Scavengers of ANC Governance: March 2013

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA – WHAT LIES BEHIND IT?

SA Voicing

Independent Researcher

For more complete information on the topic, please see posts A to Q.

The National Democratic Revolution (NDR), Socialism, Cadre Deployment, the ANC’s revolutionary culture… are these linked to revolutionary strikes and public violence?

The article takes the ANC’s viewpoints as starting point. Information quoted on the NDR, Socialism and cadre deployment is obtained mainly from official ANC sources. It hence reflects a scenario, based on the party’s underlying beliefs and philosophies.

The question will be asked whether the ANC’s revolutionary history and character instigate violence, as seen in strikes and civil unrests.

The ANC’s ongoing Commitment to Revolution

The ANC’s website explains that its revolutionary history started long ago: (1*) “Our struggle for freedom has a long history. It goes back to the days when the African people fought spear in hand against the British and Boer colonisers. The ANC has kept this spirit of resistance alive!”

The ANC emphasises that its history is about revolution and struggle and reiterates that there will be no change of this belief.

The NDR is the vehicle to continuously carry the revolution forward. (2*) Wikipedia states that the ANC “deems itself a force of national liberation in the post-Apartheid era; it officially defines its agenda as the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). The NDR is described as a process through which the National Democratic Society (NDS) is achieved”.

(3*) A research and policy brief of the South African Institute for Race Relations (SAIRR) confirms that: “In the post-Apartheid period, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has persisted in its determination to implement a NDR. It makes no secret of this, regularly re-affirming this objective at its five-yearly national conferences”.

The SAIRR concludes that (3*) “The ANC sees itself not as an ordinary political party bound by the ordinary rules of the political game, but as a national liberation movement responsible for implementing the NDR”.

The NDR is the (4*) “glue that holds the tripartite alliance together”; it is the common driving force that seeks (5*) to defeat “the white ruling class culture” or “monopoly capital”. The ANC, the SACP and Cosatu are equally committed to the NDR and its aims.

The NDR, Socialism, Revolutionary Strikes and Civil Violence

Violence has reached an all-time high in South Africa. (6/7*) Wikipedia reports that 2012 was “the most protest filled year in the country since the end of Apartheid”. Others describe the rapidly increasing wave of protest as a 'rebellion of the poor' or a series of 'municipal revolts'. Zwelinzima Vavi, COSATU Secretary General, calls it a "ring of fire" closing in on major cities that could result in a “Tunisia style revolution”.

(7*) Wikipedia quotes Professor Peter Alexander to say: "Many commentators and activists now accept service delivery protests are part of a broader rebellion of the poor. This rebellion is massive. I have not yet found any other country where there is a similar level of ongoing urban unrest. South Africa can reasonably be described as the ‘protest capital of the world’.

(8*) News 24 states that the country is set to record “the highest number of delivery-linked protest since 1994”. It quotes National Police spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo to say: “372 protests related to service delivery, had been recorded between January and the end of May 2012” In addition to the increase in numbers, “ordinary” strikes and protests tend to turn into uncontrolled “revolution” and “war”.

Could the ANC beliefs and philosophies contribute to “revolution” and “war”, especially amongst the working class and the unemployed? What role does the “utopia” associated with Socialism play in the behaviour of the proletariat?

Consider the following:

(9*) The ANC defines the transformation from capitalism to socialism as a process:

“The first step in this process is the seizure of political power by the working class majority of society.

Once in political power, the working class can then move to assert its control over the economy. Once the working class democratically runs the economy in the interests of all, instead of in the interests of a handful of capitalists; then very quickly we will be able to provide the basic necessities and then much more to everyone. We will be able to abolish unemployment, provide free, quality healthcare, education, housing, and more to everyone.(the “utopia” referred to above)
The productive forces will be radically developed to benefit as many people as possible, and their development will not be privately owned by capitalists.Production and distribution will be socialized.”

(9*) The ANC states that: “The NDR is the road to Socialism; the working class is central to national liberation and social revolution; revolution is the stage between Capitalism to Socialism”.

Are the masses, but more specifically the working class merely claiming what they have been promised for so long, feeling it rightfully belongs to them? To what extent could current violence be associated with a transition to Socialism?

The ANC’s Revolutionary Philosophy, Guiding and Directing Transformation from Capitalism to Socialism.

(10*) Wikipedia defines socialism as: “An economic system characterized by social ownership and control of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy, and a political philosophy advocating such a system”.

The masses’ expectations are not only kept alive, but are consciously instigated by the ANC and its alliances, e.g.: (9*) (i) “Political power and the state will be under control of the working class as set out in the Freedom Charter”, including (11*) (ii) “the seizure of economic assets presently owned either by South African capitalist firms or trans-national corporations” and (iii) We (Cosatu) (12) “reject the separation of the NDR from socialism and asserts that the dictatorship of the proletariat is the only guarantee that there will be a transition from NDR to socialism”.

