuqa imilenze ekunikezeleni “ngoncedo” lokutya, nangona ibikwa bubu-imperiyali obubangele le nyhikityha. Olu “ncedo” bubutyebi obathathwa kwalapha e Afrika. Kodwa olu “ncedo” ludlala indima enkulu ukugcina iAfrika isisicaka sobu-imperiyali. Izizwe ezimanyeneyo liqonga loo ngxowankulu abangama-imperiyali apho kuqiniswa ulawulo lobungxowankulu kwihlabathi liphela.

Oku kutya kuthengiswa ngamatyala kusenzelwa ongxowa nkulu bafumane ingeniso ezakha zaphezulu. “Uncedo” luza kunye nemiqathango ebophelelayo. Umzekelo uncedo lokutya e Angola kwafuneka inikezele ngelungelo lokuba iinkampani ze-oyile zixhaphaze ioyile yela lizwe eyayibekwe koovimba. Ubunjani benkampani ezinkulu zoongxowankulu abangama-imperiyali buqunywa zizizwe ezimanyeneyo, ezi ziveza ngokungathi zingabahlanguli babantu abasokolayo, hayi ukuba zijongwe njengezona ezingunobangela wentsokolo.

Iminyaka ama-imperiyali esoloko eyalela iinkokheli zase Afrika ukuba ziyeke ukuvelisa ukutya kwazo zivelise ikofu nezinye izinto ezingeko kutya zakugqiba zizithumele ngaphandle. Amazwe ebeqhele ukuzenzela ukutya kuye kwanyanzeleka ukuba axhomekeke kumazwe ama-imperiyali ngokutya. Ilizwe liye laguqulwa yalilizwe le kellogs. Abasebenzi behlabathi baye baguqulwa kancinci nempilo yabo ayakhathalelwa nemveliso yaguqulwa ngokwemigaqo yama-imperiyali, kwaye ezi zizwe zimanyeneyo kunye nee-NGOs nabanye zinoluvo oluthi, yinkxaso efunyanwa ngamafama hayi ubu-imperiyali neenkampani ezinkulu kunye ne bhanki emazibekwe ityala.

Into inye ecacileyo yinto yokuba izizwe ezimanyeneyo kunye nale mibutho ingaphandle korhulumente zizixhobo zobuimperiyali. Phantsi kwemeko yehlabathi yobudlelandawonye (ubusoshiyali) bonke ubuchwepheshe bokubakho ukukhulula bonke abantu endlaleni ehlabathini. Akubakho namnye umntu oyakulala engatyanga lo gama ukutya kulahlwa emigqomeni ngabanemali yokuthenga. Ubutyebi behlabathi bokuthi busetyenziswe ukukhupha bonke abantu endlaleni. Iinkampani ezinkulu kunye neebhanki azinakukwazi ukwenza oku kuba zilawulwa ngama-imperiyali alawula ukwanelisa iimfuno zegcuntswana ngokuhluphekisa isininzi sabasebenzi.

Unobangela wendlala ehlabathini bubungxowankulu nobu-imperiyali obufezekisa iimfuno zobungxowankulu, hayi ukuxhaswa kwamafama ngezimali zembonelelo.
Phantsi ngezizwe ezimanyeneyo (UN), isixhobo Sobu-imperiyali! Phantsi ngemibutho engekho phantsi kukarhulumente (NGOs) nabo bonke uburhulumente bongxowa nkulu behlabathi!
Phantsi ngobimperiyali! Phantsi nge WSSD, NEPAD kunye ne GEAR!
Ubungxowa nkulu busigcina ngezintywizisi (TEAR gas), ukubanjwa, nendlala kubasebenzi
behlabathi! Ubungxowa nkulu abunalondolozo lwangomso!
Phambili ngokwakha umbutho wobukomanisi, Phambili ngeFourth International! Ubudlelandawonye ngoku!

THE COSATU LEADER’S ‘FIGHT’ AGAINST PRIVATISATION IS TO SAVE THE SOUL OF CAPITALISM

A lot of talk occurred around the COSATU strike against privatisation. The capitalist media and other agents of capital deliberately ignore glaring facts about this strike and labelled the COSATU leadership as being “ultra – left”. Yet we can see that nothing is “ultra – left” about the COSATU leadership except that they are doing their job of controlling the working class from challenging capitalism, the basis of exploitation and oppression. COSATU leaders are a stumbling block to the revolutionary advance of the working class while the members of COSATU are an important component of the working class who play the leading role in the struggle for Socialism.

COSATU leadership has sold out on the mandate of the December Special congress of 1999. The mandate was that COSATU should mobilise for the series of general strikes against privatisation and other parts of the GEAR policy. COSATU leaders never implemented this mandate from the word go and instead called for the 1 day action of the 10 May 2000 which never seriously challenged the state’s privatisation drive. They then created a safety valve by agreements at the alliance summit that they themselves called to put an end to the workers struggle. The COSATU leaders then claimed victory as if privatisation has been halted. COSATU leaders are doing nothing to bring the APFs that exists in different regions into this fight. In fact in Gauteng, the COSATU leaders have distanced themselves from the APF, in effect splitting the working class opposition to privatisation.

