SACP TO DEEPEN ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST RECKLESS ACTIONS BY THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
The SACP has noted the reaction of the banking sector and the Banking Association to the article published in Umsebenzi Online last week, written by the our General Secretary cde Blade Nzimande (see article).
The hysteria characterising the response only seeks to hide the real truths about the transformational challenges confronting the financial sector. An attempt to silence the General Secretary of the SACP by deliberately conflating his role as General Secretary and as Minister of Higher Education is mischievous and a cheap attempt to blackmail the SACP into silence. The SACP will not be silenced by the greed of the financial sector and we call upon government, and National Treasury in particular, not to succumb to bullying tactics by the Banking Association.
The SACP fully concurs with the National Credit Regulator in its Consumer Credit Market Report - third quarter September 2011, which paints a picture of how reckless lending, as manifested by amongst others, unsecured credit transactions, is on the rise in the country. These are the figures that the Banking Association pretends to be unaware of, and which formed the basis of our article in Umsebenzi Online.
These figures show a huge increase in unsecured credit transactions, leading to the continued indebtedness of both the working and middle classes. Unless this trend is halted, the banks are headed for a crisis. The financial sector does whatever it can to circumvent provisions of the National Credit Act. Furthermore, the role of the retail sector, in collusion with the banks in reckless lending, remains an issue of concern for the SACP.
The financial sector cannot continue unabated to unleash its onslaught on the working class and the poor. We are also aware of manoeuvres by the banks to roll back victories scored through our financial sector transformation campaign, including the introduction of the Mzansi account.
Although Mzansi has succeeded in drawing in millions of the previously unbanked and has provided access to banking facilities for the poor, the banks undermine this account, by failing to market it, and not even offering it as an option to the unbanked. This represents a serious violation of the very commitments the banking sector made in the Financial Sector Summit Agreements.
The SACP, together with its Financial Sector Campaign Coalition partners, will fight tooth and nail in defence of the Financial Sector Summit Agreements, including the continuation of the Mzansi account. Similarly we remain concerned about high bank charges and branch closures, while banks try to steal customers away from each other instead of providing banking to the millions of people who are still unbanked.
The insurance sector continues to be the worst in milking money from the poor. The richer you are, the lower premiums you pay. It is no surprise that research in 2010 showed that fewer than 2% of poor South Africans have short term insurance, and none have motor vehicle insurance.
It is against this background that the SACP has decided to hold a Red Day in May to reinvigorate our Financial Sector Campaign, in defense of the working class and the poor. The SACP will further use the National Day of Action to deepen the call for the urgent convening of the second Financial Sector Summit to assess progress made since the last summit and craft a new path for the transformation of the financial sector.
Statement issued by the SACP, April 16 2012
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