Socialist Movement Grows In Africa

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday May 10, 2002 10:19 by IST Supporter

From Socialist Worker (Zimbabwe) May/June 2002

The Left and I.S.O. In Zambia

Below cde Bornwell Mwewa, Secretary General, Zambia National Students Union Chair, Socialist Caucus looks at the left and the formation of International Socialist Organisation in Zambia.
After nationalist independence in 1964 the UNIP government proclaimed itself to be socialist embraced under what it termed humanism.
But the reality was different. Zambia’s ruling class in fact embraced capitalism with the state as the bosses. Workers continued to be oppressed and exploited as they had always been done. In 1979, a strike wave took place that was so powerful that then president, Kenneth Kaunda, cancelled several foreign trips. He was so scared of being toppled from power.
This form of capitalism was abandoned in the 1980s as the price of copper, the main export of Zambia, fell on the world markets. The ruling class turned to the IMF and World Bank for capital. Kaunda and UNIP adopted Structural Adjustment Programmes (ESAPs) similar to what happened in Zimbabwe.
Ordinary people were left in deeper poverty. This sparked off food riots in 1986 that gave birth to a new movement – a movement that demanded improved living conditions, fairer distribution of wealth and greater democracy.
Riding on the back of this movement of protest, the MMD came to power in 1992. It enacted savage economic reforms that left ordinary Zambians worse off, by promising that the introduction of fees on everything and privatisation would benefit everyone. Following the worsening of the crisis, Zambian workers grew a deep distrust of the MMD.
It was in this scenario that the Socialist Caucus emerged in Zambia. Both the “opposition” Labour Party and UNIP failed totally to provide any solutions for the crisis and deepening poverty facing Zambian workers. The situation in Zambia provides an opportunity for the development of socialist cadre movement rooted in the ordinary people.
What needs to be formed is a non-ambiguous, ideologically grounded leftist mass movement. Such a movement would aim to make mass action the main vehicle for implementing change towards socialism, the fair distribution of wealth and real respect for human rights.
Because of its history and current position, the Socialist Caucus may not be strategic in playing this role. The ideologically clear membership of this group will be critical in establishing another force.
The International Socialist Organisation offers the best in terms of relevant experiences in other countries and the needed international support and solidarity. The ISO also provides clear leftist ideological principles.
Zambia is ripe for the establishment of an ISO Zambia to harness and re-focus people’s energies into mass action for change. The organisation will obviously start off small and may take painfully long to build. One of its tasks will be to resist attempts from agents of the neo-liberal imperialists. But the long-term benefits will outweigh all the short-term hurdles.
To enquire and know more about ISO - Zambia write to us at [email protected]

I.S.O. in Botswana

Below we run an extract of the founding principles of ISO Botswana, the newest addition to the socialist movement in Africa, formed in March. Congragulations comrades. Now to the mill of hard work.
“We realise that the massive wealth under capitalist Botswana, enjoyed by a tiny minority is a direct creation of the poor peasant and workers who toil for pittance because they are exploited by the bourgeoisie. That this sordid state of affairs faced by the masses is a deliberate result of capitalism. A system, which by nature, breeds economic, social and political inequality in society as it is meant to benefit a few who own the means of production, which they also acquired through exploitative means from the workers.
For this reason, we call for a completely new society in which the workers, who produce wealth for the capitalists, collectively seize control of their resources and democratically plan its production and distribution
for the benefit of all not a few elites as is the case under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) regime. To achieve this the present regime must be overthrown altogether and replaced by a workers government whose primary concern is production for need not profit.
A revolutionary workers party does not exist in Botswana as yet. Botswana has many parties but they are all parties of elections rather than of struggle. The role of workers in these parties is just to passively vote into power a handful MPs whose agenda is to promote the process of capital accumulation ... exploitation of workers.
Workers need a revolutionary socialist party for their daily battles against capitalism. Activity to build such a party has to be based in the mass organisations of the working class. Such a revolutionary party is a weapon in the hands of workers. It brings together the most revolutionary and class conscious members of this class who will ultimately
influence the rest by the spread of socialist ideas. We have to organise in the mass movement to build the revolutionary party. Through patient argument we can win workers from the side of capitalism, economism and reformism to revolutionary socialist politics. Join us! Write to [email protected]

100 Anti-Privatisation Forum activists arrested in South Africa
RECENTLY 90 people were arrested in Johannesburg after a demonstration at the mayor’s house. 49 are still held in prison, awaiting trial. The demo was built by the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee. When the mayor, Masondo, wanted votes he came to the streets promising free services, but electricity cut-offs are everywhere. For two years running SECC have marched against electricity cut offs and for two years the mayor refused to come receive our memorandum.
So on Saturday 6 April a crowd including grannies and youth went to Masondo’s house to fire him from office. But Masondo’s security guard fired live rounds into the crowd. People narrowly escaped death. After this their
fear turned to anger and they trashed the mayor’s pavement garden and swimming pool. While 49 have now been in jail for over a week without bail the security guard walks the streets.
We have since September 2000 been able to be part of a new movement to resist economic apartheid. This is the Anti Privatisation Forum (APF). The organisation has built its strength by working hard on the ground against water and electricity cut-offs and evictions coming out of the government’s privatisation campaign and their general love affair with neo liberalism. It has gained confidence from the current upsurge of a world anti capitalist movement.
The ANC’s membership base has shrunk dramatically over the past three years from over 300 000 to under 100 000 now. A lot of these people may have moved to passivity but a significant minority have joined us in struggles over bread and butter issues of water and electricity provision, against evictions for decent houses, free education. Out of this the APF has been able to pull together demonstrations and campaigns of civil disobedience such as reconnecting water and electricity after it has been cut off. In its formative stages the APF saw very little harassment from the state. But as its influence has grown so the government has brought out the cudgel of the legal system against it. Recently we have experienced many arrests of APF activists for illegal demonstrations and law suits by powerful slumlords for defamation against the fledgling movement. Those arrested are held for longer than normal. This is carried out to try and break the spirit of the organisation and ensure its still born.
Comrades we appeal that you send messages of solidarity from your organisation to the APF to stregthen our spirits. Alluta Continue: Alan Goatley for Keep Left - Messages of support c/o [email protected] or and http://sa.indymedia.org

ISO Ghana grows
When NCA, ISO and PTUZ activists were arrested after the 15 February Demonstrations in the run up to the presidential elections, ISO Ghana organised iniatiated a solidarity campaign. A picket was held outside the Zimbabwe embassy. Two meetings at the university in Accra attracted 400 and 700 students respectively. They also intervened in Heinz strike where they have started building rank and file movement in the union. As the economic crisis continue to worsen the group is set for a bright future. To enquire and know more about ISO - Ghana write to [email protected]