Briefing from the War Chamber!Numsa’s national elections coordinator reports, Alex Mashilo, reports from his war room!

Numsa has begun the work of consolidating the victory that the ANC has achieved in successive elections held since the 1994 democratic breakthrough. In early January Numsa held a National Elections Workshop where we looked at the elections manifesto and developed Numsa’s electoral campaign strategy and identified tactics for the ANC to win the forthcoming national and provincial elections with an increased majority. The National Elections Workshop was followed by Regional Elections Workshops for the same reasons in all Numsa regions and the establishment of Elections Brigades. We have started rolling out campaign work. While it started slowly, this work is now intensifying. The campaign will now focus among others on the following activities: lunch hour campaign meetings with workers in industrial areas, and person to person to person contact; local and regional general meetings; industrial blitzing; train blitzing; taxi and bus ranks blitzing; postering and pamphleteering in the industrial areas. In the coming weeks thousands of Numsa campaigners will be seen regularly in their red, yellow and green t-shirts in all the sectors where Numsa organises. Numsa will also host a rally on March 28 in Mehlareng Stadium, Thembisa, Gauteng Province. All Numsa members and metalworkers from Hlanganani, Wits Central West, Sedibeng and Ekurhuleni as well as community members are invited to fill the stadium to attend this “Intsibi ayi gobi Rally”.

Reports from the ground:Redressing the imbalances of the pastIn meetings to discuss the April elections, workers are expressing their surprise at some political parties’ criticisms of affirmative action. Peter Thobejane reports.

In order to redress the imbalances of the past, the ANC-led government came up with two pieces of progressive legislation – the Skills Development Act (SDA) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA). Numsa had started this debate in its constitutional structures before the 1994 democratic breakthrough. This debate was informed by the clauses of the Freedom Charter.The South African Constitution inserted some provisions of the Freedom Charter eg section 9 of the Bill of Rights “all shall be equal before the law”. The purpose of the SDA and EEA are to redress the imbalances of the past regime by removing all the barriers that prohibit the disadvantaged from getting opportunities in employment and education.Numsa members in different establishments said they were surprised to hear other political parties criticise these Acts and that they wanted to review affirmative action.By reviewing affirmative action is it a real change or is it to try and reverse the gains achieved through bitter struggles, they asked.Affirmative action has benefited many people in terms of under-representation experienced by the disadvantaged group. They said that it must be clear to every metalworker that the ANC in Polokwane said “there’s no need for policy change!” Metalworkers cannot cope with anyone who wants to reverse their gains!

Going from door to doorVeronica Mofokeng has been going from door-to-door in the small rural towns in the Free State. Although voters are full of complaints about poor service, poor infrastructure, they say that the ANC will still get their vote!People complain about corruption within the organization and within the municipality. They say there is poor monitoring of services from ward councillors and provincial leadership.Roads are in bad condition. Water is not clean. Sometimes when rain water gets into their houses, they report the problem but nothing happens.There are no clinics in the townships – they have to travel long distances to get service that is in town. People spoke of applying for IDs more than two years ago but they are still waiting.Crime is high but they are not serviced adequately by the South African Police Service. There is no transport for pensioners and the disabled in the rural areas and townships. There is no work in these parts of the country. The DA has volunteered to offer free transport for pensioners – which is another way of attracting members to vote for DA.We tried to intervene on people’s behalf. We took up their matters where their counsellors had failed. Although they were unsatisfied with their councillors, they will vote for the organisation that led them from Apartheid. The ANC is their last hope for their future and they will not disappoint former leaders who took them to Freedom.Others said they were not willing to vote because of the poor service delivery. But when Cope took all the opportunists who did not want to implement the policies of the organisation, they changed their minds and now they promised they would vote ANC!

Cope has helped us!Cope has rejuvenated the ANC says Siyabulela Maselana from Queenstown

The establishment of Cope has instilled democracy within the liberation movement and it has increased participation within the ranks of our movement.It has helped create a space for other people who were not able to work for the ANC because if you don’t tow their line, you will be side-lined and marginalised.The way our alliance is performing shows that the people who were representing the interests of the capitalist class are history in our movement.Introspection with regards to policy changes have been at the forefront with regards to delivering servic to the poor.The ANC has given the working class more voice and the capitalists have taken the back seat and there are no more vote riggings by the George grouping because the veterans have come out to defend the revolution.The ANC has begun to rejuvenate itself where more members have begun to join the movement in large numbers.

