SACP Central Committee Statement

  

SACP Press Statement 28 February 2010

Central Committee Statement

The South African Communist Party Central Committee held its first regular meeting for 2010 over the weekend of 26th – 27th February.

The CC agreed that the SACP’s call to our membership, to our alliance partners, and to South Africans in general is straight-forward: Let us all remain focused on the key problems confronting our country – unemployment, poverty and inequality. Let us close ranks and unite around addressing these key challenges. Let us make a clear distinction between: 

• differences and debates based on bona fide policy challenges, on the one hand; and
• battles requiring an absolutely uncompromising stance on the other. 

In the latter category, in particular, the SACP believes we need to place in prime position the struggle to roll-back and defeat the corrosive scourge of corruption in and between the private and public sectors. The SACP calls on its members, on the working class, on the great majority of South Africans to join us in a relentless battle against this grave danger to all that we have already achieved in our democracy, and to all that we still wish to achieve.

Over the past months, SACP structures, working closely with COSATU affiliates, have played a leading role in the fight against corruption. In Krugersdorp, for instance, SACP local structures have exposed corruption involving councillors selling RDP houses. In KZN our provincial structure is leading a campaign for transparency around serious allegations and anomalies in the provincial developmental bank, Ithala. The CC expresses its full support for these and other actions taken up by our structures. We have resolved to seek to build a broad coalition of forces fighting against the scourge of corruption.

This is not just a moral battle, it is also a struggle against a system. We must roll-back an economy in which everything becomes a commodity, in which everybody has his or her price. Either we roll-back this system, or it will roll us back. We need to insist that there are basic human rights to safety, to education and training, to a job, to health-care and a sustainable environment, to shelter and to a community life of dignity. We need to roll back the domination of the market in all of these key areas of our lives.

All of our shared programmes in the ANC-led alliance are related to achieving a society based on these values of human solidarity. In particular, the SACP welcomes the categorical statement from government in the President’s state of nation address, and in the Minister of Finance’s budget speech that priority number one is to place our country onto a new, developmental growth path in which jobs and greater equality are the key priorities and key measures of success. Government’s recently unveiled Industrial Policy Action Programme is one key pillar in this regard.

But to advance all of these objectives we need to ensure that public resources are used developmentally and not misdirected into private accumulation. The misdirection of public resources through illegal and even legal but anti-social rent-seeking of all kinds must be halted – these include fraudulent grants, tender-preneuring, the excessive outsourcing of state capacity, import fronting under the guise of BEE, and exorbitant payments to public-sector managers.

There are a number of systemic issues that need to be radically transformed: 

• More and more we run the danger of having state departments tendering out almost all of their activities. We need an activist state. It is the core task of the state to render directly a public service to the public – not to render out tenders to tenderpreneurs and all kinds of rent-seeking intermediaries.
• Many tasks can also be conducted through the state working hand-in-hand with local communities and cooperatives – in the construction of housing for instance.
• This is not to say that there are not services which need to be contracted by the state from private providers. Where this occurs we need much greater transparency around the tendering process. At the local level communities need to be informed about who has tendered and for what. And when a tender has been awarded the community, again, needs to be informed, with the reasons given.
• On the question of life-style audits, the CC fully supports policies and regulations currently in place in regard to elected public representatives. The declarations required of public representatives need to be enforced and the importance of public access to these declarations is fully supported. We also fully support the statutory right and obligation of state entities like SARS to pursue life-style audits where appropriate and without fear or favour. We also see the media as a key ally in the struggle against corruption. However, we need to guard against the trivialising of life-style audits in which we have media-driven beauty contests and in which there is a very real danger of factional manipulation. 

Let us unite in action around our shared alliance programme of action. We make this call in the context of a political situation in which it is easy to lose focus, and to become distracted by the melodrama of small but loud-mouthed factional groupings hell-bent on undermining the very substantial strategic unity that now prevails across our alliance and across much of government that is hard at work.

However, to speak of a substantial strategic unity across our alliance and through government does not mean that there are not important, outstanding matters that require further discussion, debate and resolution.

These matters include the premature proposal for a wage subsidy to encourage youth employment; the unfinished discussion within the alliance on how to align macro-economic policy with the key strategic challenge of placing our economy onto a different, developmental growth path; and the recent exorbitant electricity tariff hikes.

Youth wage subsidy unwise

On the proposed youth employment wage subsidy, the SACP notes that this idea was unwisely floated in last week’s budget speech without proper processing and without any consultation with COSATU, the SACP, or, for that matter, the ANC itself. While we certainly need to take the challenge of millions of unemployed youth extremely seriously, the potential abuse of a wage subsidy to employers appears to have not been seriously considered. Unless this measure is very diligently regulated and monitored, the danger is that employers will use it as a cover to dilute worker rights, and use it to substitute incumbent full-time workers with temporary, subsidised youth employees. The SACP will engage with our alliance partners on a range of proposals, including around youth in-service training, that we believe are better able to address the challenge of youth unemployment.

