COSATU Special CEC Statement
4 April 2017
The Congress of South African Trade Unions convened a one day Special Central Executive Committee meeting {SCEC} yesterday to finalise the preparations for the upcoming COSATU Central Committee that will be convened at the end of May 2017. The CEC decided that the Central Committee meeting will be held under the 12th National Congress Theme - “Unity and Cohesion of COSATU to advance the National Democratic Revolution [NDR] for Socialism”.
Amongst a number of things that the Central Committee will do is to make an assessment of the implementation of our 12th National Congress resolutions and campaigns. We will also use it to prepare for both the Policy and Consultative conferences of the ANC and also for the Congress of the SACP. The central focus of our work though is to build our organisation so that we are able to defend the gains of the workers and also better represent the dreams and aspirations of the workers and the working class with confidence. The CEC agreed on the process to sign off the following documents to the Central Committee:
a) The Political Report
b) Implementation of the 12th National Congress Resolutions
c) The Medium term Plan
d) Constitutional Review
e) NALEDI Study on the Proliferation of trade unions in South Africa and the preliminary worker’s survey
The SCEC meeting also discussed the recent political developments in the country over the last couple of weeks, including the cabinet reshuffle as announced by the South African President Jacob Zuma last week.
National Treasury and Transformation
The federation reflected and noted the heightening offensive against the working class over the last two decades as a result of some problematic government policies that have been implemented by the National Treasury in particular. These on amongst others include putting breaks on the implementation of a Comprehensive Social Security system , Delaying tactics towards the implementation of NHI and continued application of Inflation targeting, This has resulted in reduced wages and retrenchments for the workers. Workers have also seen widespread casualisation of labour, cuts in pensions and retirement benefits; an increase in unemployment rates; regression of social and labour rights because of these policies.
We are angry that in our country we have more than 9 million people who are without employment. The South African government’s economic policy is still based on the neo-liberal paradigm and the National Treasury working with the Reserve Bank are responsible for these policies.
These neo-liberal economic principles and philosophies continue to insist that growth must occur first, and then employment will follow, and that once employment increases, the distribution of income will improve. This is reflected in the persistent setting of growth targets as the primary focus, rather than targets for employment and income distribution. This is a much recycled myth that has never worked anywhere in the world.
This though has failed to address the colonial and apartheid fundamental contradictions that resulted in the white monopoly capital taking charge of the ownership of the economic levers of powers, while the black majority remains enslaved in waged labour. Our economy remains highly monopolised and foreign owned and is still largely in the hands of a white minority.
This neo-liberal ideology has captured some elements within the state, especially within Treasury and in the democratic movement. COSATU has been sharply raising the problem of some deployed cadres of the movement in government that have over the years abandoned the people driven and people centred approach to development. They have weakened the movement and created an impression that it had abandoned the dreams and aspirations of the majority.
This is why it took government more than ten years to deliver a comprehensive social security and retirement reform discussion paper, yet we were given the Taxation Laws Amendment Act.
Despite our call in 2013, supported by the SACP, for the “redrafting and fundamental overhaul of the core macro-economic and labour chapters of the NDP and the appreciation by the Alliance of the need for further engagement, the ANC government through National Treasury’s unilateralism has moved ahead anyway to implement these policies as reflected in the introduction of the Employment Incentive Tax Act, the freezing of vacant posts in the public service, e-tolls, moves to introduce preservation of provident funds and many others.
COSATU is therefore unapologetically supportive of the efforts to transform the National Treasury and the Reserve Bank because these institutions constitute the biggest obstacles to the government’s economic programme and they both need to be urgently realigned and given a new mandate.
But COSATU believes that the Transformation of the National Treasury should be about changing the ideological outlook and cultural orientation of the entire institution rather than be about personalities. We believe that we need more progressive economic thinkers and ideologically clear cadres to be employed in that department. They need to work to tame the neoliberal hard-liners and their reckless policies that have brought nothing but misery and exploitation for the workers and the poor.
COSATU is clear that no minister can transform Treasury as an individual, all ministers before; including Minister Pravin Gordhan have been captured and transformed by the institution instead of them transforming the institution. There is no Finance minister, who has been the friend of the workers including Pravin Ghordan; so going forward we will support the new minister where necessary and fight with him where necessary.
