Richard Pithouse, "South Africa: Freedom not yet," Pambazuka News, April 29, 2010.

‘Freedom only for the supporters of the government, only for the members of a party – however numerous they may be – is no freedom at all.’


– Rosa Luxemburg, Berlin, 1920

The assumption that political freedom begins and ends with the right to vote runs a real risk of overlooking escalating grassroots repression, the general conflation of the party and the state and the damage that is done to society by the wholly incorrect assumption that the economic realm is separate from the political realm and governed only by technical considerations.


The general turn towards social conservatism with its sexism, homophobia, ethnic chauvinism and xenophobia are a serious assault on hard won principles that affirm, at least in principle, the equality and sanctity of every person.

Of course it is true that millions of people continue to have to make their lives in the most appalling material circumstances. And it is also true that, by some accounts, we are now the most unequal country in the world. It is outrageous that so many children are being put to bed on empty stomachs in leaking shacks at constant risk of fire and violent eviction. The excesses of private and state power compound that outrage. Gated communities for the rich continue to take the best land while the political elites find it impossible to provide toilets to the poor but can easily mobilise the political will to throw up new stadiums.


But the so obviously bitter realities of economic oppression should not blind us to the fact that political freedom was never completely realised in post-apartheid South Africa. The genuine flowering of political freedom enjoyed by the middle classes and elites after apartheid was never fully extended to the poor. Everyone has been free to vote but there are many communities across the country where there has never been freedom to organise independently of the ANC. There are communities where open opposition to the ANC puts one at the risk of expulsion from the community and there are communities were taking a position against the ANC puts one at real risk of violence.


Read the rest here =>Recommend this Post

More =>

Sphere: Related Content

Amy Goodman, "Holding corporations accountable for apartheid crimes," Truthdig, January 12, 2010.

[This will be interesting to follow. Does "too big to fail" really mean, "above the law"? -jlt]

A landmark class action case is under way in a New York federal court, with victims of apartheid in South Africa suing corporations that they say helped the pre-1994 regime. Among the multinational corporations are IBM, Fujitsu, Ford, GM and banking giants UBS and Barclays. The lawsuit accuses the corporations of “knowing participation in and/or aiding and abetting of the crimes of apartheid; extrajudicial killing; torture; prolonged unlawful detention; and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” Attorneys are seeking up to $400 billion in damages.

Not one multinational company accepted the invitation to speak at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The late anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus, who died just weeks ago, is a listed plaintiff. Back in 2008, he told me that “for [the corporations], apartheid was a very good system, and it was a very profitable system.” As the U.S. observes the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, marks the first anniversary in office of the first African-American president and ponders the exposure of a racial gaffe spoken by Sen. Harry Reid, the issue of race is front and center, making this case timely and compelling.

Read the rest here =>Recommend this Post

More =>

Sphere: Related Content

Johann Rossouw, "South Africa's last chance," Le Monde diplomatique, March 25, 2009.

On 22 April South Africa will hold its third parliamentary elections and will have a new president. It may be the country’s last chance to stop the erosion of democracy through parliamentary means

Every year in December and January — the summer holidays — South Africa practically comes to a standstill. The small but growing middle class head for the country’s glorious beaches; poorer people join the exodus from the cities to visit family in the rural areas.

This year, as people returned from holiday, they were greeted outside cities with a huge billboard filled with the massive smiling face of Jacob Zuma. Zuma is a man who tells different factions what they want to hear, but whose real positions are still unclear; he is also likely to be South Africa’s next president.

While SA has been able to achieve consistent growth in GDP of 3% or higher for most years since 1994 (largely due to high commodity prices up to 2008), the country fell in the UN Human Development Index from position 89 in 1998 to position 125 in 2008. Author

Read the rest here =>Recommend this Post

More =>

Sphere: Related Content

Phindile Ngwenya, "Implications of the 'buy American' clause for trade policy in African countries," Africa Can - end poverty, February 27, 2009.

From a World Bank Africa specialist

President Obama on February 17 signed the $787 billion Stimulus package into law. The package is aimed at stimulating production in the US as well as job creation. However, it includes the following clause:

SEC. 1605. USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED GOODS
(a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which the head of the Federal department or agency involved finds that—(1) applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with the public interest;(2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or(3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.
(c) If the head of a Federal department or agency determines that it is necessary to waive the application of subsection (a) based on a finding under subsection (b), the head of the department or agency shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed written justification as to why the provision is being waived.
(d) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.

Read the analysis here =>

Phindile Ngwenya is Research Analyst with the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) team in the Pretoria Office in South Africa. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was a Senior Economist with the Economic Policy Division at the National Treasury and before then she was Economics Lecturer at Bond South Africa. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Swaziland and a Masters degree in Environmental Economics from the University of Pretoria.Recommend this Post

More =>

Sphere: Related Content

"Durban workers refuse to unload Israeli ship," LINKS, February 6, 2009.

February 6, 2009 -- The Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) is pleased to announce that its members, dock workers belonging to the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), achieved a victory last night when they stood firm by their decision not to offload the /Johanna Russ/, a ship that was carrying Israeli goods to South Africa. This, despite threats to COSATU members from sections of the pro-Israel lobby, and despite severe provocation.

...last year, the same SATAWU members refused to offload the Chinese ship An Yue Jiang, which was carrying arms and ammunition destined for Robert Mugabe's army.

Read the full statement here =>

Subscribe free to the feed for LINKS - International Journal of Socialist RenewalRecommend this Post

More =>

Sphere: Related Content