Business Unfinished

In regard to the alignment of macro-economic policy with our industrial policy and developmental growth path, the SACP notes that the alliance task team mandated by our alliance summit in November has not done the work required of it. The SACP will be engaging its allies in the coming days to ensure that real progress is made in this area. In particular, we believe that unduly high interest rates are continuing to attract short-term speculative flows into our country, which, in turn, inflate the value of the rand. An over-valued rand impacts on our critical manufacturing sector by dampening export competitiveness and by encouraging imports that undermine local job creation.

Electricity

On the electricity rate hike the SACP has joined millions of others in expressing grave concern about its impact on workers and the poor. However, condemnation of the hikes is not enough. In the first place, lest we now repeat old errors, we need to recognise the fundamental source of the generation capacity back-log which has now required a costly generation build programme. The core of the problem dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, when government set about privatising Eskom on the seriously mistaken illusion that the private sector would be willing to build generation capacity and still provide affordable electricity. The years lost as a result of this illusion are now costing all of us.

In the second place, it is not good enough to lament. Failure to address the generation back-log at this point would be even more disastrous for our economy and therefore for jobs. We would like to see government together with all South Africans provide much more active leadership around proactive steps to have a popular energy-saving campaign. During the rolling black-outs there were the beginnings of such a campaign, but it seems to have largely been forgotten. We need to take a leaf out of the inspiring example of a country like Cuba which, when facing very serious energy challenges, has not simply imposed, top-down price-hikes on its people, but has always sought to work closely with its mobilised citizens. In this context, we need to see a much bolder approach to the mass roll-out of solar geyser heaters and other ways in which, at a grass-roots level, everyone can contribute to saving energy costs.

We need also to return, once more, to strategic questions around the impact of capital-intensive energy guzzling industries like aluminium smelters. These plants create few jobs and are sustained by long-term, low-priced electricity deals. The raw material (bauxite) is imported, and these smelters are basically exporting South African electricity. South Africans are paying for this irrational arrangement.

However, to repeat the core message emerging from the Central Committee, while youth unemployment, macro-economic policy and the price of electricity are all areas requiring further discussion within our Alliance, it is absolutely imperative that we do not allow these debates to distract us from the key unifying task confronting our movement. Let us build unity in action around our shared strategic priorities. Let us implement together the important new industrial policy action programme. Let us defeat the corrosive effect of corruption in the public and private sectors.

In line with CC practice of receiving policy briefings from ministers and senior officials, this weekend’s CC received briefings on, amongst other things, human settlement and rural development policy.

Year of the Branch

The SACP has declared 2010 to be the Year of the Branch. In this year we hope to build even more localised branches by focusing on the voting district as the key building block. As we build our local structures one of the first strategic tasks is for communists to support government’s Local Government Turnaround Strategy. We urge all our branch, district and other structures to mobilise the people to actively participate in shaping the turnaround plans of every municipality in the country over the next few weeks. For these turnaround plans to be effective, they must be owned by local communities. We must ensure that these plans are mass-driven, not technocratic, and are included in the integrated development plans (IDPs) that shape municipal budgets. We must link the campaign on the municipal turnaround plans with our 2011 local government elections campaign and build our new voting district SACP branches. It is through local vigilance, local participation, organisation and mobilisation that we will also defeat the scourge of corruption.

Greece

On the international front, the CC noted the deepening social and economic crisis in Greece. This is one more indicator that the global capitalist crisis is far from over. The crisis in Greece is linked to the neo-liberal orthodoxies embedded within the EU, in which there is a monetary union but not a fiscal union. Countries like Greece have been forced to impose tough monetary including interest rate and inflation policies that favour big European banks, while the fiscal responsibility for raising public funds and allocating them resides at the national level. The SACP supports its allies in Greece, including the trade union federation, PAME, and the Communist Party of Greece, KKE, in their struggle to ensure that it is not the working people and poor of Greece who are forced to carry the burden of this crisis.

Our solidarity goes to the people and government of Chile following the devastating earthquake on Saturday.

Together, let us be vigilant!

Tivusa Tingwenya!

Let the tenderpreneurs, the fraudsters, the rent-seekers, those who grow fat from stealing from the people, let them tremble!