Today they pretend they never had such a mandate and continue this fight from a new basis. The two day stay away was not meant to stop privatisation but the main objective was to stop the working class from seeking an alternative leadership against privatisation as is already the case with this fight. The leaders are aware that sitting down and do nothing while their own members are being slaughtered by privatisation will expose these ‘leaders’ and force the workers to look for an alternative leadership and possibly organisation. That is the most dangerous thing that the capitalists and the ANC are avoiding – the working class without leaders to control them to keep within capitalism.

COSATU demands speak for themselves. COSATU is calling on the government to temporarily stop privatisation of certain services. This is not “ultra – left” at all as it is not ruling out privatisation in principle. COSATU has long ago agreed with the government’s plans to privatise in their summit and other alliance meetings. The National Framework Agreement (NFA) was a framework for privatisation to take place. The government has signed sector agreements in health, education, telecommunication, etc for privatisation to take place. What COSATU leaders want is to buy time for the ANC government. They do that by pretending that they are putting up a fight with the government. This is to direct workers away from looking for a real alternative.

They now lay the basis for the propping up of a reformist workers party that will counter the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system. They are not putting any alternative to privatisation such as nationalisation under workers control of parastatals. They say that they recognise that “some restructuring” (meaning privatisation) has to occur. When they accepted the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP) they accepted that privatisation “is not all bad”. They claim that only privatisation that leads to job losses is bad. COSATU supports NEPAD, a major privatisation tool for Africa. No action was taken against GEAR although it was opposed to it (in word not in action) from its implementation.

All this talk of a fight between COSATU leadership and the ANC is nothing more than boosting the COSATU leadership as “genuine leaders” of the people. When they labelled COSATU leaders as “ultra – left” they are telling those workers who are disgruntled by the ANC policies and attacks on the workers not to look any further away from the leadership of COSATU. The ANC (and capitalists) prefers the working class to be led by COSATU and SACP leadership who will control the working class for the soul of the ANC, which is the current chief representative of the capitalist class.

Whatever criticisms COSATU leadership and SACP are having of the ANC policies or privatisation they still support that the ANC is the leading political force that must be built and made strong by the working class. These misleaders are fundamentally implementing these anti-worker policies they purport to fight. It is the COSATU and SACP leaders in government such as Mdladlana, Radebe, Shilowa etc who are implementing GEAR and privatisation. Zwelinzima’s anti- privatisation talk, while promoting an alliance on the other hand, is nothing more than his ambition to be the next parliamentarian such as Cronin or Shilowa.

While the ANC leadership is busy boosting COSATU’s bureaucratic leadership as “ultra- left” it is busy repressing the real leaders of the people who are leading the grassroots struggles. The leaders of campaigns against evictions, privatisation, for land, are dealt with police brutality and are not called ‘ultra- left”. These are the people that might get the attention of the working class and undermine the control ANC have over workers through SACP and COSATU bureaucracy. By boosting the COSATU leadership it is undermining these grassroots leaders. None of the COSATU leadership have faced state repression being ‘ultra – left” as they are. They are not there when their members are being evicted or having their electricity and water cut off.

The workers are seeing through this COSATU leadership. They know that it is not trustworthy. When people looked at Jay Naidoo, Shilowa, Gomomo, they do not see any difference in what Vavi and Madisha are doing. The working class sees the same empty talk. Their shameful commitment to the alliance is another measure of how they are like their predecessors. Workers are asking why do they need the alliance if it cannot stop the attack on workers and it is actually laying the basis for the attacks on workers? To the workers it is clear that Vavi and company need this alliance for personal reasons. Through it the ANC will give them seats in the government and they will be silent about the working class and consolidate their family incomes.

The alliance does not help the workers in any way but is their cause of oppression without an effective fight. The small turn out at the rallies is a vote of no confidence to this wavering leadership. On the other hand workers know that they have to fight or else things will become worse. Those who responded do not show faith in the COSATU leadership either but know very well that the call for this strike has been a result of their pressure on this leadership that signed for privatisation against the members’ mandate.

The scene is now set for the formation of a reformist workers party. The capitalist class is only loyal to themselves. In the past they supported the NP, then they dropped them for the ANC and now they would even help some other reformist formation, as long as the job is done, i.e. control is maintained of the workers for exploitation. Now that they see that the ANC is unable to control the working class fully on their behalf, they are actively promoting the idea that the reformists in the ANC and SACP lead the formation of a workers party.

This is precisely what we warned about in a previous edition of Workers’ International News. This party is guaranteed to be reformist under the leadership of COSATU and SACP. These reformists will be forming this party not to destroy the capitalist system but to protect it from being destroyed by an independent movement by the workers to form their party to destroy the system. The mass workers party will be play a counter-revolutionary role. This will be a huge set back to the workers of Africa as whole if not the world.

So How Do We Continue the Fight Against Privatisation?
Firstly, we need to develop a programme of the broadest demands of the working class and fellow poor. We should strongly oppose those who want to limit quantities of water to 50 litres per day per person and such limitations. Such limited demands means taking responsibility for the capitalist system that we have no control over, where the working class is in a position of a permanent exploitation. We need a programme that grows out of the living struggles of the working class and fellow poor, and poses demands to advance working class interests to the fullest. All the current struggles against the actions of the state should be united and supported from a working class perspective.

