SOUTH AFRICA Mangaung Massacre and the rise of the new ANC - RANJENI MUNUSAMY - SOUTH AFRICA <http://dailymaverick.co.za/section/south-africa> - <https://twitter.com/share?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mangaung-massacre-and-the-rise-of-the-new-anc&text=Mangaung+Massacre+and+the+rise+of+the+new+ANC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mangaung-massacre-and-the-rise-of-the-new-anc>
- - <?subject=Mangaung%20Massacre%20and%20the%20rise%20of%20the%20new%20ANC&body=I%20found%20this%20article%20on%20Daily%20Maverick%20and%20thought%20it%20might%20interest%20you:%20http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mangaung-massacre-and-the-rise-of-the-new-anc> - - 21 DECEMBER 2012 08:42 (SOUTH AFRICA) <http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-12-21-mangaung-massacre-and-the-rise-of-the-new-anc> President Jacob Zuma closed the ANCs 2012 national conference in Mangaung on Thursday night as a conquering victor after crushing any and all forms of dissent in the party. An array of political corpses lie strewn on the Mangaung battlefield as Zuma and a new band of enforcers take charge of the party, ready to change course and lead the ANC with an iron-fist. Their victory was sweeping and seminal. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY/NewsFire. It might not have occurred to Jacob Zuma that many in the gallery of eminent ANC leaders purged from the party leadership in Mangaung this week were once among his fiercest supporters in his battle against Thabo Mbeki. Fikile Mbalula, Paul Mashatile, Cassel Mathale, Tokyo Sexwale and Mathews Phosa were all on his side five years ago when Zuma and Mbeki fought for the presidency of the ANC. Kgalema Motlanthe was his deputy and the man he would later trust with the presidency of South Africa when Mbeki was defeated, humiliated and recalled from office. Five years ago in the giant tent in Polokwane, on the closing day of the ANCs 52nd national conference, all these men clapped and sang triumphantly in praise of the man they helped carry to the presidency of the party, against the odds. In exactly five years, these men have now come to represent the defeated. Most of them were absent from the closing session of the 2012 conference, mortified by a badly fought campaign against Zuma and humiliated by how things turned out for them. Another set of notables has taken their place as the conquerors. In the midst of Zumas final moment of glory after the announcement of the newly-elected National Executive Committee (NEC), dominated by his new band of his supporters, the president stopped in the middle of a passionate rendition of a song in praise of the ANCs former leaders and said: I wonder how it must be to be outside the ANC, before laughing and continuing his song. It was the final insult to the group of ANC leaders who dared to go against him in his march towards his second term as the part leader. Demeaned, they have no place to go after being voted out of the ANCs senior leadership. They will have to stand back and watch the new leadership take over, with their options restricted to no-win scenarios of joining another political party, starting their own or remaining powerless in the ANC as it changes course towards a more authoritarian leadership style. Motlanthe, a former Robben Island prisoner and party deputy president, Sexwale, a former death row inmate, Mashatile, detained without trial for four years and Mbalula, former president of the ANC Youth League, will find it untenable to be outside the ANC fold, where they spent their entire adult lives. They will probably have to sit out the next five years under the new band of ANC leaders, hoping that the party changes it again at next national conference. Zumas camp did not only make a clean sweep of leadership positions in the Top Six positions and the NEC, they also stamped their authority on constitutional and policy amendments. The ANC constitution is being amended to strengthen internal disciplinary processes in order to quell dissent from members and alliance partners. After making an example of the former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, the party will institute disciplinary action against any ANC member, office bearer or public representative doing any act or making any utterance which brings or could bring or has potential to bring, or as a consequence thereof brings, the ANC into disrepute. The ANC has also come out forcefully against members who challenge the party and its decisions publicly, particularly through the courts. In his closing address, Zuma said through decisive action against ill-discipline, we will be able to root out all the tendencies that we have identified over the years. These include factionalism, the sowing of disunity and confusion within the movement, the use of money to buy members, positions or influence in the organisation, the hurling of insults or even worse, the attacks on members of the ANC. He went on to say: We will be able to deal with the comrades who disrupt ANC meetings and those who want the ANC to be now run on technicalities and through the courts. The NEC must develop a code of conduct booklet to be circulated to all branches within the first quarter of 2013, Zuma said. The Forces of Change campaign, initiated to canvass for leadership at Mangaung, particularly targeting Zuma, is now so defeated that they have all but given up. Some of the leaders left the conference when the sway and dominance of the Zuma camp became evident. They threw in the towel on debates in commissions and in the plenary. The issue of nationalisation, which was used as a proxy campaign against Zuma, was wiped completely off the table with no fight back whatsoever from the lobby which campaigned for it. While the ANCs June policy conference resolved to support strategic nationalisation of key sectors of the economy as part of a move towards radical economic policy change, it was announced to the media on Thursday that the resolution on economic transformation now states that there should be increased state ownership in strategic sectors where deemed