Content of the Radical Economic Transformation
In the context of our democratic political terrain, as a federation we have consistently and principally dealt with the relation of social forces in terms of the political economy and the relation of political forces as part of our assessment of the course of the national democratic revolution. In this regard, our conclusions have not fundamentally changed over time.
COSATU has previously said that the National Democratic Revolution was under threat from the ANC government’s decision to undermine the progressive policies of the ANC, the continued marginalisation of the working class and the predatory tendency of some elements within the movement.
In our analysis, we have also said that the convergence within the ANC-led Alliance around the need for fundamental transformation in the second phase remained largely at the level of intent and objectives rather than on the content of what needs to be done in concrete and practical terms.
We all agree that we need a faster and shared growth, built on the platform of redistribution and industrial transformation. This should be accompanied by serious efforts to change our industrial structure, create employment, redistribute incomes and assets to the poor, and open the doors of learning to all our young people, millions of whom are still excluded from higher education by their families' poverty.
We also agree that the present trajectory threatens the fragile social fabric we have achieved and that the transformation of our society and economy has become a much more urgent task in order to meet the basic goals of the national democratic revolution and to build an equitable and inclusive society. We also agree that we need a democratic and interventionist state that will work to eradicate decades of social exclusion and economic exploitation.
While, we strongly support the government’s commitment to radical economic transformation, we also believe that it cannot be divorced to the commitment to fight against corruption and looting of our resources. The federation has been greatly encouraged by the renewed language of commitment coming from both the ANC and its government, regarding the Radical Economic Transformation but we do not feel that they have made enough commitment to the fight against corruption.
The federation believes that determining the content of the Radical Economic Transformation cannot remain the preserve of the ANC alone but it should be the collective responsibility of the entire Alliance. Failure to allow the entire Alliance to define the content of the proposed economic transformation will render this another missed opportunity by the movement.
Cabinet Reshuffle
There were three guiding principles that guided us as we grappled with the recent political developments including the recent Cabinet reshuffle that saw poor or no meaningful consultations of both ANC leaders and alliance partners by the President. Firstly we needed to answer the question, whether the Cabinet reshuffle was transparent and in the best interest of both the ANC and the country. We also looked at whether the reshuffle helped the fight against corruption. Lastly we looked at whether the reshuffle was based on merit and also if it assisted the fight for Radical Economic Transformation. The answer to all of these questions was negative.
For the first time under President Jacob Zuma , COSATU was not consulted during this latest Cabinet reshuffle. We have also noted that some members of the ANC Top Six feel that there was no meaningful consultation by the president.
COSATU though has been here before because we were not consulted, when e-tolls were implemented, when the Employment Incentive Tax Act was introduced, and when the preservation of provident funds was introduced. While, we hear and understand the frustrations of some members of the ANC Top Six, we hope they have a renewed appreciation of the concept of a meaningful consultation now that they have experienced it themselves.
Also in assessing the latest developments, we also reflected on the re- emergence of the past undemocratic practices ,which were previously used in the run-up to the ANC 52nd Polokwane Conference , in particular the use of state institutions and the SABC in factional battles, including the failure to consult ANC members and Alliance partners.
In the run up to the Polokwane Conference , while dealing and responding to these undemocratic tendencies ,COSATU said the following: “We hope that should Jacob Zuma win, we will see no more of such undemocratic practices and that he will usher in a new era of democratic consultation and transparency.
COSATU also look forward to the adoption of new, progressive policies and the implementation of those policies by government. The only scenario which could rightly be called a crisis would be if the government refused to implement the policies voted for by the conference. Only then would be it be justified to call for the government to step aside, but we earnestly hope that our new leaders will prevent such a crisis from ever occurring”.
This combined with alleged undue influence that is apparently exerted by the Gupta Family in the office of President Jacob Zuma and a series of controversies surrounding President Jacob Zuma like the Constitutional Court judgement and his apology on Nkandla; COSATU no longer believes that the president is the right person to unite and lead the movement, the Alliance and the country. We think that after all his undeniable contribution to both the movement and government, the time has arrived for him to step down and allow the country to be led forward by a new collective at a government level. We no longer believe in his leadership abilities and we shall be communicating that decision to our ally the ANC. The CEC will also be demanding both the movement and the president to give us an explanation on why we were not consulted as an alliance partner, and what led to the abandonment of such longstanding traditions.
