Pap in Midrand
There is something about the architects of the African Union (AU). They have the ability to find apt abbreviations for institutions and programmes linked to the new body. Remember what New Economic Programme for Africa ‘s Development (Nepad) was called at programme’s initial stages – NAI (New Africa Initiative). Had it not been for strong objections from the Cape Flats , Africa ‘s renewal programme would still be known as NAI.
Now we have PAP coming to Midrand. PAP is the new Pan-African Parliament. In its meeting in July 2004, the AU agreed that South Africa was to be the seat of the 265-strong continental legislative body. Gallagher Estate is to be the temporary home for PAP for the next five years until a permanent venue is found.
NDR comes to South Africa
In October posters saying, “NDR comes to South Africa “ will be on lampposts all over the country. Please don’t be misled this is not a call for an October revolution. The NDR that is coming to South Africa is not the much-spoken about national democratic revolution, but the 60-year old Nord-Deutscher Rundfunk jazz big band from Hamburg in Germany . Having played and recorded with Abdullah Ibrahim, the band will tour the country as part of the South African pianist’s 70 th birthday. Hopefully, their jazz music can deepen the real NDR!
Jazzing social dialogue
Talking about jazz, Cosatu’s Western Cape region was at it again. As you know, the region is never at a loss to find issues to mobilise around. At the time of this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival, there was almost a Section 77 strike in Cape Town . What was the issue? Corporate sponsors did not put labour representatives on their VIP invitations list.
Angry as ever, the region’s secretary Tony Ehrenreich fired a letter calling on captains of industry and leading business organisations to put money where their mouths are. He demanded free tickets and access to corporate marquees for labour representatives. Social dialogue taken to the extreme!
What a coincidence?
Looking at composite resolutions, the coming Numsa’s National Congress is to resolve on many challenges that face Africa – human rights abuses, poverty and exploitation by multinational corporations. With Gallagher Estate now the seat of the Pan African Parliament, things will be much easier. The union will just move around the block to table its positions. Like Numsa’s national congress, PAP’s first sitting is also in September.
Entryism still rife!
Still on the topic of the AU, have you heard that National Council of Trade Unions’ (Nactu) “general-secretary for life” Cunningham Ngcukana’s has entered government as a deputy director-general in the presidency working in the Nepad Secretariat? Those with good memories will know that in the 2002 National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) summit, Ngcukana gave a fiery speech in which he prefaced his talk with an “analysis of Nepad from the angle of the African worker”. He spoke about the need to curtail the influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in economic policies of African states. We hope that the comrade has not forgotten the valid points that he raised and that he is entering government to pursue the noble ideals that he espoused at the Nedlac Summit. We wish him well in his entryist trip.
2010 Lotto
If rugby players were against the gap that exists between administrators and players’ salaries, what about the soccer World Cup Lotto where three bid committee members were awarded R7, 8-million each? Only once did the Lotto bonanza prize exceed R20-million. A real windfall for Danny Jordaan, Irvin Khoza and Molefi Olifant! Where is Cosatu’s Football Players Union?
Rugby players ripe for Cosatu
Many of us may have not noticed the arduous struggle that rugby players waged. Similar to our members in different sectors, they campaigned to close the wage gap between players and administrators. They embarked on a demonstration where they went onto the field wearing white arm bands. They even took South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Finally they received satisfactory contracts and as happy workers, they won against the All Blacks. A good lesson for our bosses: good remuneration leads to better performance.
Cosatu infiltrates the UN
Did you hear the outcry about Cosatu’s infiltration of the United Nations (UN)? In response to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on South Africa ‘s economic policy in the first decade of democracy, government spokespersons were most indignant.
First it was the Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad who accused “individual researchers of using the UN platform to espouse their ideological declarations”. The Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel was more direct. He went for one of the writers of the report, Ashgar Adelzadeh. “My concern is if Ashgar had been writing this stuff for the National Labour Development Institute (Naledi) – Cosatu’s research arm – or one of the other think tanks it would have been an NGO thing. But it now it carries the imprimatur of the UN”, said Manuel in a ThisDay article published on 11 May.
Nats upstage the SACP!
Now off the sports field. The New National Party’s (NPP) decision to grant its members the right to hold dual membership of the party as well as that of the ANC overtakes the hush-hush debate on South African Communist Party’s (SACP) approach to elections. An Eastern Cape draft to national congress states that “working class detachments under the vanguard of Cosatu and SACP must be mandated to contest the coming local government elections”. According to comrades from the region this attempt will allow the party to experiment “with power without challenging the leadership role of the ANC”. This is what the Nats seem to have achieved. According to the reported ANC-NNP agreement, those NNP representatives who join the ANC, will in the transitional period, be in a position to attend their party’s caucuses as well as the ANC’s. They “will fall under the overarching ANC discipline”. Something similar to what the comrades wanted for SACP members in parliament!
Ageism: a reactionary tendency
Whenever one hears an older comrade refer to young lions as “iintwana; laities or amaglug-glug”, we are always quick to point out how reactionary these utterances are. Yes, ageism is a reactionary tendency in the working class movement. But how about this one? The regional organiser of J.Ndamase (former Western Transvaal ) Numsa region, Joey Maake reported how Cosatu removed his name from the list of those going for training as Chris Hani Brigade members. Why? Too old to be trained. As a veteran of the workers’ movement, maybe Cde. Joey should have applied for the rank of a brigadier in the brigade.
Constitutional court – Inkundla yomgabo-siseko
Since the constitutional court’s move to its permanent seat at Johannesburg ‘s Constitutional Hill, accolades have been showered at the great institution’s decision to vacate to the new site. Like ripe apples falling from a tree, praises were heaped on our judges for choosing such a historical site.
But not much has been said about the jurists’ desire to lead by example on the language question. In different colours and using steel rods, the front faí§ade of the court building has the name of the court inscribed in all the country’s 11-official languages. With all of this you can’t miss the fact that you are at the Grondwetlike Hof or Lekgotla la molao-theo . The only problem is that when drilling the rods onto the wall someone turned the “q” in yomgaqo into a “b”. So instead of the court being inkundla yomgaqo-siseko in IsiXhosa, it became the court yomgabo-siseko . This is gross denigration of a body that is the custodian of South Africa ‘s supreme law. If you are not sure what umgabo in the X-language means ask X-speaking delegates at the national congress.
Numsa jumped in before Scorpions
For many years, Soraya Beukes’ Business and Executive Travel was Numsa’s travel agency. Numsa terminated the contract after the organisation suspected irregularities. This was long before parliament’s “travelgate scandal” and before the Scorpions jumped in. We hope that the ex-Numsa members of parliament will be able to enlighten the investigators on the agency’s modus operandi .