Southern Africa

Wed 17 Apr, 05:50

Combatendo e Derrotando o Racismo Dec 10 06:11 by Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front 1 comments

Como anarquistas, lutamos pela criação de uma sociedade livre e igualitária, fundamentada na democracia de base e na igualdade socioeconômica. Defendemos a destruição de todas as formas de exploração e dominação. Somos contrários à autoridade coercitiva e sustentamos que o único limite da liberdade de um indivíduo deve ser que ele não infrinja a liberdade de outros. Acreditamos que apenas uma revolução protagonizada pelas classes produtivas e exploradas da sociedade (a classe operária, os pobres e o campesinato) pode criar um mundo livre, e reconhecemos que essas classes só podem ser mobilizadas e unidas com base na oposição a todas as formas de opressão. Pelas razões expostas, nós, anarquistas, somos inimigos declarados do racismo e dos racistas. Qualquer movimento por liberdade que não combata diretamente o racismo não passa de uma vergonhosa fraude.

Ξεριζώνοντας τον... Dec 31 16:28 by Bongani Maponyane 0 comments

Ο ρατσισμός υπήρξε κατάρα στη Νότια Αφρική και παραμένει ενσωματωμένος στην κοινωνία. Αλλά πόσο επιστημονικές είναι οι ρατσιστικές ιδέες; Από πού προέρχονται; Και πώς μπορούμε να καταπολεμήσουμε τον ρατσισμό και να δημιουργήσουμε μια πραγματικά ισότιμη και δίκαιη κοινωνία; Τι πιστεύουμε εμείς ως επαναστάτες αναρχικοί;

South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Aug 03 21:28 by Mandy Moussouris and Shawn Hattingh 21 comments

Everything we are now is built upon all that we were and where we came from. The same can be said for countries, any analysis has to look backwards before it can begin to understand the influences and causes of the present. This makes analysis intrinsically complex and often, almost impossible. At some point we are forced to simplify, look for patterns and analyse situations with a focus on where the key locus of power lies. An analysis of the recent events taking place primarily in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng has to be done with this in mind. It is impossible to follow every strand of the complexity that is South Africa, but at the same time the link between the spate of large scale looting that took place and two very obvious conflicting ruling class power bases that currently exist in the country is undeniable. To claim that there was an exercising of working class power is to fundamentally misunderstand the powers at play and where the locus of power at this point in history actually lies.

KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are burning Jul 14 20:56 by Abahlali baseMjondolo 0 comments

Abahlali base Mjondolo has always warned that the anger of the poor can go in many directions. We have warned again and again that we are sitting on a ticking time bomb. We have warned for too long that people cannot continue to live in terrible poverty only to be ignored year after year. We have made it clear that people will not allow their humanity to be vandalised forever. For too long we have been explaining that we are ruled with violence and that the public often accept this by their silence.

Movie Review: ‘A United Kingdom’ (2016) Jan 14 18:27 by LAMA 0 comments

A review of a movie about a cross-cultural marriage with political implications.

Serious Concern at Escalating State Xenophobia in South Africa May 18 02:32 by Mqapheli Bonono 0 comments

Since its formation in 2005 Abahlali baseMjondolo, which now has more than 70 000 members in good standing in Durban, has opposed xenophobia and sought to build a politics rooted in democratically run land occupations open to all. During period waves of xenophobic violence, always incited and sanctioned to some degree by the state, the movement has taken direct action to 'shelter and defend' people under attack.

The relevance of the ICU of Africa for modern day unions and liberation movements Dec 12 14:58 by Warren McGregor (ZACF) 0 comments

The history of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union of Africa (ICU), formed in South Africa in 1919, is replete with lessons for today's movements. The ICU, which also spread into neighbouring colonies like Basutoland (now Lesotho), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Southwest Africa (now Namibia) was by far the largest protest movement and organisation of black African and Coloured people of its time. Influenced by a range of ideas, including revolutionary syndicalism, the ICU had both amazing strengths and spectacular failings. This piece explains.

Ένωση Βιομηχανικ... Dec 08 19:32 by various 0 comments

Η Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union of Africa (Ένωση Βιομηχανικών και Εμπορικών Εργατών Αφρικής - ICU) ιδρύθηκε στο Κέιπ Τάουν το 1919. Το 1920 συγχωνεύθηκε με την επαναστατική συνδικαλιστική ένωση, Industrial Workers of Africa (Βιομηχανικοί Εργάτες της Αφρικής) και άλλα συνδικάτα. Μεγάλωσε ταχύτατα στη Νότια Αφρική μεταξύ της έγχρωμης και μαύρης εργατικής τάξης και των εκμισθωτών γης. Εξαπλώθηκε επίσης, τις δεκαετίες του 1920 και του 1930, σε γειτονικές χώρες.