We need to take a principled stand against privatisation. It must be stopped and all sectors already privatised should be re-nationalised under workers control. This should be the main pillar for uniting all the working class formations, COSATU, NACTU, independent unions, civics, APFs, Anti – Evictions campaign and working class political formations. This should be a united front where there is freedom of political expression. The political formations should only have observer status and it is up to the broad front to decide on all matters. From WIVL perspective, we believe that a revolutionary working class party should be formed based on a revolutionary programme and revolutionary practice. Phrase-mongering while practice is in the opposite direction, such as what the SACP does, should be countered. Even the revolutionary working class party, when it is formed, should fight for its position in the broad front.
FORWARD TO A BROAD ANTI-PRIVATISATION UNITED FRONT!!
FORWARD TO THE BUILDING OF A REVOLUTIONARY WORKING CLASS PARTY!!
FORWARD TO THE REBUILDING OF THE FOURTH INTERNATONAL!!

Comments, contributions, letters are most welcome! Please send these to e-mail: wivl@sn.apc.org

Education for capitalist slavery

Throughout the centuries school education was reserved for the middle and ruling classes. Only during the rise of capitalism was there a spread of mass schooling. This schooling was directly aimed at serving the needs of the rising capitalist system. It was to prepare a class of wage slaves, the working class, for exploitation. The mass schooling system has always reflected the needs of capital over the centuries and the past century and present moment is no exception.

The neo-colonial countries have been largely reduced to primary producers of raw materials, while the imperialist centres have been largely the preserve of large-scale production. The education system in each case reflects the needs of capital. It is the needs of capital that is the main driving force behind the changes/’restructuring’ that is currently taking place in education. How the education system finally looks like depends on the resistance of the working class to what the capitalist class wants to impose. The working class needs to take the lead in opposing the current restructuring in education.

The capitalists claim that over the past 20 years the world economy has grown. But if we look at the ex-colonies [the neo-colonies] across the world, there has been massive job losses and downscaling of industry. The standard of living of the world working classes, without exception, has fallen. Even in the imperialist centres such as Britain and the USA, there have been increasing cutbacks on social gains. What has caused all of this? All over the world there is excess productive capacity. Factories are under-utilised and farming conglomerates are subsidised to not produce in order to keep prices and profits artificially high.

Whenever there has been a crisis, the capitalist class pass its effects on to the shoulders of the working class. It has been 12 years since the collapse of the international Stalinist machine. Capitalism claimed its superiority but has failed to live up to its claims. It has to, on an ongoing basis, develop schemes to extend its lifespan and its control. With the advance of technology, work has become more simplified. Capital has no need for huge numbers of skilled workers. In addition, due to the crisis capital is in, their only way to survive is to further attack the gains of the working class. But they have a problem. The current working class has decades of experience of a certain standard of living and of struggle against the capitalists. The capitalists have come up with a sinister international plan to create a future generation of the working class who is unskilled, uncultured, unquestioning and obedient and who will be prepared to give up on many of the past gains due mainly to their ignorance of history.

The United Nations, and various international capitalist agencies, like the IMF and World bank, are all part of this sinister plan. Why do we say so? If we examine the UN international development goals we can see that their framework is in fact to maintain the inequality and the dominance of the multinationals. Despite the capacity of the productive forces to feed the world’s population over and over, immediately, the UN only sets goals of reducing those living on $1 per day by half by 2015. By 1998 there were 1.2 billion people living on $1 per day, so this means that within the next 13 years the number of people living on $1 per day will be reduced to 600 million. [This is just less than the entire population of Africa]. But if one looks broader, in 1998, about half the world’s population, some 3 Billion people, were living on $2 per day. The UN says nothing about this inequality.

In other words the UN and its agencies want to maintain the capitalist relations, while addressing, or appearing to address the ‘hotspots’. The international control of capital is built on maintaining the world working classes in a permanent state of hunger and dependency on the multinationals. Any real independent development would immediately challenge the profits of these giant monopolies.

Turning now to education, the UN aims to achieve universal primary education by 2015. What they do not say but it is implied in their statement, is that access to secondary and tertiary education will become or remain elitist and open to those who have the funds. In other words, the capitalist class and upper middle class will have access to secondary and higher education to continue their social function of controlling the world working classes. The youth passing through the primary education will have a rudimentary[basic] education to enable them to be passive recipients of capitalist propaganda and will in effect be robbed of all the past cultural gains. In other words, the youth will be produced en masse as unthinking robots, prepared to do the master’s bidding.

Turning to South Africa. The Freedom Charter was vague on the question of free education up to the highest level. For several decades, while it suited the ANC leadership, the clause on education was interpreted in such a way that “The doors of learning shall be open” meant free education up to the highest level. This illusion was propped up by various ‘left’ groups who argued for ‘a working class understanding of the Freedom Charter’. In the negotiated settlement process, the demands of the working class was repeatedly watered down until the RDP [Reconstruction and Development Programme] was developed as the ANC electoral programme in 1994.

