Comrades TT and Nkrumah
The Benchmark Research gives a detailed background to the conditions which
formed the basis of mass protests by the communities in Rustenburg and
surrounding areas, and Nkrumah lays out the internal conflicts in the mines
between management and the unions on the one hand and between the union
leadership and its membership on the other, which all eventually led to the
Marikana butchery of mineworkers. And Jacob Zuma with Riah Phiyega (the newly
appointed national commissioner of police) say we should not point fingers.
The trade unions are designed to subsume the workers into tools of capital, to
be willingly exploited with their own consent and to have token power or make
belief in the process of decision making. Their only strength is the numbers
which they sometimes use for 'tools down' and 'legal strikes'. Their power to
bargain is directly removed from them through a representation by the
leadership of trade unions who do not value them and care for their needs. It
is the same thing as political parties and parliament. Leaders in trade unions
and in political parties represent themselves. No, they represent big business.
If you listened to the spokespersons of the National Union of Mineworkers in
the build up to the Marikana butchery of workers and in the current aftermath
you could swear that you were having a terrible nightmare. It is shockingly
very real. What should happen is that the power of decision-making in the
labour unions should rest with the shop steward council. These are true
representatives of workers - on the shop floor, in the coal face, with
proximity to their constituencies. Officials in their comfortable and cozy
offices are only interested in the compound subscriptions so as to earn from
them super salaries and, in conflict of interest, to misdirect and misinform
workers in the long term. At the last NUM conference in June its president
Zukwana focused on and proposed that men should march naked on the Goodman
gallery. How does that help the Lonmin mineworkers who have had this burning
issue all along? Labour union leadership should consciously take the stand
point of workers in living style and in political outlook. By the bye, the NUM
was established after an initiative of Africanists who worked with CUSA, then
led by Piroshaw Camay in the early eighties. Cyril with his Black
Consciousness background was a legal consultant briefed to draft the union
constitution and initially represent the workers. It was a practical decision
to have him become the first Secretary General. The PAC was weak in Europe
where union support emanated, and the PAC labour secretariat did not have an
extended network of union contacts to support this big project. Cyril's love
of power and money got a better hold on him and he 'crosstituted' with NUM to
the Charterists. It is more or less the same thing with NACTU affiliates.
This is the union aristocracy Nkrumah talks about. It is a fiefdom - personal
empire building. Look at the profiles of SGs in SACWU, BCAWU, etc. Even our
Black Consciousness partners unashamedly supped with management or government -
Skosana, Cindi, Nevholobodwe, etc. It is very difficult to distinguish between
Frans Paleni, SG of NUM, and the CEO of Lonmin.
I hold the opinion that our inconsistency and self-doubt, and the lack of
rigorous ideological debates, particularly in the past 27 years, have broken
down the relationship we have always had with the Azanian masses. We in the
PAC are the custodians of the aspirations of the fighting forces in the
Rustenburg communities and in the shanties around the mines. There is no other
organisation that is designed to articulate and champion the interests of
African masses such as the PAC. When the mineworkers of Lonmin broke ranks
with NUM their first port of call was the PAC. What does that tell you? The
NUM leadership and the government security apparatus decided to kill out of
fear rather than reason. They will then buy time and make up excuses in the
commission that Zuma is calling for. Rural folk invariably resort to
traditional rituals when faced with insurmountable difficulties. They consult
healers and spirit mediums, and they take these rituals seriously. In
themselves the rituals are not a crime and they are not dangerous. People sing
and dance with long knifes and machetes at weddings. Like everything else,
there is a window of opportunity to give a different interpretation of cultural
practice to suit political ends. In this case, when its suits the ANC
government the mineworkers are said to have been armed and dangerous. I'd
admit that some culture vultures use their positions for personal benefit at
the expense of innocent people. There are charlatans who could be doing
opportunistic trade and taking advantage of the situation. However it does not
warrant a massacre. The SADF used the Kwa Zulu rural folk in similar
conditions to fan the fires of a low intensity warfare. We in the PAC could not
then (and cannot now) make a serious intervention politically. We are
inconsistent in our interpretations of events and in our practice; we have
self-doubt in the responsibility to work with and lead the masses; and we tend
to become childish, sycophants and one dimensional instead of holding serious
debates internally that will end in a clear line of march.
I was in the PAC leadership structures when the party president unilaterally
decided to pay a visit and shake hands with Oupa Gcozo, Ciskei
military/political head, after defenceless protesters were butchered. Mandela
had said in 1990 that Oupa Gcozo was a hero when he staged a coup in the
bantustan. The Chaarterists were reversing their association with Gcozo when
the Bisho match was poorly organized, and led to the killing of about 10
people. The PAC leadership on the other hand was out of sync with the people -
hence the Judas visit. This was a monumental political blunder and lack of
discipline from the number one office of the Party. He went to congratulate
the killers of African people. Leaders must learn to consult widely within the
organisation; they must hold true to the strategic objectives of the party;
they must have broad shoulders and accept constructive criticism by their
members; and, they must be willing to sacrifice their own selfish interests,
and become practical and symbolic representatives of the collective leadership.
