The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) mourns the passing away of its Deputy Regional Chairperson in Hlanganani (encompasses Limpopo and North-West provinces), Comrade Louise Makata. Comrade Makata passed away last night, Tuesday 29 November 2011, after a long battle with cancer.
Comrade Makata passes away amidst serious and titanic battles waged by workers against capitalist bosses for an equal redistribution of wealth at the point of production as underpinned by COSATU’s Living Wage campaign.
His untimely passing is a tragic loss to the trade union movement and the struggle for Socialism as led by vanguard party of the working class and insurance guarantor for Socialism, the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Comrade Makata’s selflessness and commitment to the workers struggle and cause is an epitome of a trade union Cadre that is currently needed today to tackle the many challenges or threats posed by White monopoly capital to advance, deepen and accelerate a socialist orientated National Democratic Revolution (NDR), with the working class at the forefront and as a driver for fundamental change in pursuit of the Freedom Charter goals and objectives.
Comrade Makata served NUMSA and COSATU with distinction and he never betrayed or deviated from principled and agreed policy positions of our organisations.
His loyalty to organisational principles or beliefs and collective leadership as a whole, as opposed to individual leaders or factional groupings, is envied by many of us.
This made him to be far ahead of his peers in terms of his correct political understanding of the importance of the organisation, its ideological coherence and above all organisational unity.
He was a living archive of the best traditions and values of a genuine cadre produced through concrete class realities and battles at the point of production and in society.
He was moulded and baptized into correct scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism as espoused by other great trade unionists and communists ever-produced by the trade union movement in South Africa, such as our Honorary President Harry Gwala, Vuyisile Mini, Moses Mabhida, Ray Alexandra, John Gomomo, Mbuyiselo Ngwenda, Mtutuzeli Tom and other great trade union stalwarts.
In Comrade Makata, we lost a leader, organizer, negotiator, educator and above all a principled cadre of our liberation movement, the ANC.
Comrade Makata personified the historic role played by the working class in re-building the ANC as a mass based formation that is rooted in popular aspirations of the oppressed, imbued with correct revolutionary theory and tools of analysis, anti-imperialist in its posture and emphatically biased to the working class.
Our hearts are bleeding because Comrade Makata will not be with us in stadium grandstands when we celebrate the centennial of our ANC.
He will be away from our midst when the sitting President of the ANC delivers the political line of march to the broader membership, he will be in permanent silence to add his voice to the ANCYL clarion call for Economic Freedom in Our Lifetime, he will be resting permanently in his deck and unable to salute his organisation, COSATU, when its delivers its solidarity message to the ANC, he will be permanently unable to rise-up when his vanguard, the SACP, salutes the ANC to consolidate its mission which lays a firm base for an advance to a Socialist transition, his eyes will be permanently closed and unable to see, the ANCWL, delivers its message to the ANC, by highlighting deep seated and embedded sexism in our movement, he would be unable to nod his head when the ANCYL salutes the ANC by reminding leaders that political freedom without economic freedom is like a throne without a jewelry, he would be unable to smile when the ANCVL delivers its message to the ANC by emphasizing the best traditions and values that has characterized our movement over the past 100 years.
He would be unable to make a military salute when MKMVA salutes the ANC by reminding the ANC what Chris Hani stood and died for.
We send our deep felt and sincere condolences to his family, COSATU, SACP, ANC and the entire mass democratic forces.
Comrade Makata may be gone, but his immortal living ideas will be engraved in our minds and hearts as we fight for better, just Socialist South Africa.
Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Cell: +27 73 299 1595
Tel (dir): +27 11 689 1702
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Source
Numsa Press Release