The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the biggest metalworkers and class orientated union in South Africa, takes this opportunity to wish the Christian community in particular and all South Africans, including atheists a joyous and blissful Easter Weekend on the 6 – 9 April 2012.

This Easter Weekend comes amidst the escalating cost of living in South Africa as a result of the high and skyrocketing costs of electricity, fuel and basic necessities.

The continued commodification of basic necessities, such as electricity, transport and basic food is a burden to the working class given the triple crisis of poverty, unemployment and deepening inequalities faced by the working class and poor households in the modern day Capitalist South Africa.

During this weekend the working class and the poor will be on our country’s roads travelling to different destinations for worship festivities, whilst others will be going to visit their loved ones or families as migrant workers from the hub of South Africa’s capitalism – Gauteng.

This Easter period is synonymous with road fatalities, which have became the second biggest killer of the working class and the poor after the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Too many innocent lives are being wasted or lost in our public roads.

We call on road users, particularly Taxi and Bus operators to exercise caution and act in a responsible manner during this period.

The Taxi’s or Buses which are not roadworthy should not be in our public roads to chase profits at the expense of our people’s lives.

We also call on drivers and pedestrians to refrain from intoxicating substances, particularly the consumption of alcohol.

All drivers and passengers should work together, as agents for road safety, by observing all road traffic rules, and for commuters to be vigilant against drunken driving and vehicles that are unroadworthy.

We particularly urge those using buses and other public mode of transport to be agents by making sure that they are being driven under safe circumstances and conditions.

Organise for the Demise of Evil over Good – Remember Chris Hani!

We also urge our religious community and leaders to use this Easter Weekend to organise and join the fight against the triple crisis of unemployment, poverty and deepening inequalities faced by the working class and the poor of our country.

This triple crisis is a manifestation of the neo-liberal economic reforms fostered and entrenched in the State by the 1996 class project.

These neo-liberal economic reforms remain intact and they have been holding back the wheels of history over the past 18 years of our democracy.

We are still haunted by the imposition of GEAR by once powerful elite within the State and the movement which we defined in class terms as 1996 class project.

The trajectory of the South African macro-economic framework they left for us is the one directly responsible for the triple crisis of unemployment, poverty and massive inequalities in our society.

Our country has become the most unequal society in the whole world today.

At the bottom, of course are Blacks and African people, and at the top are white people. The basic structure of the South African economy and society remains intact and untransformed.

The Black and African labour is at the bottom, and white monopoly capital controls the bulk of the country’s wealth and monopolizes social resources.

We are sitting on a ticking time bomb, which may trigger revolt, as we can see over these ongoing violent service delivery riots or protests happening in mainly poor and working class townships.

This Easter period should be about revolutionarising and agitating for change in our country in line with the immortal living ideas of the greatest socialist ever to live on earth Jesus Christ.

The religious leaders or community should be in the forefront of our struggles to build a heaven on earth for everyone to enjoy.

We therefore take this opportunity by making a clarion call to our religious leaders, in remembrance of our martyr and hero of our people Comrade Chris Hani, whose selfless blood had to be shed so that we could be free.

We urge them to use this Easter period to pray for the demise of the evil Capitalist system which breeds poverty, hunger, unemployment and social discontent and pray for the triumph of the good Socialist system which places humanity above everything.

In the words of Comrade Chris Hani “what is important is the continuation of the struggle…the real problems of the country of the country are not whether one is in Cabinet..,but what we do for the social upliftment of the working masses of our country”.

Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Cell: +2783 627 5197
Tel (dir): +2711 689 1702
Twitter: @castrongobese

Source

Numsa Press Release