The RDP only promises 10 years of free schooling. In other words, it was already in line with the requirements of imperialism [monopoly capitalism] for reducing the number of skilled workers in the world. Cosatu and its education affiliates actively promoted this cheapening of education through their uncritical promoting of the RDP, although it appears that many members were taken in by the flowery words of the state and its OBE [Outcomes Based Education] jargon. SADTU, the teachers union, developed what they called the Yellow book in which SADTU accepted only 10 years of free schooling and promoted this as a basis for electoral support for the ANC. Most of SADTU’s criticism has missed the point, it focuses on issues such as lack of textbooks, etc instead of looking at the framework. Unwittingly or wittingly, SADTU became part of the forces justifying the massive cutbacks in education. Fundamentally the RDP accepted the capitalist framework and leaving the commanding heights of the economy in the hands of monopoly capital.

This was part of the negotiated settlement and the Cosatu leaders became the advocates of outcome based education in our ranks. The academics wrote tomes of documents on the advantages of OBE. In the process, many thousands of teachers were retrenched and massive cutbacks in education implemented. In the Western Cape alone 7000 teachers left teaching and even more than this number of posts were cut down. Now there is a plan to cut a further 470 teachers and support staff, in the Western Cape and many thousands more nationally. Most affected will be the ‘soft’ targets such as pre-primary teachers.

What is Outcomes Based Education [OBE] really?
In the government’s revised curriculum statement on Curriculum 2005 they give their views on what OBE is. Whatever they say on paper is contradicted in practice. They claim to want to aim for high levels of knowledge. But how can this be achieved if the exit level is Grade 9 [the old standard 7]. They say they want a learner centred approach but in practice with over-crowded classrooms, schooling is reduced to crowd control.

They say they want to realise the full potential of the student but if free schooling is only up to Grade 9, then what hope has the majority of working class youth of developing their full potential? Even the free schooling up to Grade 9 is a myth, as parents have to pay huge school fees from Grade 1. For the past 8 years, students have been put over to the next standards en masse. Teachers openly admit that the current crop of Grade 9 students would need a bridging course to cope with the old Grade 10 syllabus. The government claims that after Grade 9 the students can proceed to technical schools or higher standards or look for work.

The students will write an exit exam at the end of this year and if they do not get through they can either repeat the year or they will be given a work-seeking note! FOR ALL THE HIGH SOUNDING PHRASES FROM THE GOVERNMENT, IN PRACTICE THE EDUCATION OF OUR YOUTH HAS BEEN REDUCED TO THAT OF THE FORMER BANTUSTANS WHERE THEY USED TO ISSUE STANDARD 7 CERTIFICATES TO OUR YOUTH! Very soon, funding to Grade 10-12 teaching by the state will be reduced to a minimum. Soon, whoever wants to study at these levels will have to pay massive amounts. This OBE is thus also a grand privatisation programme of the state that the unions and other formations have wittingly or unwittingly allowed in by the front door!

There are many other reasons why exit at Grade 9 should be rejected but educationists have uniformly accepted this. Not a single psychologist has had the guts to stand up and say wait a minute, the level of abstract thinking of a 14 year old is only just starting to develop, so all the high talk of high levels of knowledge is a load of crap! No, they all have been taken in or have just kept quiet while the majority of working class youth are being sacrificed to the cheaper needs of big capital. If big capital has retrenched workers in their millions, what do they care for today’s youth? The middle class has not challenged the OBE as they can afford to pay for the ongoing education of their own children. This so-called progressive Constitution says children of less than 15 years cannot work but the OBE system kicks out youth of 14 to become work seekers!

We are not saying that the system before OBE was perfect. It was not! It was also geared to produce cheap labour for the capitalist class. What we ARE SAYING is that OBE is not going to deliver on its promises and it is a cover for maintaining class relations in capitalist society today. It provides a justification to blame all else except the state and the capitalist class if the youth are not educated. The parents will be blamed for not controlling the schools or for not paying fees, the teachers will be blamed for not carrying out OBE well enough, the youth will be blamed for not making it to university despite the OBE environment, etc, etc.

With the pending collapse of the schooling system we can see why the tertiary education institutions are being restructured by the state. There will be, by design, fewer students reaching the tertiary level so why should the current level be maintained? The restructuring of tertiary education, in line with the reduced needs of the capitalists for skilled workers will mean more difficult access, and a host of obstacles, put in the way of youth wanting to study further. [see the article on tertiary education elsewhere in this paper] Nowhere in the world has OBE led to greater educational throughput of working class youth. In countries like Brasil, where even today there is free education at technikon and university level, this was a gain that the working class had fought for.

The way forward
The teachers have shown themselves incapable of fighting OBE and the cheap labour system that the state and capital wants. We call on all parents around every school to form joint anti-privatization education committees with the students and teachers. We should mobilise the working class communities, informing them of the dangers of the OBE and launching a mass campaign for free liberatory education up to the highest level. Without waging this fight, what future do our youth have? If our children cannot do better than ourselves, what are we working for? In spite of the betrayal by the ANC in government and of the Cosatu bureaucrats and SACP leadership, we are left with no choice but to pick up the pieces and to rededicate ourselves to the struggle. The struggle must be for working class power. Our chief weapon will be unity of the working class in action. We call on all working class formations to unite in the fight against this capitalist system.
NO TO RETRENCHMENTS OF TEACHERS AND PUBLIC SECTOR SUPPORT STAFF!
NO EXCLUSIONS OF STUDENTS!
DOWN WITH OBE!
DOWN WITH PRIVATIZATION OF EDUCATION!
WE DEMAND FREE. LIBERATORY EDUCATION UP TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL!