Issued by the SACP

Contact: Malesela Maleka, SACP Spokesperson – 082 226 1802

by e-mail

Hitler by Heartfield

John Heartfield's image of Hitler:

Animal Farm -George Orwell

Chapter 1 Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring. As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say. At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still a majesticlookingpig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark — for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking. The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother, filed into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from side to side to find some place where they would not be trodden on. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones’s trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, as usual, for the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxer and Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major’s speech without listening to a word of what he was saying. All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began: ‘Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you. ‘Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth. ‘But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep — and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word — Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever. ‘Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old — you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall? ‘And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come — cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond. ‘Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. A1most overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious. ‘And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.’ At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence. ‘Comrades,’ he said, ‘here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits — are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?’ The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued: ‘I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal. ‘And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back — words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England.’ Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran: Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken to my joyful tidings Of the golden future time. Soon or late the day is coming, Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown, And the fruitful fields of England Shall be trod by beasts alone. Rings shall vanish from our noses, And the harness from our back, Bit and spur shall rust forever, Cruel whips no more shall crack. Riches more than mind can picture, Wheat and barley, oats and hay, Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels Shall be ours upon that day. Bright will shine the fields of England, Purer shall its waters be, Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes On the day that sets us free. For that day we all must labour, Though we die before it break; 4 Cows and horses, geese and turkeys, All must toil for freedom’s sake. Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken well and spread my tidings Of the golden future time. The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and a few of the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted. Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.

Get your CU booklets easy and cheap!

To order your CU hard-copy booklets go to:

  

That’s: https://www.jetline.co.za/

Log in with username communistuniversity and password communistuniversity like this:

Enter your personal details and select your preferred Jetline Outlet like this:

Click “Continue” and order your materials in the quantities you need:

Scroll to the bottom and when you are ready, click “Proceed to Check-Out”

You will see an invoice with an order number on it, and instructions as to how to pay.

Pay Jetline and collect your stuff!

The new Umbiko Blog

The new Umbiko Blog

Comrades,


Our branch has a blog! 


This blog is now the collector for Umbiko, Johannesburg Central's publication.


See our blog at http://sacp-jcb.blogspot.com/


The blog can have up to 100 authors.


Please become an author and blog for the branch! 


When there is enough material, we can compile an edition of Umbiko, if we wish.


The blog is linked to the branch Google Group. Each time a blog-post is initially published, it goes out as an e-mail to all the subscribers on the Google Group.


To become an author, please send your e-mail address to me at dominic.tweedie@gmail.com, stating that you want to become an Umbiko/Jhb Central blog author. I will then arrange the "permission" for you, so long as you are a member of our Google Group.


Unless you have a Gmail address, you will have to register your present e-mail address with Google, and get a password. This is called "creating an account", but no money is required. To do it, go to any Google screen and click "Sign in" at the top, right-hand corner. You should see something like this:

Click on "Create an account", and follow instructions from there. Don't lose your password!

After all that, blogging is easy. Go to the blog, sign in with your e-mail address and password, click "New post", and start writing. Give it a (short) title, and click "Publish Post".

We need these skills, comrades. We need lots of people who can do this. It's easy. Millions of people are doing it. Let's not be left behind. Let's be the vanguard, comrades.

A luta continua!


The free development of each is the condition for the free development of all!


Domza,


VC

SACP Constitution and Rule 6.4

SACP Constitution

---

We meet in the UJ Doornfontein Library. Next week’s session will be as follows:

• Date: 24 February 2010 (Wednesday)
• Time: 17h00 sharp to 18h30 sharp
• Venue: The Library, University of Johannesburg, 37 Nind Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg (former Technikon Witwatersrand). Cars enter from the slip road to the left of the bridge on Siemert Road.
• Topic: The SACP Constitution. See below for introduction.

---

The jewel of the SACP constitution is Rule 6.4, which says:

“Members active in fraternal organisations or in any sector of the mass movement have a duty to set an example of loyalty, hard work and zeal in the performance of their duties and shall be bound by the discipline and decisions of such organisations and movement.

Another first for the Communist University!

Comrades, you can now go to https://www.jetline.co.za/, log in with username communistuniversity and password also communistuniversity, fill in your details and choose a Jetline branch, and then order from a list of all the materials used in the eight Communist University Generic Courses. When you click "Proceed to Check-out" at the bottom, it creates an order with an order number, and sends it by e-mail to the Jetline branch you have selected. You go to the branch with the order number to pay and to collect your Communist University material! Viva, CU, Viva!

---

 We now meet in the UJ Doornfontein Library. Next week’s session will be as follows:

Date: 17 February 2010 (Wednesday)

Time: 17h00 sharp to 18h30 sharp

(New) Venue: The Library, University of Johannesburg, 37 Nind Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg (former Technikon Witwatersrand). Vehicle access is from the slip road to the left of the bridge on Siemert Road.

Topic: “Worker Solidarity and Unions”, by Brian Basgen and Andy Blunden (downloadable in MS-Word format). See below for introduction to this text and to extracts from “Mr Chairman” by Wal Hannington.