In this instance, the man had committed sacrilege. His sycophant supporters
saw nothing wrong. My gripe is that we in the new millenium have not discussed
and reviewed these errors of the PAC because we there is a reactionary tendency
to nurse the feelings of powerful selfish individuals. We are then prone to do
the same mistakes.
Phiyega says she 'is not sorry' about the death of 44 mineworkers in Marikana.
What is difference with Jimmy Kruger's 'dit laat my koud' after the murder of
Steve Biko? Zuma appointed her on the basis of a nice cv and her nearness to
the government programmes. The SAPS has strong pockets of organisational
cultures internally, and in most cases the professional police are overlooked
when senior appointments are made. It is doubtful she would make any
difference since she as an outsider will only be a lame-duck national
commissioner. The acting national commissioner before her appointment was
overlooked after he'd raised the unprofessional conduct and scandals of the
head of crime intelligence in cahoot with the minister of police. There are
only ten water cannon trucks for crown control in the SAPS nationwide and only
one was used in Marikana. There is evidence of only one pistol taken from a
dead policeman a week earlier. The contingent of 450 police(men) invaded the
mountain of striking workers - not otherwise. I ask you to close your eyes and
picture in your mind the marauding colonial army shooting at African formations
of resistance, and please tell me the differences with the butchery of
Marikana. The former you can imagine - the latter you have the advantage of
real footage of the incident.
Jaki
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:51:22 +0200
Subject: Re: [PAYCO] Emailing: 6 MAY RUSTENBURG REVIEW FINAL EDIT.pdf
From: nrkgag...@gmail.com
To: payco@googlegroups.com
Comrade Xundu
There Lonmin occurance is not new in the past twenty four months mainly in
Rustenburg area mineworkers had been resigning from NUM en masse to other trade
union. Similar occurance happened in Welkom Harmony Gold and some of the Angol
Gold mines. At all occurances NUM has always been and enjoyed support and
consent of Mine management, Municipal and SAPS has always acted on the basis of
political instructions against mineworkers, example is Kroondale Murray and
Robert mineworkers leaders had been imprisoned. Certainly, NUM as a workers
formation is under direct control of a deep rooted labour aristocracy who's
interests is protection is of the deracialised capitalist mode of production
managed by the neocolonial ANC Government and state including parliament. At
the roots of the matter is the political potential and rising conscioussness
among mineworkers to expose and act contrary to the dominant class interests.
About NACTU, we should not be deceived that NACTU is pro-PAC, NACTU leadesrhip
has maintained a constitent position that NACTU is political independent thus
will not aligned with any political party including PAC. Attempts made to
organise and systematically influence and win majority of workers particularly
affiliates of NACTU to embrace, support and champion and identify openly with
the aims and objectives of the PAC by the efforts made through the
reorganisation of PALF were countered by comrades who formed Africanists in
Labour. Most NACTU affiliates are known as strike breakers and their apolitical
policy position has reduced them to be yellow trade trade union, suffering also
from a highly rooted labour aristocracy some owning businesses and Investment
Companies without being accountable and transparent to workers thus also
perpetuating exploitation of the black African workers.
Now, the current task aims at using concrete experiences of workers and trade
unions so as to deliberate and provide the political context as to what options
should be pursued in light of the rising workers's resentment of and
resignation from trade unions. In South Africa, less than 30% of employees are
trade union members this implies that there is more than 7million workers not
belonging to any trade union with NACTU membership having dropped from an
estimated 300 000 members to less than 80 000 membership characterised by very
small and insignificant trade unions. Drawing from these research and
experiences many hold, some of the daunting questions is from a socialist
perspective should we be linked to a specific trade unions or as a
revolutionary party we should urge a principled political unity of workers
beyond narrow trade union limitations? How do we as a paety develop and
strengthen an African proletarian approach and thrust to agitate African
workers' class interest and forge a political unity and action of workers for a
seizure of state political power? Do trade unions in South Africa forge workers
division or unity for or beyond narrow economic interests and without negating
workers's immediate demand?
The recent developments dictate that we should sharpen and formulate political
methods to mobilise and organise african workers based on a socialist programme
for siezure of state political power, total liberation and unification of
Africa.
Mr. Raymond Mashilo Kgagudi
Cellphone: 0749226361
Email: nrkgag...@gmail.com
On 21 Aug 2012 07:08, "tembelani xundu" <ttxu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Son of the Soil
I assume you are better placed to analyse and even speculate what may the cause
behind butchering of workers at Marikana. I do not believe for a moment that
the equivalent of Special Forces ie the National Intervention Unit can be
mobilised to handle crowd control. The very fact that they were mobilised to me
indicates that the Minister of Police by extension the government planned to do
as they did. But what motivated them, is it to send a statement to those who
are busy defining themselves outside COSATU? By the way what is the footprint
of our NACTU in the mining and construction industry?
Tembelani
From: Nkrumah <nrkgag...@gmail.com>
To: payco@googlegroups.com
Cc: vemahla...@gmail.com; nrkgag...@gmail.com
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 11:01 AM
Subject: [PAYCO] Emailing: 6 MAY RUSTENBURG REVIEW FINAL EDIT.pdf
Greetings comrades
Find attached research about the state of mineworkers in Rustenburg Area. We
wi...
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