appropriate on the balance of evidence. The defeat of the hard-fought policy conference resolution on economic transformation is the final nail in the coffin of the ANC Youth League's economic freedom in our lifetime campaign and also goes against Cosatus push for radical economic policy change. Malusi Gigaba, now one of Zumas key lieutenants and the Public Enterprises Minister, told NewsFire that there was no contest in the plenary session of the conference to the amended resolution on nationalisation. This is in stark contrast to the intense debates on nationalisation that raged at the ANCs national general council in 2010 and the policy conference. After Zumas re-election, his loyalists made an immediate move to disband the ANC Youth League national executive, which had become the base of internal opposition in the ruling party. A belief that the League has become a law unto itself is propelling moves to reduce the Leagues powers and influence and to reign in their militancy. At the conference on Wednesday night, Gigaba and KwaZulu-Natal secretary Sihle Zikalala motivated for the incoming NEC to assess and deal with the League, still under the acting leadership of Ronald Lamola after Malemas expulsion. The voice of the Youth League has however already been curbed; Lamola and others in the leadership were largely absent during the conference and completely restrained. NewsFire also understands that there will be a move early next year to disband the provincial executive committee of Limpopo. That province has also been dissenting against Zumas leadership and fought to maintain its pro-change stance in the run-up to Mangaung. Mathale is also in the firing line, with rumours circulating of his possible arrest and firing. In two provinces where the pro-Zuma leadership faced court action from the Forces of Change, the North West and Free State, provincial leaders are fighting to suppress dissent. Immediately after the Mangaung conference ended on Thursday night, provincial leaders Ace Magashule and Supra Mahumapelo (both staunch Zuma supporters) called their delegations into a joint caucus to stamp their authority. The ANCs new deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa seems to have read immediately where the balance of power lies. He was given the opportunity to make his maiden address to the ANC by reading out the conference declaration in the closing session and began by chanting in praise of Zuma. He also commended South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande on a rambling message he delivered to the conference earlier in the afternoon in which he lashed out at the media and critics of the president. If you notice media heroes are all those who have made it their pastime to attack, ridicule or sought to present themselves as being above the ANC. Thats what independence has come to mean today. That is why every Tom Dick and Harry, including pseudo intellectuals and intellectual charlatans, who seek some publicity today must attack especially President Zuma, the ANC, the alliance and government, said Nzimande. In fact the print media, with very few exceptions, has in the run up to this conference, attacked the ANC, its current leadership and the government it leads. Yet in Fridays papers they all of a sudden pretend to be giving delegates to this Conference some seemingly sober advice. As the SACP we are tempted to say do not take this advice from the media as it is toxic and not good for the health of the ANC, our Alliance and indeed our revolution as a whole, he said. South Africa will feel the assertion of the new ANC very soon. The new year opens with the ANCs 101st anniversary to be held on Zumas home turf in Durban. It is bound to be as triumphalist as the national conference closing ceremony. Zuma will deliver his State of the Nation address in early February, bolstered by the ANCs renewed confidence in his leadership after a controversy-plagued 2012. The ANC is likely to command its parliamentary caucus to close ranks in support of Zuma as the oppositions motion of no confidence will come before the House early next year. The Forces of Change are flattened and will never recover. Theirs is not just a defeat but a dramatic upheaval to their political lives. They will be under siege and some might be hounded out of their positions in government. The ANC will face its biggest challenge since liberation in the 2014 national elections with the new Mangaung leadership having to decide the best way to maintain the ANCs electoral dominance. For South Africa, 2012 was seminal. Marikana and Mangaung changed the country forever. The future will be imperfect. *DM* *Photo: Jacob Zuma (Greg Nicolson/NewsFire)* Mining violence: Harmony Gold closes branch after five injured - MANDY DE WAAL - SOUTH AFRICA <http://dailymaverick.co.za/section/south-africa> - <https://twitter.com/share?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mining-violence-harmony-gold-closes-branch-after-five-injured&text=Mining+violence%3A+Harmony+Gold+closes+branch+after+five+injured+&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mining-violence-harmony-gold-closes-branch-after-five-injured> - - <?subject=Mining%20violence:%20Harmony%20Gold%20closes%20branch%20after%20five%20injured%20&body=I%20found%20this%20article%20on%20Daily%20Maverick%20and%20thought%20it%20might%20interest%20you:%20http%3A%2F%2Fdailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2012-12-21-mining-violence-harmony-gold-closes-branch-after-five-injured> - - 21 DECEMBER 2012 04:07 (SOUTH AFRICA) <http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-12-21-mining-violence-harmony-gold-closes-branch-after-five-injured> Violent clashes continue in the mining sector, this time in Carletonville, where workers were allegedly shot at with live rounds and rubber bullets at *Harmony* Gold's Kusasalethu mine. With layoffs, union rivalry and mine bosses reneging on pay promises, 2013 looks set to be a torrid year for SAs mining sector. By MANDY DE WAAL. Five miners were injured at Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine in Carletonville on the morning of