Category Archives: Cosatu

The SACP Conference – as I head off

Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn I will begin travelling with my children for a respite after two years of my (it seems somehow personal) Great Recession. We will be moving through some places that are less connected than others, so I will be posting irregularly for some time. For this reason I wantedContinue reading “The SACP Conference – as I head off”

Welcome back to the progressive trade union movement

This war won’t be won from our air-conditioned offices but in the branches and structures of the ANC, just as it happened in the build-up to Polokwane. – Zwelenzima Vavi at a press conference yesterday (30/11/2009) It’s over; Cosatu is back where it belongs. The trade union ally fought its way into the ruling tentContinue reading “Welcome back to the progressive trade union movement”

Are we becoming the worst we can be?

Here is something I wrote during the April general election – with a few minor edits. It is becoming increasingly relevant, as “the left” is backed into a corner and the Malema style populists seem to hold sway. Bread and Circuses Opinion polls indicate that the ruling African National Congress will shrug off five yearsContinue reading “Are we becoming the worst we can be?”

The Alliance Summit is the business

The Alliance Summit on the weekend has significantly reduced confusion about policy and risk – although monetary policy is still under review. Background “The Alliance”  met at Esselen Park, Ekurhuleni  this weekend. This meeting consisted of the the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Congress of South African Trade UnionsContinue reading “The Alliance Summit is the business”

Cosatu does the right thing

Something very interesting on the sideline of the resignation of Bobby Godsell as chairman of the Eskom board and the non-resignation of Jacob Maroga as CEO. If a situation is impossibly confusing, or your view is obscured for some reason, then look around and check where others are looking – look at the stances theyContinue reading “Cosatu does the right thing”

Unemployment – there are policy choices to be made

The labour market and the apparent elevation of the narrow sectional interests of Cosatu are hurting the unemployed. Last week Statssa released the Labour Force Survey for the third quarter. Unemployment had risen to 24.5 percent (from 23.6 in the second quarter) and, even more disturbing, the total number of employed fell 484,000 to 12.885Continue reading “Unemployment – there are policy choices to be made”

Those aren’t Polokwane chickens!

I was dreading yesterday’s mini-budget. Firstly the objective conditions were against us. It was clear that the Great Recession was going to squeeze revenue – and therefore the space available for the new Minister of Finance to operate in. As it turns out, lower revenue and higher than expected expenditure has pushed the estimated deficitContinue reading “Those aren’t Polokwane chickens!”

Some (more) light weekend contempt

On the drift to the left in South African policy making: When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators. – P. J. O’Rourke On certain young leaders in South African politics: Fame is but the breath of the people, that is often unwholesome. – ThomasContinue reading “Some (more) light weekend contempt”

Farewell to Peter Mayibuye*

Joel Netshitenzhe has resigned as Director General in Trevor Manuel’s National Planning Commission in the presidency. This comes a day after President Zuma reshuffled and attempted to explain the various roles to be played by the various ministers who fall into the economics cluster. The Business Day article suggested that Zuma had caved in toContinue reading “Farewell to Peter Mayibuye*”

Signs of light as new old guard curbs Polokwane ideological excess

It is a small sign, but hopeful and interesting. In the last week: Billy Masetlha has drawn on deep ANC traditions to argue that the role Cosatu and the SACP are playing threatens the ANC’s ability to lead all classes and groups in South Africa. He has restated a clear premise of traditional ANC thinking:Continue reading “Signs of light as new old guard curbs Polokwane ideological excess”

The People’s Flag is … a sort of murky grey

I have been trying to figure out whether Billy Masetlha’s criticism assertion that there appears to be an attempted communist take-over of the ANC is accurate or relevant. During this endeavour I came across an interesting passage from ANC Today, September 2007 (the lead-up to Polokwane). It quotes Joe Slovo: “But, despite the fact thatContinue reading “The People’s Flag is … a sort of murky grey”

It is impossible to avoid: Cosatu is the enemy of the unemployed

Let’s be clear here. Cosatu might oppose unemployment, but that is an abstraction and Cosatu’s opposition is largely symbolic and ineffectual. It is the interests and strivings of the unemployed themselves that Cosatu actively works to counter. It’s obvious really. Cosatu is a federation of trade unions. A trade union is the representative of employed people, asContinue reading “It is impossible to avoid: Cosatu is the enemy of the unemployed”

A back-to-the-future quote from FDR

Here’s FDR in an interesting quote I dug up. It’s from about 1935 – in the lead-up to his re-election in 1936 – and it is made to a journalist from the Hearst organisation. This gives one a sense of how threatening was the Great Depression – to the very system of capitalist accumulation itself. This is,Continue reading “A back-to-the-future quote from FDR”

Ruling party’s populism – such a clever trick

Just how broad a church is a broad church? The ANC and the Congress Movement has always liked to refer to itself as “a broad church” – which basically means that people of different ideological persuasions should be able to find a home within the movement. The Ruling Alliance is giving new definition to ‘broadness”Continue reading “Ruling party’s populism – such a clever trick”