Class struggle, the Left and power – Part 2 Sep 08 06:04 by Jonathan Payn 0 comments

The first part of this series stated that, despite various well-intentioned efforts by forces on the extra-Alliance and independent left over recent years to unite working class struggles in South Africa, these largely have and will continue to fail to resonate with the working class, help build unity in struggle and form the basis of a new movement because of the theoretical understandings of class and power – and their strategic implications – on which they are founded and which are prevalent on much of the left. This article will give a basic overview of these theoretical understandings of class and power and their strategic implications and limitations and why it is therefore necessary to refine and develop understandings of class and power more capable of responding to the context of the neoliberal restructuring of the working class in order to advance the class struggle in pursuit of socialism. [Part 1]

Should the Anti-Capitalists Contest Elections? Sep 08 05:38 by Lucien van der Walt 3 comments

This is a lightly edited transcription of a talk given by Prof. Lucien van der Walt on a panel on the eve of the 2019 national elections in South Africa: the International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG)/ Workers World Media Productions (WWMP) Public Forum, Isivivana Centre, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa 25 April.

«Le soldat est tombé»: disparition de Mandla Khoza, militant anarchiste-communiste et acti... Aug 28 04:06 by ZACF 0 comments

Le compagnon Mandla Khoza ( "MK", somme ses amis et camarades le connaissaient) est décédé le vendredi 26 juillet 2019 dans sa ville natale de Siphofaneni, au Swaziland (Eswatini). Il souffrait depuis longtemps de diabète sucré. Il laisse quatre enfants. Il fut l’un des membres pionniers de la Fédération Anarchiste Communiste Zabalaza (ZACF) fondée en Afrique du Sud le 1er mai 2003. MK était engagé dans une révolution sociale qui placerait le pouvoir et la richesse entre les mains de la classe ouvrière, des paysans et des pauvres. Comme il le disait souvent: «Peu importe que vous changiez qui siège sur le trône: vous devez vous débarrasser du trône lui-même.» Cette notice nécrologique commémore sa vie de militant. [English]

“The soldier has fallen”: Mandla Khoza, ZACF anarchist-communist and Swaziland activist, 2... Aug 22 07:30 by ZACF 1 comments

Comrade Mandla Khoza (or "MK," as his friends and comrades knew him) passed away on Friday 26 July in his home town of Siphofaneni, Swaziland (Eswatini). He had long suffered from sugar diabetes. He leaves behind four children. One of the pioneering members of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (ZACF) founded in South Africa on May Day 2003, MK was committed to a social revolution that would place power and wealth in the hands of the working class, the peasants and the poor. As he would often say: “It doesn’t matter if you change who sits on the throne: you have to get rid of the throne itself.” This obituary commemorates his life as a militant. [Français]

Moving from Crisis in South Africa's Municipalities to Building Counter-Power Jul 19 22:09 by Bongani Maponyane 3 comments

Across South Africa, municipalities are in crisis. They are under-funded, anti-working class, anti-poor and anti-township, and riddled with corruption by elites. The working class is oppressed by the state - as well as the private bosses - and we say "Enough is Enough!" We need to build an alternative: organs of counter-power, which can demand changes and lay the foundations for a deep redistribution of wealth and power to the mass of the people: the working class and poor.

After the election dust settles: Class struggle, the Left and power Jun 25 22:09 by Jonathan Payn 0 comments

Twenty-five years into democracy the black working class majority in South Africa has not experienced any meaningful improvements in its conditions. The apartheid legacy of unequal education, healthcare and housing and the super-exploitation of black workers continues under the ANC and is perpetuated by the neoliberal policies it has imposed. The only force capable of changing this situation is the working class locally and internationally. Yet to do so, struggles need to come together, new forms of organisation appropriate to the context are needed; and they need both to be infused with a revolutionary progressive politics and to learn from the mistakes of the past. Outside the ANC alliance, there have indeed been many efforts to unite struggles – but these have largely failed to resonate with the working class in struggle and form the basis of a new movement. Nowhere is this more evident than with the newly-formed Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) – which got less than 25 000 votes in the national elections, despite the fact that the union that conceived it, Numsa, claims nearly 400 000 members. [Part 2]

Rebuilding the workers’ movement for counter-power, justice and self-management May 28 17:53 by Lucien van der Walt 0 comments

Don't abandon the unions, or take sides in inter-union rivalries. Build a serious, organised, non-sectarian project of democratic reform and political discussion that spans the unions, including a rank-and-file movement that fosters debate, and opens the treasure-chest of union and left history and theory. Recover the politics of disconnecting from the state as raised by, for example, Occupy and the Rojava Revolution. Replace reliance on the state and parties with struggle, and destructive inter-union rivalry with a serious project of working class counter-power.