The mergers and restructuring of tertiary institutions are geared towards the creation of a docile, unskilled slave mass and an elite of controllers [the amabhulu amnyama]of the working class

Many working class and other poverty-stricken parents are making huge sacrifices to send their sons and daughters to tertiary institutions of study in the hope that they will have a better life than what the parents had to endure. When we look at the profile of poverty in South Africa and the enormous sacrifices being made by the working class, it becomes imperative to expose the massive educational fraud being carried out by the government and in particular by the education ministry.

The census of 1996 reveals that over 50% of women earn 0 – R500 per month; 2.3 million of those who have work, do unskilled labour; there are 5 million unemployed. These figures have worsened since then but act as a useful point of reference. In addition to this, there are about 500 000 school-leavers every year. There was the recent WSSD in Johannesburg, where the imperialists [the giant monopolies and banks], through their government representatives outlined their plans for ‘sustainable’ development.

What do they have in store for these above-mentioned poorest of the poor? Nothing! Are they prepared to give their latest technology to upgrade Africa? NO! In fact their plans are to extend the absolute enslavement of the masses in Africa. What is the role of the SA government in all this? Did they raise any bold plan to tackle imperialism? NO. In fact, they, through NEPAD, are prepared to be the local agents for this complete enslavement of the African masses. Through NEPAD, the ANC government and their counterparts in the rest of Africa are promising ‘cost-free’ investment to the giant companies. They are saying that these companies do not need to take social responsibility for their super-exploitation of the African mass. In fact, NEPAD is a plan for the complete privatisation of all social services across Africa. The last vestiges of state resources will be put in private hands, in the name of so-called public-private partnerships. The capitalists exploit the masses and the resources, while the masses are controlled by the ANC elite – among others! Some partnership indeed!

In short, imperialism wants to keep Africa as a source of cheap raw materials and agricultural goods. Their plans include developing the tourism industry and the small industry that is developed is to provide cheap labour to the capitalists. It follows directly from this that the needs of capital for skilled labour is reduced to a minimum. What skill is needed to smile at a tourist? Certainly not a Btech qualification! This brings us to the grand plan of imperialism and the government, for the working class. This is directly reflected in the drastic cuts in education.

OBE [the so-called Outcomes-based education] despite all the hype, is about delivering cheap labour to a level last seen in the times of Bantustan education, while allowing the children of the middle class to rise through the ranks to become the trained specialists of the capitalists to control the working class. In the old days, the Bantustans had a Std 7 certificate which sufficed for big capital’s needs. Today, the ANC government has introduced the Grade 9 [Std 7] Exit exam, which has its first mass trial on this year’s Grade 9’s.

There is widespread concern among educators–they say that there is no syllabus for OBE for Grade 10. At the same time, the teachers openly admit that the current Grade 9’s would need a bridging course to cope with the current Grade 10 syllabus. With the mass unemployment, and the government washing its hands off education after Grade 9, many students will be turned onto the streets next year, to look for work, alongside the other millions unemployed! This disaster in the schools is reflected at tertiary level.

The bright sparks among the working class students who, against all odds, still make it to tertiary level, will face tougher entry requirements [dressed up as ‘equity’ is access, in other words a sufficiently high symbol or ‘capability’ to show obedience and skill to what the capitalist needs]. Those who make it into the tertiary institutions will be directed to become the new elite to help control the working class as a whole. Under the guise of ‘equity and Africanization’, the working class will be played off against each other. [According to Census ’96, it is noticeable that white youth between 15 and 25 also show a high percentage of students, 33%, who do not have a matric qualification. The lack of throughput through secondary level is therefore not along colour lines but is a phenomenon among the working class as a whole.

The plan to reduce the tertiary institutions from 36 to 21 is understandable now that we see that capital and the government do not want to create a mass skilled workforce. They hide this through many vague terms such as ‘critical mass’ of intellectuals needed. What about the education of the children of the working class? The government complains about falling enrolment figures. This is not because there are no people, but merely because of economic factors – millions are without income. They can’t afford a slice of bread, let alone a tertiary education for their children. A huge number of skilled unemployed people will be a social problem that big capital and the state want to avoid! The state will do everything in their power to reduce the number of skilled people, despite their sweet-sounding words – equity in access, etc.

Let us turn now to the government’s plan for tertiary education to expose it for the massive fraud that it is:

1. They say that they want to increase access. Yet, in the proposed merger of Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon, the new institution will have 20 000 students. But hang on: Pentech has 9000 students while Cape Tech has 15 000. That means that 4000 students from both institutions will be excluded! When we see that the 20 000 includes a new section for nursing, then it means that even more students will be excluded! If a similar number of students are to be excluded nationally then we are looking at a minimum of 32 000 students who will be wiped out through the mergers! And the government calls this – ‘improved access’.