We are currently experiencing a period of deep divisions within the ANC and we believe that the president’s lack of constructive engagement has added to such divisions, which impacts negatively to governance. He has also failed to deal with some of the most incompetent ministers in his cabinet, proving that this cabinet reshuffle was not based on merit but on political loyalty. We reject the prerogative argument because the ANC campaigned not as individuals but as a team and the voters gave the mandate to the organisation not to any one individual. The president derives his mandate like any other ANC deployees from the movement.
The federation also plans to directly communicate this decision of the SCEC to its members including discussing its implications. COSATU will also be talking to all its Alliance partners, community, religious and societal organisations to discuss this decision and the way forward. We would have loved to communicate this decision internally with the ANC first but in the absence of such engagement; we are left with no choice but to communicate our decision in public.
But in all of our engagements, we will be guided by our class interests and we will not abandon our class position. Our strategic enemy is still monopoly capital and white monopoly capital in particular and we stand in opposition to Neo liberalism and its ideologues both inside and outside the movement. We also reconfirm that the unity of our organizations and the Alliance is sacrosanct and also stand against corruption .We believe in collective leadership and we stand in opposition to personality cult in whatever form.
Commitment to the Alliance
COSATU wants to make it clear that it is still very much committed to the Alliance. We want an Alliance which collectively develops policy in line with our vision in the Freedom charter, which collectively monitors implementation of policy, which collectively decides on deployment, and which can call ministers to account. We want an Alliance where partners are treated as equals!
We want a reconfigured Alliance which is at the centre of driving the National Democratic Revolution. We will fight to have an Alliance which is conscious that the primary task in this phase of our transition is to resolve the colonial and apartheid contradictions based on radical economic transformation.
We want an alliance which is led by the ANC that understands and accept in practice the leading role of the working class as a primary motive force in the National Democratic Revolution. We want an ANC which accept and understand that the working class has the enduring organisational power, occupies a strategic location within the productive force, suffers the most from both exploitation and domination, and has made the most sacrifices to advance the revolution.
We do not support the Regime change agenda that wants to topple the ANC from power. We will never march with the DA and its friends, and the only march we will join that will be led by the DA will be if they are going to Cape Town to call for Helen Zille to resign.
We call on our members not to support any march to Luthuli House, because we view that as an act of provocation. We also call on the ANC MP’s to refuse to be led by the opposition parties and remember that the movement was given a mandate by the electorate in 2014. COSATU also condemns all those who are attempting to use school kids by calling for school boycotts in order to fight their narrow political fights.
S & P Global Ratings downgrade
We have also noted the decision by the ratings agency S&P Global Ratings to downgrade South Africa to sub-investment grade. This is a significant matter for COSATU, which is first and foremost an economic entity with the responsibility to look after the interest of its members and the working class.
We are worried because the junk status will have inflationary results as it would result in an increase in borrowing costs not only for government but across the economy. Currently South Africa owes more than 2.2 trillion rand which is more than 50.7% of the national income or GDP and pays R 160 billion per annum in interest payment, which is very close to what government spends on social grants.
What is more worrying also is that according to the National Treasury the budget for 2017/18 totals R 1.56 trillion of which revenue covers R1.41 trillion. The remaining R 149 billion will be borrowed and there is strong possibility that SA government will be forced to further raise taxes to fund most of its spending. This unfortunately happens in the midst of a stagnant economy with high unemployment, poverty and inequalities
We express our disapproval of the credit rating agency S&P’s decision to downgrade the country and we view their reasons about political uncertainty as interference in our domestic political affairs, which should be beyond their scope of work. We also hold responsible and culpable the President of the Republic Jacob Zuma because it is his inattentive and negligent leadership and disruptive actions that have emboldened these agencies to interfere in this country’s political affairs.
Issued by Sizwe Pamla, National Spokesperson, COSATU, 4 April 2017