A ZACF Anarchist in the Landless People’s Movement, South Africa Apr 06 00:57 by Lekhetho Mtetwa 0 comments

Lekhetho Mtetwa, a member of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) discusses his role in the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), formed in South Africa in 2001. While the LPM was affiliated to Via Campesina, and linked to the Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra: MST), its activities centred on urban squatter communities, rather than farm occupations or organising alternative agrarian systems. Then-living in a squatter camp in Protea South, Soweto, Mtetwa served as the local secretary; by 2013, this was the key LPM branch. Several attempts were made by political parties to capture Protea South LPM, using patronage and promises, leading to the eventual implosion of the branch. Mtetwa provides an essential analysis of the rise and fall of the LPM, and the role that anarchists can play in such social movements.

Surviving Zimbabwe: An anarchist critique Mar 19 06:33 by Leroy Maisiri 0 comments

This article, with the guidance of anarchism as a theory, provides a critical analysis of Zimbabwe and its current state, arguing against simple analysis and going beyond individual politics. The real, underlying problem is a society governed by a class system under the control of a predatory state that cannot survive a day without the exploitation of its people. It is essential to organize and educate the masses for a revolution they can claim as their own, against all forms of oppression and that builds on everyday struggles to improve the deplorable conditions of Zimbabwe.

A Workers’ Party and Elections or Class Struggle? Feb 26 17:32 by Warren McGregor 0 comments

The question of state government elections and running a Workers or Socialist political party continues to be raised in the working class movement and the Left globally. As we may know, there was excitement about the rise of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party in Britain, left political parties in certain parts of Europe and Latin America and, more recently, certain shifts to more centrist positions in the United States amongst a section of the Democratic Party calling themselves “Democratic Socialists”. In South Africa, many workers and some activists seem cautiously optimistic by NUMSA’s formation of the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party that will seek to participate in the 2019 general elections.

Construyendo un contrapoder de la clase obrera negra contra la opresión estatal, capital y... Feb 11 08:38 by Warren McGregor 0 comments

Entrevista con Warren McGregor, del Frente Anarquista Comunista Zabalaza (ZACF), Sudáfrica. Warren McGregor es un activista nacido en los municipios de color de Cape Flats, ahora vive en Johannesburgo, donde participa en la educación de la clase obrera y sindical.

¿Qué es el anarquismo? ¿Quién gobierna realmente Sudáfrica? ¿Debemos formar un "partido de los trabajadores"? ¿Cómo aborda el anarquismo la opresión racial y nacional? ¿Cómo podemos construir el contrapoder de la clase obrera? ¿Cuál es la situación de la izquierda? ¿Cómo vinculamos las luchas por las reformas con la transformación revolucionaria y el contrapoder? ¿De dónde viene el anarquismo y cuál es su historia en Sudáfrica? ¿Hacia dónde vamos ahora?
http://anarkismo.net/article/31202

Unidade Da Esquerda Ou Frente Classista? Feb 04 18:56 by Warren McGregor 0 comments

Um apelo à unidade da esquerda socialista é amplamente ouvido em toda África do Sul, mas ele é frequentemente interpretado como um chamado à unidade da práxis (unidade no programa teórico e na ação). Isso muitas vezes é enquadrado como a transcendência de velhas divisões (estas vistas como antiquadas, sectárias ou descartadas como dogmáticas), e outras vezes como unidade a fim de agir (retoricamente posta como o oposto da teoria de gabinete). O que nós, anarquistas revolucionários, pensamos? English

Genocidio In Namibia Jan 07 16:53 by Gianni Sartori 0 comments

Con oltre un secolo di ritardo la Germania si scusa per il genocidio commesso in Namibia contro le popolazioni indigene. A quando il turno dell'Italia per Libia, Etiopia, Jugoslavia...?

South Africa’s polluting giants: it’s about profits and class Dec 07 19:20 by Shawn Hattingh 0 comments

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, South Africa falls within the 15 biggest polluters in the world. But there is also a class dimension when it comes to pinning down which sections of society are responsible for air pollution – the major polluters in South Africa are the ruling class (capitalists, politicians and top state bureaucrats) and their state and corporations (including state corporations), continuing an economy based on cheap black labour, mining and externalising costs. State-backed”empowerment” firms — for Afrikaners from 1948, and blacks from 1994 — are deeply involved.

Building black working class counter-power against state, capital and national oppression Nov 13 19:11 by Warren McGregor 0 comments

Interview with Warren McGregor of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF), South Africa. Warren McGregor is an activist born in the Coloured townships of the Cape Flats, now resident in Johannesburg, where he is involved in working class and union education.

What is anarchism? Who really rules South Africa? Should we form a "workers party"? How does anarchism address racial and national oppression? How can we build working class counter-power? What is the state of the left? How do we link fights for reforms to revolutionary transformation and counter-power? Where does anarchism come from and what is its history in South Africa? Where to now?