To add salt in the wounds, when one compares the fees of Cape Tech and Pentech, we see that Cape Tech’s fees are much higher. For example, an Engineering course at Pentech costs R8000 per annum, whereas at Cape Tech, the same course would cost R11000 per annum. Current and future prospective students would suffer serious prejudice in the likely event of increased fees. The scenario would be increased exclusion.

2. The national working group proposed that the debt of institutions in the mergers be written off. The government says yes, BUT, there needs to be a tough finance policy in place, with tight controls. This can only mean stronger follow up on student debt. If the government is ordering repossessions of furniture and even of houses for water and electricity arrears, then surely similar steps stand to be taken against students and their parents for fees backlog! This tight regime is to intimidate the working class and rural poor and these threats amount to exclusion in advance by the government, of many hundreds of thousands of our youth.

3. The government blames the poor throughput of the tertiary institutions on bad student-teacher ratios. Any sane person would think, well, okay, let’s employ more teachers. But this is beyond our professors in government! They say, let us address the problem by cutting down on teachers and students. A gem of logic better than this would be hard to find.

4. The government uses the convenient label that the number of masters degrees and professors that exist will automatically lead to better student qualification. Well, you get many professors who are simply unable to teach. You also get many people who know their subject inside out but do not have the papers for it. What is needed is to overcome the separation between manual and intellectual work.

5. Some of the supporters of merger say that this will lead to “Africanization”, but nowhere do they explain what they mean. Do they mean more black faces? And what has this got to do with merger? Do they mean bringing in African traditions, and if so which ones? Do they mean African science? What is this by the way? One always thought that science is science and not limited to a narrow continental outlook. Are they proposing doctoral studies in muti? Please, can they explain! Their Africanization is an excuse to starve the working class of world culture. Tribalism and narrowness is being promoted and dressed up as progress.

6. Now, Cape Tech is looking around for more premises as their current one is too small. Where will they have place for Pentech students? The government policy document is clear. They say that duplication must be reduced. In other words there will be one department of civil engineering, one of electrical engineering, etc etc. The only way that Cape tech can make way for some of the Pentech students is if some departments are closed down. The government already has a list of departments to be rationalised in each province. For example in the Western Cape, this list includes Architecture and environmental design; Visual and performing arts; Health sciences; Home economics; Languages and literary studies; library and museum studies; Public admin and social work; Gender studies.

7. The merged tech in the Western Cape will only have 750 academic staff. This means retrenchment of staff. Looked on a national scale this means a huge number of academic staff to be cut . Estimates put the cost of severance packages at billions of rands. The state would rather pay this than employ more staff to reduce class size.

But as with the massive cuts at schools, there is more at stake than just packages. For each package paid, a post will be closed – for ever! This means a massive cut in education of our youth – for ever! Overcrowding will be entrenched, not abolished. In the name of rationalization, there is the irrational deprivation of our youth of the cultural riches of the world.

8. The government quotes nameless international success stories. The challenge must be posed: Did restructuring of the World bank/IMF anywhere lead to greater access and throughput for the working class students anywhere in the world? The government should quote the full picture and not make vague references to motivate their dubious plans.
9. UCT, for example, is not being merged.

But which worker can afford to send their children there? The universities, in general, are there to prepare the controllers of the working class. UCT’s academic staff and controlling structures are similar to Cape Tech, yet UCT is deemed fit enough to stand alone. There are huge overlaps in what UWC offers and what UCT does. Yet Pentech stands to be closed/downscaled while UWC will be built up as a centre of excellence. Another gem of logic from Professor Asmal! Mamphele Ramphele transformed UCT alright – she smashed the union; outsourced most of the support staff ; entrenched the ruling clique by acting as a figurehead of their plans to smash student resistance and keep the capitalist flag flying high.

It comes as no surprise that Ramphele is today head of the World Bank’s desk on “development” in Africa! This is certainly not the type of transformation that we want or need.

The way forward

Quite simply put, if the government was serious about education of the poor multitudes, they would open up more technikons and universities. Every youth deserves quality education. The doors of education should be open and there should be no discrimination based on class. The entry should not be linked to ability to pay. History has provided many examples of free education being provided up to the highest level. In all such cases it was the working class rising to impose this. It is high time that the working class in South Africa rose to the occasion! Now is the time! Students and teachers should actively support this fight.

At each Technikon and university there should be the immediate setting up of broad action fronts against the tertiary education restructuring – these fronts should comprise all sections of students, lecturers, support staff and most importantly, parents.

Phantsi mergers and other capitalist restructuring! Phantsi amabhulu amnyama!
Forward to free, liberatory education for all up to the highest level

On the Ngema article: We are still in the process of obtaining the cassette and then we will be in a position to further comment on this saga. Patience, please!
On the Brasilian elections

[Response to the PSTU and Workers Power group] 26.10.02 –Even though the elections are over and Lula is now President, the article becomes even more important.

The task of the revolutionary party is to raise the consciousness of the working class, not to bow to its spontaneous consciousness. Our task is to understand the illusions of the working class and assist in the process of shattering these illusions and raising revolutionary class-consciousness.

