The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, (NUMSA) condemns in the strongest terms any acts of violence against our brothers and sisters from the continent.
Those who spread thuggery, hatred and violence against our brothers and sisters must be exposed and arrested for their criminal behaviour.
However as NUMSA we can’t ignore the fact that these violent flare ups keep happening. The reality is that the far majority of our people who are the poorest of the poor are struggling, and their suffering has been made worse by the tough economic climate. Their suffering is a direct result of 23 years of failed economic policies which the governing party, the ANC insists on implementing, with the full support of the Democratic Alliance. But instead of taking out their rage on the government, some of our people resort to hurting the most vulnerable in our communities, namely, women, children and immigrants.
The DA and the ANC are to blame for the anarchy.
We also can’t ignore the fact that the violence we have seen is a direct consequence of the utterances made by the DA mayor of Joburg, Herman Mashaba. Mashaba fanned the flames of xenophobia in December when he claimed that illegal immigrants were ‘criminals’ and vowed to get rid of them.
Therefore the mayor of Joburg and the DA must take full responsibility for the anarchy that has ensued. Mashaba is the South African version of Donald Trump and promotes xenophobia, racism, and anti-poor policies and stereotypes.
Under global capitalism, where 1% of the population control 99% of the economy, wealth is achieved against the backdrop of primitive methods of accumulation, such as the super-exploitation of black and African labour. As a result in South Africa this 1% which Mashaba is rented to represent, is swimming in wealth and dying of over-eating, whilst the African majority is languishing under extreme, levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. Under these conditions the weak and the vulnerable, who are our brothers and sisters, become easy victims.
Some in our communities act under the false illusion that if you get rid of foreigners there will be a better life for ‘us’. The truth of the matter is that capitalism, which the DA and the ANC government defend and champion, is responsible for all these social ills and creates a deeply repressive and unequal society. Its time we understand that capitalism has run out of ideas and solutions for problems that confront humanity.
Those who are unleashing violence against our brothers and sisters need to appreciate a few things:
• The real struggle we must engage in is a struggle to uproot the continuation of colonisation of a special type in South Africa and the continent. It is a system based on imperialism and right wing structural adjustment programs, supported by the DA  of Mashaba and the ANC.  The political bankruptcy of right wingers like them is that they refuse to accept that capitalism has no solutions for problems that confront humanity.
• South Africa was liberated through the solidarity we received from our comrades outside of the country. For instance the Cubans in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola in 1987 fought against Apartheid forces.  The Cubans suffered heavy losses for being in solidarity with our struggle. We also owe a great debt of gratitude to countries on the continent for their contribution. Countries like Zambia where members of the liberation movement were hosted as if they were citizens of that country.
In Mozambique not only did we experience their generous hospitality, but they sacrificed their best and brightest leader, Samora Machel, who was killed by the Apartheid government for supporting the armed resistance.
• It was through the global anti-apartheid movement that Apartheid was declared a crime against humanity and this hateful system was finally defeated.
We must therefore ask the question, if the world had adopted the same xenphobic prejudice against South Africans who had to flee their country of birth, where would be today?
In modern day South Africa the ongoing global crisis of capitalism has worsened the colonial conditions of the African working class. Capital in this country is exploiting the situation, by using the old “divide and conquer” tactic. It’s attempting to divide the working class by hiring workers which are not South African, and paying them the lowest possible wages, or no wages at all. This is done to create the ‘false’ impression that South African workers are lazy and un-hireable. This inevitably leads to the kind of conflict that we are seeing on the streets of Attridgeville, Rosettenville and elsewhere in the country. This strategy is designed to pit worker against worker, and undermine all the strides we have made in the protection of workers’ rights.
Recruit all workers including undocumented workers into NUMSA
As NUMSA we say the solution is to recruit every worker, documented or undocumented into our unions. Only this will prevent the bosses from super exploiting vulnerable workers from outside South Africa and undermining our hard won gains. It’s also a sure fire way to guarantee that all workers, regardless of nationality are protected from exploitation.
NUMSA calls on communities to channel their fury towards the DA and the ANC government.
NUMSA calls on all workers and the community at large, to channel their fury where it belongs – towards this government and the DA. We call on all workers to unite under the banner of the United Front and to help us build a Workers party which will fight for real economic change. A workers party will organise in the interests of workers and their families.
A workers Party can fight for the implementation of nationalisation in its entirety, in our lifetime. We want to be able to improve the quality of life of all our citizens, not just the wealthy 1 per cent.
We must fight to create a society where the poorest worker can access the same quality education and healthcare as the CEO of a conglomerate. We defeated Apartheid because we wanted a better life for all. Workers gave up their lives fighting for an end to this hateful system. We cannot claim to be free in South Africa when the majority of people languish in poverty and they have no hope of escaping it. We have no choice. If we want to save this country from burning to ashes, we must urgently implement the Freedom Charter!
Organise, or starve!
Issued by Irvin Jim
NUMSA General Secretary