---

Click to view the CU 2010 Draft Programme and the Jhb Central Branch 2010 Schedule.

Click to view full linked list of downloadable Generic Course files, with page count. 

---

Vanguard

In politics, the word “vanguard” means the professional force, human framework or “cadre”, which can lead the mass movement of the people on a revolutionary path.

The relationship of the revolutionary vanguard to the mass organisations of the people is similar to the relationship of a doctor to the people, or of accountants and lawyers to businesses, or of an architect or an engineer to builders and their clients. The vanguard is made up of professional revolutionaries.

The revolutionary vanguard is a servant, and not a master. The vanguard party of the working class serves the working class, and does not boss it.

The working-class vanguard party, which is the communist party, is not separate from the mass movement. It is intimately involved with the mass movement at all times and at all levels. To be a vanguard at all, it must study the workings of the mass movement.

The vanguard party educates, organises and mobilises. As a vanguard, it must have expert knowledge how mass movements in general, and especially about how the primary mass organisations of the working class which are the trade unions, work.

To deal with this crucial matter (how trade unions work) here is a text from the Marxists Internet Archive’s Encyclopaedia of Marxism, written by Brian Basgen and Andy Blunden, two comrades who clearly have vast experience of what they are writing about.

This text is empirical and experiential and there is nothing wrong with that, because experiential is exactly what trade unions and other mass organisations are. Trade unions arise out of the existing consciousness of workers as they are found under capitalism. In many ways workers emulate capitalist forms of organisation. Their initial purpose is to get a better money deal in exchange for their labour-power in the capitalist labour-market.

Trade unions are in the first place reformist, not revolutionary. Nor can trade unions become revolutionary without the assistance of professional revolutionaries, organised separately as a communist party. Lenin dealt with this relationship in “What is to be Done?” (download linked below).

Trade unionists who think that they can dispense with the assistance of a communist party are on a road to ruin.

Rules of Debate

Crucial to the democracy of mass organisations are the Rules of Debate and Procedure of Meetings. These are a bit like language, or political education, or the Internet, in the sense of being communistic. They are not given as authority. They are not imposed by a “state”. There is no institutional enforcer of these rules.

For example, the South African Communist Party has no given Rules of Debate or Standing Orders. Unfortunately this does not prevent people from claiming “Points of Order”! The nature of the notional “rules” is such that they are only effective to the extent that they are understood in common by the members of any particular gathering.

Wal Hannington [1896-1966, pictured] was well known as a communist leader of the unemployed workers’ movement in Britain in the 1930s. Our summary of his 1950 booklet “Mr Chairman” is included with this item on Trade Unions because communists involved in trade unions need this knowledge.

Hannington wrote: "The Chairman is there to guide the meeting, not to boss it." This is the most valuable message in his book. The Rules of Debate and the Procedures of Meetings are only justified to the extent that they liberate the people present. They become useless when they are felt as a burden or an obstruction.

The point is not for the Chairperson to “keep order”, or for individuals to be bullied down with “points of order”. The Chairperson serves the meeting, and the meeting needs to know how to guide the Chairperson. Everything works best when everyone knows the generic Rules of Debate.

Downloads:

Click here to download the text of Worker Solidarity and Unions, MIA, Meetings, Hannington

Further (optional) reading:

1106a, What is to be Done, Workers & Revolutionaries, Lenin

Umsebenzi Online, 3 February 2010

  Umsebenzi Online, Volume 9, No. 3, 3 February 2010

In this Issue: 

• Let's debate, but let's debate in a way that unifies our movement and strengthens practical programmes of action 

Red Alert

Let's debate, but let's debate in a way that unifies our movement and strengthens practical programmes of action

The SACP Political Bureau held its first meeting for 2010 last Friday. The meeting took place at Liliesleaf in Rivonia, the historic site from which the secret High Command of Umkhonto We Sizwe operated until its arrest at this venue in 1963. It was this location that gave the name "Rivonia" to the famous trial that ensued. The property is now being turned into a museum and conference centre with the support of, amongst others, UNESCO.

Liliesleaf has a particular symbolic significance for the SACP - not only was it the site at which legendary names in our Party's history operated, but it was the clandestine SACP that purchased the former small-holding in the early 1960s. Unfortunately for the SACP, not only are we now too late to put in a restitution claim, but it seems that the clandestine SACP-run trust that originally bought the property sold it in the 1960s to a private buyer!

Assessing the SACP's December 2009 Special National Congress

At last Friday's PB, we used the occasion to evaluate, amongst others things, the Party's Special National Congress in Polokwane in December last year. We noted that the Congress was characterised by a very high degree of inner-Party unity. The divisions within the Party, which some of the media had been predicting and, in some cases, promoting, completely failed to materialise.