It is important not to make a fetish of elections as the PSTU [United Socialist Workers Party] and Workers’ Power seem to be doing. The important point is to emphasize the necessity and centrality of the working class struggle that is the only way to end the conditions of suffering of the people in general.

The PSTU states that it is calling for a vote in the PT [Workers’ Party] and at the same time it is telling the working class the whole truth about Lula and the PT. Is this really the case? No. The full truth is that Lula will lead the attacks against the working class. Is the PSTU saying this? No. They are confusing the class character of Lula. They say that the Lula of the 70’s is not the same Lula of today.

But was the Lula of the 70’s a revolutionary Socialist or was he a trade union bureaucrat biding his time while the masses were on the march? Lula was never revolutionary. What about all the other capitalist policies of the PT? Here was an opportunity for the PSTU to put forward a systematic programme of transitional demands. Is the PSTU doing this ? No. PSTU was and is still afraid to tell the truth. Is this perhaps an overhang from when the cdes were inside the PT?

Voting blank [spoilt vote] is not being neutral
Since when is spoiling the vote not a valid means of struggle on the election front? The PSTU seem to be wanting tinker with the policies of the PT. They seem to be saying that if only Lula and the PT would break with the IMF and the Free trade agreement of the Americas [ALCA], then the PT programme would be acceptable.

What about all the other capitalist policies of the PT? Is there a danger that Serra will adopt fascist measures? Clearly not. Thus it is not a matter of a ‘battle’ between the 2, when in reality all of us know that their programes are very similar. Further, what about the 402000 voters who supported the PSTU in the first round , against Lula and the PT, and against Serra? Does Lula become the ‘lesser evil’? Surely the 402000 can form a revolutionary pole nationally against both major reformist parties and for a major exposure of the electoral system, exposing that the current choice is no choice at all – it is like the Conservatives and Labour Party in Britain. Thirdly, it is not at all clear on what programme the PSTU is standing? Are you calling for nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy under workers’ control? What about transitional demands on all major issues facing the working class?

You know the situation better than us. In the past the bourgeoisie had no use for Lula – now that they are in a crisis they need Lula and they actively promote him, on their terms. We do not get a sense from you of exposing this fact. You are apologetic about his alleged ‘unfortunate’ support of the IMF and ALCA. [You seem to be saying that all Lula needs is a bit of persuasion- or perhaps he is ill-advised?]

By calling for a vote for Lula now, you are destroying the revolutionary pole that you built up in the first round. How can the masses trust the PSTU in future? They will ask later : If you knew Lula was so bad why did you not warn us about him and why did you ask us to vote for him- Why did you keep quiet?”

The Workers’ Power position is worse. They did not even call for a critical support for the PSTU in the first round. They critically supported the PT on certain levels in the first round. If effect they were saying that the PSTU programme was worse than the PT! They clarify that a vote for Lula is also a vote for the PT’s bourgeois alliance partners. Why is the PSTU silent on this? It seems that the PSTU has been carried away by the support received in the first round and is engaging others on the bourgeois terrain, instead of keeping the revolutionary objective in sight.

A call for voting blank would put tremendous pressure on the PT and Lula especially if you counterpose a revolutionary programme to what the PT stands for. This would sharpen the class contradictions against the electoral system and against the capitalist system itself. Please show us how your positions are consistent with Lenin’s and Trotsky’s position on the Labour party in the early 1900’s. Our watchword must be maximum flexibility on tactics but maximum inflexibility on principle – we must lose sight of our programme – we are our programme!

Forward to the building of a revolutionary working class party in Brazil!
Forward to the rebuilding of the Fourth International

What We Need Is A Vanguard Working Class Party

The exposure of the counter revolutionary role of the SACP and ANC is progressively taking the South African working class to another danger – perhaps the most vicious one. It is taking the working class to a further counter revolutionary path, a most dangerous one. This most vicious path is the move towards the formation of the mass workers party (MWP) which will be nothing more than reformist party. The reformist MWP will be more counter-revolutionary.

Its sole purpose will be to defend capitalism from being crushed by the working class in the tide of rising working class struggles not only against capitalism but also against its counter revolutionary agents such as the ANC, SACP and COSATU leadership. A setback such as this MWP will have a negative impact on the revolutionary project that will be felt very strongly, not only by South African workers but by the working class of the region and Africa as a whole – indeed it will have international implications for the working class struggle.

What we need is not another election with a new MWP in government, but the total destruction of capitalism and its replacement by socialism and then communism. This could only happen through the vanguard working class party in the lead of the mass struggles of the working class. We need to rebuild the Fourth International.

PHANTSI NGOKULUNGISA UBUNGXOWANKULU PHANTSI!
PHANTSI NGOBUNGXOWANKULU!
FORWARD TO THE BUILDING OF A REVOLUTIONARY WORKING CLASS PARTY!
FORWARD TO THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIATE!
FORWARD TO SOCIALISM!

We’re on your side!

