In 1970 Amilcar Cabral addressed a conference in Cuba and had this to say as a “weapon of theory”.
“If any of us came to Cuba with doubts in our minds about the solidity, strength, maturity and vitality of the Cuban Revolution, these doubts have been removed by what we have been able to see. Our hearts are now warmed by an unshakeable certainty which gives us courage in the difficult but glorious struggle against the common enemy, no power in the world will be able to destroy this Cuban Revolution, which is creating in the countryside and in the towns not only a new life but also – and even more important – a new man, fully conscious of his national, continental and international rights and duties. In every field of activity the Cuban people have made major progress during the last seven years, particularly in 1965….”
This statement by Cabral in 1970 is as relevant to the current conjuncture of the NDR and more importantly and specifically to the issues which we raised in the Numsa National Executive Committee (NEC) of August 18 and 19 for the National Congress this month, namely:
In the history of the Union since its inception in 1987, the issue of leadership did not constitute the paramount determining factor for the success of the Congress;
In the National Congress in Mafikeng in 2000, unprecedented in the history of this Union, the struggle for power and leadership became the issue at the expense of what matters most to members – quality service, advances that we are making to improve benefits for our members and the working class and building a united and revolutionary metalworkers’ union to consolidate these struggles.
In the words of the first Deputy President of Cosatu, articulated in the Numsa Central Committee (CC) in June, “the 2004 NUMSA National Congress cannot be matters arising from the 2000 Mafikeng National Congress.” The relevant questions that the NEC of August 18 and 19 discussed were:
With two slates of leadership circulating in the Union , are issues which we thought we had resolved through the organisational renewal process, which now resurface towards the 7 th National Congress, unknown to the rest of the leadership and members of the national union or is this another expression of democracy?
Secondly are we presented with under-currents of another ideological and political orientation different from or distinct from the congress alliance tradition, which Numsa as a component of Cosatu has always been part of, or alternatively personal ambitions for power and prestige?
Thirdly, are we also confronted with the Brazilian style of Trade Unionism where ideological factions or blocs exist as distinct entities in the Union ?
Fourthly, to what extent is what is happening in the best interests of ordinary metalworkers, who expect National Congress that sits once in four years to speak on issue that affects their lives and that of their families?
In the Numsa CC we resolved that in whatever we do between now and the National Congress there is a national union to build after September2004.
In the last few days certain comrades have circulated internal documents of the Union to the media reporting that there is corruption in the Union . In whatever way you want to see it and whatever course you are pursuing, this conduct is contrary to the decisions of the NEC of August 18 and 19 2004 and is at worst counter-revolutionary.
Contrary to the decisions of the CC on the election campaign, we act against the very same decisions of the national union that we want to build after September 2004. This conduct has nothing to do with the interests of the national union but is a reflection of self-serving ambitions.
On a positive note for our National Congress, Cabral provides the following relevant answers in our situation:
“If any of us came to the 7 th Numsa National Congress with doubts in our minds about the solidity, strength, maturity and vitality of the metalworkers, these doubts have been removed by what we have been able to see. Our hearts are now warmed by an unshakeable certainty which gives us courage in the difficult but glorious struggle against the common enemy, no power in the world will be able to destroy Numsa.”
We believe given the internal and external challenges that we have and the difficult glorious struggle we will have towards and beyond this National Congress, that Metalworkers will rise to the occasion and say, “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.”
Political debate
In the 7 th national congress, a debate will ensue about the character of the NDR and what are the prospects to advance it in the current period. This debate in the National Congress, I want to believe, will be informed by the following ideological analysis:
the defining moments and the national and international balance of forces since the collapse of the Soviet Union
the ascendancy to power of popular movements in Brazil/Spain/India which brings hope to developing countries and the role that they play in the UN/WTO and the World Bank to shift the agendas of these institutions
the balance of forces on the home-front and on the continent – the strengths and weaknesses of the liberation movement both at home and on the continent – the role of the opposition on the far right and extreme left.
I will urge delegates to the National Congress to refresh their minds on the following relevant documents: the strategy and tactics documents of the ANC as amended in the Stellenbosch Conference, the SACP reflections on the NDR and the struggle for socialism and the recent Cosatu Shop Steward Bulletin characterising the recent national elections.
Without narrating our history of struggle for liberation, towards the end of 1992, a strategic debate inside the ANC-led alliance was pursued primarily centred around major interventions by the late SACP Chairperson, Cde Joe Slovo entitled “Negotiations – what room for compromise?”
Comrade Slovo argued:
“We are negotiating because towards the end of the 1980s we concluded that as a result of its escalating crisis, the apartheid power bloc was no longer able to continue ruling in the old way and was genuinely seeking some break with the past.
“At the same time, we were clearly not dealing with a defeated enemy and an early revolutionary seizure of power by the liberation movement could not be realistically posed. This conjuncture of the balance of forces provided a classical scenario which placed the possibility of negotiations on the agenda… but what could we achieve in the light of the balance of forces? There was certainly never a prospect of forcing the regimes unconditional surrender across the table. It follows that the negotiating table is neither the sole terrain of the struggle for power nor the place where it will reach its culminating point.”
Slovo’s package of proposals was eventually endorsed by the ANC National Executive Committee in February 1993 and this scenario became the framework of the entire settlement which we now have in place.
As this is the last bulletin before the National Congress, we have been overwhelmed by the support that we have received as the National Office Bearers from regions, staff, ordinary members and society in general, during the trials and tribulations we had to go through during this term of office. In one of the Bulletins, I said we have now turned the corner, we have arrived in number 153 Bree Street , Newtown , these doubts have been removed by what we have been able to see.
In Cabral’s words: “Tell no lies, mask no difficulties, expose lies whenever they are told, claim no easy victories.”
See you in the National Congress, vote wisely!
Aluta Continua
Silumko Nondwangu
General Secretary