Thursday, when workers faced off against security guards from Protea Coin. Thenda Kolweni, a worker at Harmony, said that two miners were shot with live rounds, two were injured by rubber bullets, and one worker was overcome by tear gas. The conflict broke out, Kolweni said, when miners were making their way to the gold mine to prepare for a disciplinary hearing. It was round about 10h20 when the workers were going to the AMCU (Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) offices and the security did not open the gates for them, and these employees where denied access to the union office. When these workers started to ask questions, tear gas was thrown at them and five employees were injured. Two people were shot with live ammunition and the others got wounds because of the rubber bullets. One man was suffocating from the tear gas, Kolweni said. All the injured were taken to the Sir Albert Hospital in Randfontein. This violent clash between workers and mining security had its genesis in a sit-in five days ago. Some 1,500 workers occupied Kusasalethu Mine on Saturday 15 December, demanding better wages. A spokesperson for Harmony said that the strike was staged so AMCU could jockey for position at the mine. This is part of AMCU trying to secure its position for support at the shaft, Harmonys Marian van der Walt told EWN<http://ewn.co.za/2012/12/15/Harmony-Gold-miners-hold-sit-in> earlier. Harmony subsequently suspended 578 miners for participating in the strike, which the mine declared was illegal. After todays clashes, mine management has decided to close the shaft for the festive season. We have made it clear that no violence will be tolerated, and to ensure the safety of our employees, it has become imperative to close the shaft until the labour issues have been resolved, Tom Smith, Harmony's Chief Operating Officer, told The Wall Street Journal. The management suspended workers after the sit-in, but not everyone was suspended. The workers are very angry and upset because there are still others sitting in front of the hostel, but AMCU came to speak to everyone to calm things down, Kolweni told Daily Maverick. The mine is closing, but hopefully the mine owners will talk with AMCU and things will get sorted out. 2013 looks set to be a challenging year for government, mine owners and workers in the sector, because when the sector gets back to work in January, the first thing on the agenda is the shedding of jobs. In terms of the retrenchments next year, first quarter... I don't know the numbers, but I can tell you it's probably in the thousands, possibly going above ten (thousand) and maybe higher, Chamber of Mines CEO Bheki Sibiya said during an address at the Cape Town Press Club little under a month ago. Some people above ground are going to be retrenched and some people below ground are going to be retrenched because the industry is now literally between the rock and the hard place. Other issues threatening the sector include the jostling for position between rival unions AMCU and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the largest recognised collective bargaining agent to represent workers in the mining, energy and construction industries. In recent years, NUM has lost part of its support base to AMCU, which was founded after disgruntled workers broke away from the ANC/Cosatu-aligned union. NUM has even fallen below the required 50% representation as was the case at Impala Platinum, which ceased to recognise the union because of its dwindling support. At Harmonys Kusasalethu, two people were killed and another was injured in running battles between the two unions in November. Mineworker Sithembile Nqulo told Mail & Guardian<http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-22-mining-union-rivalry-two-shot-dead> that people were walking to a mass meeting when NUM shop stewards opened fire on the crowd. The NUM wants to lead us by force, Nqulo told the investigative weekly, and added that he thought NUM was threatened by the AMCU's presence. Meanwhile the BenchMarks Foundation took issue with Lonmin on Thursday 13 December 2012, following reports that mine bosses had reneged on pay promises to Marikana miners. In a letter from John Capel, executive director of the Bench Marks Foundation, to mine management, Capel stated his concern at recent reports from workers and community members in Marikana alleging that the agreed pay rise of 22% was only paid for the first month after the strike, and was then discontinued. The NGO that monitors corporate performance said there had also been allegations that a return-to-work bonus of R2,000 that was received by workers at Lonmins Marikana mine was now being deducted from miners salaries, as if it were a loan. About 50 people were killed in violent clashes at mines in 2012, including the 34 people who lost their lives during the Marikana Massacre, when police opened fire at strikers at Lonmins mine in what is now seen as one of the greatest tragedies in SAs young democracy. Newly elected ANC leader, Jacob Zuma, and his deputy, mining mogul Cyril Ramaphosa, will have their work cut out for them next year. Mangaung has been all about debate and policy, but 2013 will take them back to the coal face of trying to stabilise and grow SAs resource-based economy. *DM* Read more: - Five injured in clash at Harmony mine in Carletonville on BDLive<http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2012/12/20/five-injured-in-clash-at-harmony-mine-in-carletonville> - S Africa mine nationalisation ruled out at the Financial Times<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/36bfdb06-4ab3-11e2-968a-00144feab49a.html#axzz2Fc9hnPap> - Global Miners Face Rising Risks in South Africa on CNBC<http://www.cnbc.com/id/100326835> - Bench Marks Foundation Is Concerned At Recent Reports From Workers At Marikana at AllAfrica <http://allafrica.com/stories/201212191177.html> *Photo: A Harmony Gold miner appears on the surface after being trapped underground for more than 10 hours at a mine in Carltonville, west of Johannesburg, October 4, 2007. 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