“ We’re on your side” is the marketing slogan of the supermarket chain Pick ‘n Pay. This slogan is deliberately employed to dupe the consumer to believe that the owners and managers of Pick ‘n Pay are fighting ‘uncontrollable’ inflationary forces, to reduce the price of food in their (the consumers’) interest. Their efforts have been well rewarded by “Divine Forces”, in that their turnovers and profits have increased by nearly 50%, while the consumers have been ‘screwed’ to the tune of more than 30% with the rise in food prices.

The unscrupulousness of the capitalist distributor of commodities (supermarkets) is reflected in the shameless propaganda in the midst of untold misery, due to unaffordability of food, because of the greed of these monsters. In a country like South Africa where there is more than 50% unemployment, and the cost of living is so horrendously high, due to free reign given by the political rulers, to these capitalists to exploit the working class at will, the organised working class should demand the immediate introduction of price controls on all foods, and the institution of criminal charges against these profiteers.

Furthermore the working class should demand that wages increase as food and other necessities prices’ increase. This is an immediate demand that should be put and if the trade union leaders are not prepared to fight for this, they should be replaced and workers’ action committees be set up to take forward this fight. Furthermore, the distribution of food in the midst of millions of starving people, should be undertaken by the state, if it is at all concerned (as it claims to be) about the plight of the poor.

If the state refuses to take drastic action, the organised working class should consider ways and means of effecting food distribution, through its own efforts, which may mean taking over the Pick ‘n Pays, the Shoprite – Checkers, the Spars, etc etc.

FREE PALESTINE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS UNITY IN ACTION!

“Restructuring is not Privatization” says the President

Our ‘Honourable’ President, Thabo Mbeki, says that the political left is deliberately spreading lies about the government’s plans to privatise national assets such as Telkom, Transnet, SA Airways, Eskom, etc etc.

He claims that there is a fundamental difference between restructuring, as the state aims to do to the above institutions, and privatisation. Restructuring, according to Mbeki, means the harnessing of private capital and technology to improve costs and delivery to the general mass, while the state maintains control of the institution, through its major shareholding.

We agree with the ‘Honourable’ President that there has been a substantial improvement in the delivery of services such as telephones, electricity and water, etc. However it slipped his mind to mention, that the rate of delivery has been surpassed by the rate of forceful disconnections of the above services, because of its ill affordability due to high telephone, electricity and water tariffs and unemployment. The state cannot tell its capitalist partners to desist from such harsh measures against its own constituency just because of poverty and unemployment!

The Capitalist Partners did not provide capital and technology for philanthropic [charity] reasons, but to make handsome profits. The capitalist is working hand in hand with their majority partner, the state, to take all the necessary steps, (including using the army and police force) to oversee the cutting off of supplies; to rigorously maintain the capitalist principle of profit first, everything else later.

We, the uninitiated would like to know, how does this modus operandi [method] of restructured industry differ from a private enterprise?

PS: By the way, on his view of the meaning of restructuring, Mbeki has many bedfellows such as the Cosatu and SACP leaders.

SACP’s Red October Campaign is an Extension of the Government’s Poverty “Relief” Administration
The capitalists of the SACP are at it again - giving credit to capitalism. They say that they have a campaign called Red October to help facilitate application for the Government’s Poverty Relief to the poor. What is entailed of course is to tell the people and the poor that the government cares for them and has put in place programmes to deal with poverty. According to them, the problem is that people either do not know about the availability of such programmes, or they do not know how to apply. They will be bringing forms to those they will target to give face to their “campaign” and will make sure that of those applied at least one gets the poor benefit for publicity to boost the government’s image. Right now hospitals are closing their services to the poor as a result of the SACP’s privatisation programme through its leader Jeff Radebe.

Shouldn’t they be starting to deal with poverty by nationalising what they are privatising? These ‘reds’ are helping one or two people get peanuts from the government, while they do nothing about the R100 Billion that the government will mobilise to enrich a handful of the amabhulu amnyama through ‘enrichment’ deals of the mining Charter. Sis, the SA Capitalist Party makes me sick.

Defective Defectors

The floor-crossing merry go round was recently blessed by the learned judges of the Constitutional Court. This act is fully consistent with the Constitution, they say. Not one care about the wishes of the electorate who elected the MP’s on a particular platform. This undemocratic act is itself a comment on the nature of the Constitution and the judges themselves.

Or have the learned judges given the game away by acknowledging that all these parties are in essence the same?! Take the Momberg case for example. While he was in the DA he was somehow able to conceal his ten-year criminal record not only from the entire party but also all the ‘investigative press’. As soon as he decided to jump ship for the NNP [What a choice! But then again, he did not have much to choose from!] not only does his record emerge but suddenly those veritable bloodhounds from the capitalist press come to life! Yet others queued up to join the ANC. In the wink of an eye, gone was all their past criticism of the ANC.

Equally important, the ANC welcomed them with open arms. About opportunists it is said that the one recognises the other. Clearly this is the case here. Finally, rumour has it that Buthelezi wanted to defect to the Freedom Front – he wanted to start farming in the Karoo. The Freedom Front took a principled stand and turned his application down. Apparently this was because Buthelezi refused to allow Oranje to be extended into the KZN.

FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL!
JAILED AND FRAMED BY US IMPERIALISM!