Έφυγε ένας Νοτιο^... Sep 01 14:21 by ZACF 0 comments

Ο Selby Semela, ηγετική φυσιογνωμία της εξέγερσης του 1976 εναντίον του απαρτχάιντ, πολιτικός εξόριστος και συγγραφέας (με τους Sam Thompson και Norman Abraham έγραψε το «Reflections on the Black Consciousness Movement and the South African Revolution» - «Σκέψεις για το Κίνημα Μαύρης Συνειδητοποίησης και τη Νοτιοαφρικανική Επανάσταση»), πέθανε την Τετάρτη, 22 Αυγούστου 2018, σε ηλικία 60 ετών.

A South African Revolutionary Passes: Jabisile Selby Semela, 1958-2018 Aug 30 08:14 by ZACF 0 comments

Selby Semela, a leading figure in the 1976 revolt against apartheid, political exile, and author (with Sam Thompson and Norman Abraham), of “Reflections on the Black Consciousness Movement and the South African Revolution”, passed away on Wednesday, 22 August, 2018, aged but 60 years.

[South Africa] Renewed appeal for Solidarity with the Boiketlong 4 Aug 15 07:09 by Solidarity with the Boiketlong 4 0 comments

On the 21st April 2015 the Magistrates Court in Sebokeng sentenced 4 community activists from Boiketlong, to a total of 16 years in prison. The activists are: Dinah Makhetha, Sipho Mangane, Dan Molefe and Pulane Mahlangu. Key witnesses could not even identify the 4 but the courts sought to use the apartheid law of ‘doctrine of common purpose’ to jail them. They were found not guilty of ‘public violence’ but guilty of ‘assault, arson and malicious damage to property’.

Pulane Mahlangu has run away and no one knows where she is or if she is in good health. Either way, she cannot come home.

Dan Molefe died of stress-related illness in December 2017.

Although released for a short period while the appeal process was underway, both Dinah and Sipho are back in prison as they lost the first level of Appeal. The magistrate is prepared to consider shortening the sentence but not the sentence itself. The appeal process remains underway.

There is now an opportunity for a mediated process that may assist in a process of early release. There is an urgent need to cover the costs of mediation which we estimate could come to about R40 000. Appeals have been made to the community to raise funds as well to the broader movement.

Tearing racism up from its capitalist roots: An African anarchist-communist approach Aug 10 22:21 by Bongani Maponyane 0 comments

Racism has been a curse in South Africa, and remains embedded in the society. But how scientific are racist ideas? Where do they come from? And how can we fight racism and create a truly equal and fair society? What do we as revolutionary anarchists think?

Racial conflict, inequality, and hatred are not natural, but fed and reared by capitalism and the state. To really change the system, we need a massive programme of upgrading education, health, housing and services; an end to the racist heap labour system; a challenge to the ideological control that splits the working class; and a radical redistribution of wealth and power to the working class and poor –which in South Africa, means primarily the black working class and poor –as part of a social revolution.

Left unity, left cooperation or a working class front? Jul 21 05:45 by Warren McGregor 2 comments

A call for socialist Left unity is heard widely today in South Africa, but is usually taken as a call for unity of praxis (unity in theoretical programme and action). This is sometimes framed as transcending old divides (these seen as outdated, divisive or dismissed as dogmatic), and sometimes as unity in order to have action (rhetorically set up as the opposite of “arm chair” theory).

What do we as revolutionary anarchists think?

South Africa: Minimum wages can’t end suffering when the rich abuse the poor May 12 19:31 by Bongani Maponyane 0 comments

There has been a lot of talk about the promise of a National Minimum Wage (NMW) in South Africa. This means wages cannot go below a certain level. But capitalists and politicians continue to eat the food of the workers, the poor and unfortunate. Why? In some cases, the NMW is an improvement – but generally, the NMW is not a “living wage,” meaning a wage on which you can live a decent life. Prices keep going up. This society is based on the maximization of profit, this is its logic, and this means wages are not linked to what the workers and poor need, but to what bosses and politicians need. Wages are a system of exploitation. We live a capitalist society of stress and fear and jealousy, rooted in a system of cheap black labour, and power and profits for the bosses and politicians. We need to fight for something more, take back our unions, and lay the groundwork for an anarchists society, with equality based on workers and community councils.

Abahlali baseMjondolo to hold their annual UnFreedom Day rally tomorrow Apr 22 02:43 by Abahlali baseMjondolo 0 comments

Freedom Day is a national public holiday in South Africa. Each year Abahlali baseMjondolo, which has more than 50 000 paid up members in good standing, holds a heretical 'UnFreedom Day' to contest dominant ideologies.