Cadre Deployment, Revolution and Violence

Cadre deployment aims at providing operational exposure to “comrades” as part of the ANC’s revolutionary force. Cadres actively pursue the NDR aims in an effort to bring about transformation through revolution:

(13*) The ANC defines cadres as “a radical political entity” focusing on achieving “the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and to implement the Freedom Charter”. Building “an army of cadres that wherever they are deployed, will tirelessly and with boldness and innovation pursue the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution”.

(14*) On 12 January 2013, COSATU President, Sidumo Dlamini, confirmed that: “Every deployed cadre must know the ANC wants the Freedom Charter to become a reality”

For an in-depth discussion of the ANC’s “revolutionary culture”, please see Blogs C to F.

(15*) Times Live reports as follows on cadre deployment: "The ANC's deployment strategy systematically places loyalty ahead of merit and even competence, and is therefore a serious obstacle to an efficient public service". It concludes: "In the entire public service, skilled managers constitute a mere 0.4%". Incompetence more than often leads poor service delivery, sparking wide scale protests and violence.

(16*) An article titled “Violence a relic from people's war to make SA ungovernable”states that: “During their long campaign to win power by making the country ungovernable via a no-holds-barred ‘people’s war’, the ruling alliance made up of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), injected into the bloodstream of the body politic a virus of violence that they cannot now eradicate. Killing people in the context of inter-union rivalry at Lonmin is also a manifestation of a principle that the ruling alliance introduced during its people’s war, which was to eliminate rival political organisations as far as possible. Some of the rival factions within the ANC are now using violence; possibly even assassinations against one another”.

Have we reached a “point of saturation” where the crop is more than ready to be reaped? Unaffiliated individuals (the Malemas) and groups (*Democratic Socialist Movements) seem to simply step in and take control of the proletariat? In this regard Julius Malema as an outsider, continues with the revolutionary rhetoric he became so used to, in the ANC.

(17*) The Telegraph reports that: “Julius Malema called for a national strike, telling the miners: “You must put down the tools and stop production.This is a serious revolution” he said. Senior ANC youth league figures allege that Julius Malema is being helped by ANC backers to foment his "mining revolution.”

South Africa could expect the NDR’s revolutionary intent to intensify, with a more hardening role of the ANC. “The ANC, COSATU and the South African Communist party, the custodians of the status quo, are forced to play catch-up and do damage control as they fight white power imperialism”. We have already seen this in the way Cosatu (and Government?) managed the farm workers strike of in the Eastern Cape. Violence and war talk were at the order of the day. (18*) MNet’s Carte Blanche broadcast quotes Cosatu’s Provincial President to say: “Even if the workers lose this battle around real wages now, the bigger war for an end to apartheid practices on farms, will continue." A community leader remarked: "I think there isa revolution starting... and it is the revolution of the peasant”.

In its effort to win back support for Cosatu, Government is implicated to support those on strike. (19*) Business Day Live reports that Minister Joemat-Pettersson's “wilfully condoned violence when the strikes initially broke”. She is blamed to have“done everything to exacerbate the problem”. She also provided food parcels to strikers. Some interpret this as “incitement to violence”. She even promised that all charges of intimidation and public violence by strikers would be withdrawn. This happened not withstanding the fact that “a total of 337 people were arrested, two people died in the strikes, 28 civilians were injured, 68 police officers were hurt, and 25 police vehicles were damaged. Damage to private property could not be estimated!”

Minister Joemat-Pettersson's told the workers that they had "won" their strike because they had made the government listen to them. "I will speak to President Zuma on your behalf”, she said.

(18*) Carte Blanche suggests that strikes in the Western Cape were “politically motivated” and that the farm workers strike was “very well orchestrated”. Large numbers of “strikers” were bussed from one area to another to create new centres of violence. Some suggest that government played a role in this.

Notwithstanding Cosatu’s and Government’s alleged efforts in the Western Cape, NUM still finds itself“having to deal with losing ground, membership and a grip on the industry”. (20*) Licking his wounds NUM’s Seshoka states that: “Violence has been the go-to solution far too often. This is very worrisome. This may be the beginning of more violence.”

(21*) True to this, after at least 34 people were killed, violence again erupted at Amplats. A spokesperson of the mine confirmed that “police were investigating cases of public violence, attempted murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm”. The Amplats Workers’Committee stated that five NUM members had been shot. One of them was shot in the head.

Conclusion

(22*) It is sad that after close to 20 years of democracy and freedom, one has to admit that “violence is deeply ingrained in the social fabric of the country”. Violence associated with uncontrolled strikes and protests is but one facet a South Africa’s lawlessness society broad to being under ANC rule. The country has already been labelled as the crime capital of the world, the rape capital of the world and now the strike capital of the world.

The influence of the ANC’s revolutionary culture, the National Democratic Revolution, Socialism and cadre deployment can simply not be ignored in the kind of Rainbow Nation the ANC has created.

(23*) “It is a historically undisputable fact that Moses Kotane, J B Marks, Dora Tamane, Joe Slovo, Moses Mabhida, Ray Alexander, Chris Hani and other, was a member of the ANC in his or her own right. Each one of them was as committed to the cause of socialism as they were to the National Democratic Revolution”

The end!

Scavengers of ANC Governance

Pages

Wednesday, March 27, 2013