Dear comrades and friends, I do not know much about the situation in Sierra Leone, except that the imperialists have for a long time tried to use African regional forces to maintain "stability" in the continent, and are now using UN and UK troops again. The situation in South Africa is interesting because Cosatu, despite its overall alliance with the government (which, although it did mark the end of apartheid, has never broken with imperialism in my opinion), is forced to fight at least for some basic economic interests of the workers. Fraternally, George
from BUISNESS DAY: SA braces for nationwide strike action ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- SA, its economy reeling after the rand’s fall to record lows last week, is bracing for a national strike by the country’s largest labour movement on Wednesday to protest against job losses. The strike comes at a time when the rand, bond and stock markets have taken a beating from negative overseas sentiment generated largely by neighbouring Zimbabwe’s political turmoil, along with prolonged civil wars elsewhere on the continent. The 1,8-million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is demanding government slow down the pace of tariff cuts leading to a flood of cheap imports, change its business-friendly macroeconomic strategy, and make it more difficult for companies to close at the expense of workers. “The strike is definitely going ahead on Wednesday,” Cosatu spokesman Siphiwe Mgcina said. Economists said the strike could not have come at a worse time and warned that the apparent conflict of interests between Cosatu and its ally, the ruling African National Congress, could add to investor unease about SA. “Sentiment has been damaged and is very fragile. The Cosatu strike will not help at all,” Colen Garrow, an economist with ABN-Amro, said. “Investors want political stability. Cosatu is still an alliance partner with government and there is possible political turmoil there,” he said. Labour consultants Andrew Levy and Associates have said a million jobs have been lost in the last decade, about half of them since the country’s first democratic elections in 1994. The consultancy said in a February report that job creation would remain challenging because of new labour legislation, an increased incidence of AIDS, job losses in the civil service, and the lagged effect of numerous strikes last year. The 40 000-member South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) said the country stood to lose R3,2bn in production if there was a full strike. “This strike will reinforce the negative stereotype of the region. The timing couldn’t have been worse. We desperately need foreign investment,” Sacob CE Kevin said Wakeford. Another economist said government’s growth, employment and redistribution strategy (Gear) introduced in 1996 had turned around a highly protected economy at the expense of jobs, but the benefits were not far off. “With the export performance of the country beginning to show its teeth one is pleasantly aware that industries will have to start adding jobs,” Econometrix economist Tony Twine said. He identified manufacturing, construction and tourism as short-term growth engines. “Within a year, or two, certain industries will pick up and employ more people. The net growth may be small to start off with, especially if the public sector is being downsized, but any country that can boast growth and a shrinking public sector wage bill will certainly attract a lot of interest.” Wakeford said there was nothing wrong with Gear, but some government taxation and labour policies hindered the development of new business and growth. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has predicted annual gross domestic product growth of 3,5% for the next three years but economists have said growth of at least 6% is needed to create sustainable employment. Government has promised to trim the number of civil servants in the face of massive spending requirements on housing, health and education. It has also pledged to privatise parastatals to raise capital. Cosatu is opposed to the government’s moves, arguing that state intervention is needed for development and to provide essential services to the poor communities. — Reuters. Wednesday 10 May 2000 IN BUSINESS DAY TOMORROW US deputy secretary of state praises Mbeki's handling of the situation in Zimbabwe Preview of the Cosatu strike Several corporate bond issues likely Blue Train trips to Zimbabwe cancelled for at least a month BDFM Publishers (Pty) Ltd disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, injury or expense however caused, arising from the use of or reliance upon, in any manner, the information provided through this service and does not warrant the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information provided. © BDFM Publishers 2000 Back to the top _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Would you like to save big on your phone bill -- and keep on saving more each month? Join beMANY! 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