Vavi's march has been put off from 19 August to 23 September, a Sunday, the day before the Heritage Day holiday. _____
A march against himself Why Vavi’s “anti-corruption” march has been delayed Richard Poplak, Daily Maverick, Johannesburg, 7 August 2015 (edited, except quotations) About two months ago, a loose coalition of do-gooders came up with an idea — a vast march. At the head of the procession would be the likes of deposed Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who would demand an end to corrupt practices. Mark Heywood, chief of civil society institution Section 27, put it to me over the phone on Tuesday: “It’s not true that we’re not getting the response we would’ve liked. In fact, we’re getting a great response from across the country. We’re getting new invitations of support every day. But one of the questions people ask is: What happens after the march? To be better able to answer that question, we’re taking more time to deepen our understanding of how to make sure our demands after the march get implemented.” Um, you mean how the End Of Corruption will be implemented? “Well, we have to distill (our message) into a focused, manageable plan of action,” said Heywood. “Our hope is also that the mere mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of people will increase people’s sense of their own power. So talking to the churches, that’s all part of what we’re trying to do.” Heywood was on his way to Durban to speak with the secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches. Zwelinzima Vavi and Mark Heywood in happier times “Has there been pushback?” asked Heywood. “Yes. And we expect it to grow. But we are going on September 23, and tens of thousands of people are going to be on the streets. It’s going to be the biggest mobilisation since 1994.” Maybe. But I couldn’t help noticing that the aforementioned Zelda la Grange had signed up. Nelson Mandela’s former personal assistant, bestselling autobiographer and Twitter doofus was going to contribute how, exactly? Was this going to be a glorified Heritage Day braai thing? “Well, we do want to tap into the white middle class, but we also want workers to come out and be very dominant on the march,” Heywood told me. “We want to see people from all different walks of life. La Grange gets an echo from a certain community. What we’re saying is that if people are committed to fighting corruption, and if they’re committed to defending and fighting for the Constitution, they should be on this march — regardless that if on another day they differ in ideology, race, class. It may be a naïve view, but its our view, for the good of the country.” I figured I’d call Vavi and see what he had to say about the issue. When I reached him, he seemed less than thrilled to hear from me. “I’m not a spokesperson for this,” he reminded me. “You’ve read the press statement?” I asked the former COSATU general secretary why he thought the march he was staking his career on had been delayed for a month. “I think it’s for a good reason,” he finally conceded. “I don’t think we’re ready. It won’t make the statement we want to it make. I want to see the plan for 100,000 people, and unless I see that plan, I will support postponement. Currently there is just an overwhelming response, but these people have to be available to get into this bus at that time and be taken to this place.” Heywood had similarly laid out the logistical headaches. “There is a difference between overwhelming response,” continued Vavi, “and our having a plan to say this bus goes to this workplace, and this is the number of people get into this bus.” Did Vavi think the march could amount to anything apart from polishing his brand? What is the point of this march? “Exactly!” he sort-of agreed. “One of the things that we have to up our games on is not an event but the beginning of a process to bring power back to our people. There are so many things to pick up from our march. The Office of the Public Protector will be one of the key things to bring up there. The protection of whistleblowers is key for the march. The issue of appointing the next heads of Chapter 9 institutions is key for the march. But then we need to go beyond—to say how we campaign beyond that. There is a looming water crisis in South Africa. Beyond the march we need to see how we take this issue on. Beyond the march we must have a plan to take up those plans at a local government level. So we need to communicate that, and I don’t think we have communicated that very well so far.” They have not. “There is lots of work to do,” added Vavi. “Lots of work to do. We want the march to be a political game changer – a march our great-great grandchildren will say, THAT march turned us around back to a constitutional democracy; it moves us away from a slow march to a banana republic; away from a kleptocratic democracy where there is no accountability. So a postponement by four weeks to achieve that moment is something that is good to me.” Is he thinking this could eventually turn into a political party? “Why are you asking me about political party?” asked Vavi. “No, we’re not talking about political parties. We're talking about corruption, we’re talking about stealing from the poor and putting it into the pocket of the elite. We think that our communities are paying a heavy price for the rate of corruption in the country.” So was the idea basically a sort of shadow democracy comprised of a coalition of specialised silos that click together like Lego blocks for one coherent purpose — the End of Corruption? “That’s want we want, chief – accountability!” exclaimed Vavi. “That would make Madiba and Chris Hani smile. What we’re fighting against is political resignation. Fifty percent of people who should be voting no longer have a hope. And that’s extremely dangerous.” A battle against political ambivalence, then? “Yes, yes. A march against ourselves. We have to be given that wake-up call. We have to believe in ourselves again. We can’t wait for someone to believe in us.” From: http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-08-04-a-march-against-ourselves- why-vavi-and-cos-anti-corruption-march-has-been-delayed/#.VcTe2_mqqko -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. 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