What are your views on this letter? Write and tell us!Dear Numsa News

Back in the ’90s unions played an important role. I want to know for instance if the ANC loses elections will you Numsa or Cosatu form an alliance with another ruling party or if you don’t, does it mean the unions’ agenda is halted? I think it is not appropriate to help the alliance party. We should let them do what they do best and trade unions should be in an alliance of any ruling party in South Africa because Numsa says that anyone can join regardless of your colour, creed or political affiliation as long as you work in these sectors. As long as South Africans get civilised they will challenge the policies and they will be seen as counter revolutionaries as they are seen. Trade unions should be in an alliance with any ruling party in South Africa to ensure that the working class promotes their agenda in the economic policy of the country and speeds up service delivery and no corruption by the public servants. Trade unions must cater for all people – members of ANC, ID,DA, COPE,IFP,PAC and AZAPO. The name revolutionary does not mean everlutionary like Castro, Mugabe, Vavi. “Malijikeleze malingemi ivili lomzabalazo”. Abasebenzi kutheni abangayekiswayo emsebenzini banga sebenzi 6 hours a day ukuze banike aba retrenched eza 2 hours kuyekwe ulaliswa abantu abaninzi emisebenzini, that will be the implementation of the theory of injury to one is an injury to all, nomntu opeya isalary ezibini azame enze!!!

Malusi Plaatjies

IFP under threat!Cedric Gina and SM Hadebe give you a view of politics from rural KwaZulu Natal where they say the IFP is taking a figurative ‘beating’.

ANC invades Enseleni TownshipCedric Gina

Thousands of ANC members descended on Enseleni Township, a historically IFP-controlled township near Empangeni on the north coast of KwaZulu Natal.This meeting took place just a week after skirmishes in Ulundi between ANC and IFP supporters.The IFP defied a court order which instructed them not to meet in close proximity to the ANC rally which filled Umzuvukile Stadium.When Sibusiso Ndebele and Mathews Phosa arrived, the stadium erupted. Ndebele compared the ANC’s achievements to those of the IFP that is declining in numbers.Phosa attacked Helen Zille of the DA for attempting to use the judiciary to stop the candidacy of Jacob Zuma. And he had no mercy for Bantubonke Holomisa of the UDM.No incidents of violence were reported when ANC members left the rally for their homes in and around Nseleni. A major scoop was achieved by the ANC. 300 youth were introduced as new members of the ANC. The new members are young and used to be active IFP members. They pledged to continue wearing ANC t-shirts even though their former IFP comrades intimidate them and tear their t-shirts violently.

IFP tramples on democracy in Newcastle

SM Hadebe

Newcastle local government is in crisis! This crisis is caused by the IFP who refuses to relinquish power to the ANC.Previously the IFP and DA were in power until two Fedcon councillors swayed the numbers in the ANC’s favour.The IFP and Nadeco took the matter to court. The court ruled in favour of the ANC – it said there must be a new election for mayor, speaker and deputy mayor.The municipal manager called a council meeting on February 10 at 14h00. The IFP mobilised their members and transported them to the council meeting. We also went there as Cosatu local office bearers to observe the proceedings.When the municipal manager issued the ballot papers to elect a new speaker, the IFP councillor and their supporters went straight to the table and took ballot boxes and occupied the table of the Municipal Manager.They began to sing insulting songs, swore at the ANC alliance and waved IFP posters until 20h30.The SAPS began to use force to remove the IFP from the chamber.Outside the chamber the IFP members tried several times to attack us. They swore at us. They said, “You must fight us because what you want will not happen. Go to Polokwane, not here!”By 21h00 the speaker was elected and a shop steward from Unitrans was elected by the ANC councillors to be a speaker. The SAPS chased away the IFP group and we heard that they arrested two IFP supporters.