The more vibrant, activist wing of the Party is moving very quickly, hand-in-hand with Cosatu and especially the superb SA Municipal Workers Union, to block (not "engage," often a codeword for retreat) the privatisation of Johannesburg municipal services. You get a much clearer sense of SA working-class militancy in the following call to arms. (Not to say Cde Nzimande isn't with the left flank -- but the extract you reprint, Chris, is obviously mealy- mouthed compromise wording. If you want some more on this, join us at e-debate: write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and then say in the body, subscribe debate your-email, for roughly a half- dozen posts a day)
From: "Anna Weekes" <samwu= @wn.apc.org>
Subject: South A= frican Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) international appeal - Help stop the privatisation of Johannesburg!
Date sent: Thu, 2= 3 Sep 1999 11:39:03 +0100
STOP THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IGOLI 2002 - the plan to privatise Johannesburg by 2002!
The Johannesburg Council is implementing the Igoli 2002 plan:
They are privatising:
*Metro Gas, Rand Airport and Johannesburg Stadium.
They prepare to turn departments into independent companies:
* Electricity, water and sanitation, waste removal, zoo, Metro bus,
Civic
Theatre, property and the fresh produce market.
The Igoli 2002 plan calls this corporatising and utilities. The council
will
employ richly paid managing directors at these firms to run them like
private bosses making profits. The council has appointed advisory
committees, consultants and managers to prepare these companies.
They prepare to turn departments into companies in the council:
* Roads, stormwater, parks and cemeteries - called agencies.
They continue to contract out:
* Municipal work goes to private companies e.g. roads and grass cutting.
Council implements Igoli 2002 even though:
* Samwu and Imatu tabled serious problems at the negotiations;
Cosatu and Samwu say the Igoli 2002 struggle is a national issue:
* If Igoli 2002 succeeds other municipalities will do the same.
* Already Cape Town wants to retrench ten thousand workers in a similar
restructuring plan!
* Workers and communities will suffer. There will be job loss and higher
service prices but bigger salaries and profits for the bosses.
At negotiations with the council Samwu told the council:
* Stop implementing the Igoli 2002 plan or we will declare a dispute;
* Transform existing departments for better service delivery.
* Allow workers and communities to participate in transformation.
* Start from the needs of workers and communities and not the needs of
banks, managers and the rich.
* Agree to a short-term programme for transformation that will reduce
wastage and inefficiency whilst we negotiate our disagreements.
At the negotiations on the 10th of September Samwu and Imatu said that
there
was nothing we can agree on with the council. This must be reported to
the
plenary of the bargaining council on the 30th September.
Programme of action to stop Igoli 2002 (Branch ShopStewards Committee
meeting 15/9):
1. Hold general meetings of members before the 24th September
* Shop stewards to give proper reportbacks
* Workers are the foundation of the union - give your mandate!
* Tell us the way forward!
* Tell us your existing problems!
* Tell us what kind of municipality you want!
2. Call members to a mass rally in Johannesburg on the Thursday 30th
September
* The rally will bring together all our members.
* It is the place to consolidate the united voice of workers from the
general meetings.
3. Declare a dispute with the council on the 30th September at the
Bargaining Council Plenary.
4. Build support amongst the community and Cosatu affiliates.
5. Mobilise the international community to send e-mails of protest
against
this unilateral restructuring to:
Ketso Gordhan (City Manager)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Kenny Fihla (Head of the Transformation Lekgotla drivi= ng the process)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Makgane Thobejane (Labour Relations Manager)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Trevor Fowler (Provincial Minister in charge of Local = Government)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
International friends should copy their e-mails to the= se journalists:
Xolani Xundu, Business Day
City Press
AM Live Radio Show
Highveld Stereo
John Fraser, Business Report on Sunday = [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Malcolm Ray, Sunday Independent [EMAIL PROTECTED]= a
Celean Jacobson, Sunday Times
Penny Sukhraj, Sunday World
e-mails in the bcc: address line (blind copy) or copy to each one
separately
as they don't use it if they see other journalists are getting the same
thing. Thanks!)
IGOLI 2002 MUST BE STOPPED!
WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES BUILD THE ALTERNATIVE!
**** please forward to other comrades ****
On 23 Sep 99, at 23:40, Chris Burford = wrote:
> Closing Speech to Special Strategy C= onference 5 Sept 1999
> SACP G.S Blade Nzimande
>
> Extract:
>
>
> In relation to the transformation of the state it is clear that achievin= g
> the objective of building a national democratic state is a priority for = us
> as a building block for socialism. We as Communists will have to focus o= n
> mobilising the people, especially in relation to local government, to
> strengthen the ANC and the governments program to transform the Aparthei= d
> State we have inherited. Clearly, we will have to do more work on such
> matters as partnerships between government on the one hand and the peopl= e
> and private interests on the other. Our reservations are not because we
> don=92t want to see progress, but we want to
> ensure that in the development path we choose we do not end up
> strengthening monopoly capital. Our developmental path must strengthen t= he
> working class and prioritise the interests of the poor, not as passive
> recipients of services, but as active participants in the development
> process.
>
> The commission on socialisation has identified, as one of our priorities= ,
> the need to find a strategy to engage with monopoly capital. This is not
> because, as we have already said, we seek to strengthen this powerful
> interest. We need to engage monopoly capital precisely because we need t= o
> limit it, and direct it, to create the space for socialisation to take
> place. This does not mean we have given up on socialising monopoly capit= al
> itself. What we have to do is ensure that the liberation movement builds
> alternative capitals to tilt the balance of forces away from monopoly
> capital. Some of the conceptions we have of forms of capital, such as
> social capital, need to be problematised.
>
> Similarly, the relationship between public and private capital, such as = in
> the case of PPPs, is not without contradictions for the Party. But we
> cannot as the SACP bury our head in the sand in relation to these issues= .
> If we are serious about our goal of socialisation, let us take up the
> challenge to define the correct relationship between the state and capit= al
> and ensure that we defend the interests of the people. The most importan= t
> task we have as the SACP is to ensure that we achieve our goal of
> socialisation, and that it is built our organisational strength. In this
> respect the formation of industrial units needs our attention.
>
