Cosatu address to SANCO congress

Cosatu Media statement, embargoed until 12 noon 20
April 2001

Speech Delivered by COSATU General Secretary,
Zwelinzima Vavi, at SANCO 3rd National
Conference, Krugersdorp on 20 April 2001.

Dear Comrades,

On behalf of our two million members, I bring
revolutionary greetings to the leadership of SANCO,
all delegates and guests.

Before I address the gist let us call upon all SANCO
members to join us in our celebration of conquering
the powerful Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Association by forcing them to withdraw the case
against our government. Yesterday represents a
turning point in the history of health system of our
country. We therefore call upon our government to
utilise this space. We must move in speed to order
cheaper medicines elsewhere as we develop a
comprehensive treatment strategy that will defeat the
scourge of HIV/AIDS.

This, the third National Conference of SANCO, is an
extremely important event that will definitely find itself
in the history book of our revolution when we account
to the next generations. As you begin this conference,
guided by the reality that SANCO is at the cross
roads, the delegates gathered here should treasure
the honour bestowed on them by our people who
delegated them to decide the future and the role a
civic movement should play. In certain quarters of our
country there may be people waiting with champagne
to celebrate the fall of this giant - SANCO. COSATU is
convinced that they shall be disappointed.

COSATU has taken a keen role in the August
conference. This conference’s decisions will have a
direct impact on COSATU as a key people’s organ.

SANCO has played a critical role in ensuring that we
reach this point of our common destiny. You landed
the final blow to the apartheid monster. As a civil
movement you still have a role to play in ensuring that
our democracy is not just a narrow bourgeois one, but
a vibrant democracy that is fully participative.

If you disappear into the dustbin of history, the National
Democratic Revolution would have been dealt a lethal
blow. Key to this is to build a people-centred and
people-driven transformation where mass formations
play a critical role as the voice of our people.

At stake in this conference is whether our democracy
will end up looking more like the type of democracy
practiced in the Soviet Union, where the politburo,
allegedly on behalf of the masses usurped all power to
itself, distributed patronage to boot-lickers, created an
army of praise-singers whilst labelling anybody who is
not licking the boot of the General Secretary as an
ultra left or counter revolutionary who must be sought
and destroyed.

Representative people’s organisations of all kinds –
and above all mass-based groups like the unions and
civics – are central to people’s power. Our national
constitution commits us to participatory democracy.

That is only possible where the people themselves
organise to express their unity and interests, so that
they can participate meaningfully in the decisions that
shape their lives.

The people’s organisations are particularly critical in
our country, where power was so long wielded by a
tiny minority. That ruling class still holds many of the
levers of power, above all in the economy, but also in
the state bureaucracy and the security forces. For this
reason, it remains crucial for the majority of our
people, who are working class, poor, and mostly
black, to unite to protect their hard-won rights and to
fight for economic and social policies that will ensure
equality and development. The civics has a central
role to play in these struggles.

Unlike other immature liberation struggles, ours has
always been distinct in that whilst it was a struggle for
right to vote and return of dignity, it was at the same
time a struggle for local democracy, decent houses,
dynamic and compulsory education, accessible
electricity, clean running water, equality between men
and women, etc. Our struggle was never limited to the
formal right to vote. Rather, we always demanded a
transformation of our lives; overcoming deprivation
and oppression at all levels. I am sure you correctly
understand your role and with this rich experience you
cannot afford to leave these tasks to other forces.

With the end of apartheid, however, the role of civics
has come under the spotlight. In some cases,
confusion and tension have arisen because of our
collective failure to anticipate the new conditions that
all of us would have to operate under in conditions of
democracy and the legality of the ANC and SACP.
Unlike before 1990, where SANCO led any community
struggle for access to services, it suddenly became
unclear who should lead these struggles, with ANC
branches and later local government in place also
taking the same issues traditionally taken up by
SANCO branches.

Debates, even conflict, have emerged over who can or
should represent our communities, take decisions on
the allocation of resources and location of
infrastructure, and give our people a voice in
government. At a practical level: if a pipe bursts in your
street, do you go to your ANC branch, your civic, or
your councillor?

This tension reflects a broader problem that
confronted all our organisations with the breakthrough
in 1994. With the transition to democracy, all the
organisations of the democratic movement had to
assume new roles. We all had to redefine our aims
and re-examine our commitments and vision, and on
that basis modify our structures and activities.

To meet these challenges, COSATU established the
September Commission. It examined our functions,
priorities, strengths and weaknesses, and discussed
how we need to transform ourselves given the new
environment. This in-depth process of discussion,
debate and research gave us strategic guides for our
work in a democratic South Africa. SANCO did not
embark on a focused discussion on how best to
reposition itself in the light of the completely new
conditions. Let me warn you that it is not an easy task.
The mistake you must not commit is to think that this
conference will offer all solutions to our challenges.

SANCO, just like COSATU, faces a particular
challenge: we must represent all our members, and
not choose them based primarily on their political
allegiance. We must ensure that they manage the
contradictions that can arise from diverse
membership. Through open debates and discussion
as well as intensive educational work, we must ensure
that we arrive at common positions that will take our
country forward. Broad civil movements, like
yourselves and COSATU, can only survive if all voices
have space for expression. Otherwise we risk
becoming a hollow shell, an extension of government
that cannot mobilise members to defend themselves,
their class and their communities. Don't be ashamed
or apologetic to retain your autonomy with pride and
confidence.

In these difficult conditions, COSATU has managed
increasingly to define its own profile while maintaining
its commitment to progressive ideals and, by
extension, to the unity of the democratic movement,
including the Alliance with the ANC, SACP and
SANCO. We have consistently identified and opposed
policy initiatives that will harm our members, without
undermining our government or changing our basic
political direction. At the same time, we have been
able to put forward a range of constructive proposals
on a variety of issues.

We feel that the ANC continues to represent the broadest alliance of
progressive forces. We must still unite our people in defence of our gains and
make new ones. Divisions will only open the door to more reactionary forces,
which can still reverse many of the gains we have already made.

Like COSATU, SANCO is not designed to be a political party. That is not its
main function. Rather, it must unite all residents to pursue their common
interests. But it is critical that this role be clearly defined. Otherwise,
confusion and divisions may undermine your strength and influence.

This does not mean that we must accept everything that the government does. As
we have argued repeatedly, we must rather fight for more participatory
processes at all levels of government, and to strengthen the ANC
’s power over the state machinery and the Executive in government.

COSATU has demonstrated time and again that it is not afraid to disagree with
the government on specific strategies and policies. But those debates do not
take away from our basic agreement on the need for reconstruction and
development.

We think it is critical, however, to reflect on how we manage political
disagreements. We need to find a balance. We cannot afford destructive
criticism that plays into the hands of those who oppose real democracy and
equality. But neither can we let fears of disagreement undermine our
independence and the right to raise concerns of members, class and communities.
We need to define our central aims and let that guide our actions
– and when we need to use power, as with our general
strike in the Jobs and Poverty Campaign last year, we
must be decisive and united.

In short, comrades, this conference must take SANCO
forward into the new millennium by defining its role and
ensuring that all your members can unite behind that
vision. We are sure that you will chart a course that will
strengthen the democratic movement in our country.
You cannot afford to leave us before the aspirations of
our people and tasks of the National Democratic
Revolution are attained.

Wishing your conference every success!

Siphiwe Mgcina
COSATU Spokesperson

[email protected]
082-821-7456
339-4911

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