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Title: 1994 elections Author: Workers’ Solidarity Federation Date: 1995 Language: en Topics: Elections, South Africa, Workers Solidarity Source: Retrieved on 29th October 2021 from http://struggle.ws/africa/wsfws/1_1election.html Notes: Published in Workers Solidarity Number 1 May/June 1995.
Legalized apartheid is finally dead for the first time in 350 years
Black South Africans are not ruled by a racist dictatorship but by a
democratic parliament.
Along with this capitalist democracy came a whole series of rights we
never had before. We have guaranteed freedom of association and speech.
We have the right to strike and protest. We have some protection from
racist and sexist practices.
These changes did not come from the benevolent hand of the National
Party. They are the result of decades of struggle. We broke the pass
laws. We broke the ban on African trade unions. We broke the racist
education system. We broke the Land Act of 1913.
However, the legacy of apartheid is still with us. 2.3 million South
Africans suffer from malnutrition. Only 45% of Africans live in houses.
Only 2 in 10 African pupils reach matric. Even though South Africa
produces 50% of Africa’s electricity, only 30% of the population has
electricity. At the same time 5% of the population own 80% of all
wealth. Whites on average earn 9 times more than Africans.
The ANC’s RDP has set itself very limited goals to redress this. For
example, it aims to build a million houses over, 5 years. This will not
ever deal with the massive housing backlog facing Black people.
The RDP also places a heavy reliance on the market mechanism. The RDP
only aim to redistribute 30% of the land to Blacks. But most of this
will be bought through the market. Why should we pay for stolen land?
White farmers will also be compensated for land unfairly acquired after
1913 even when this is returned.
In any case, the RDP’s ability to deliver is doubtful. The RDP will not
be funded by increased tax on the bosses. Instead the focus is on make
“more efficient” use of existing resources.
The State mechanism is not some neutrall tool that can be used to
benefit the poor. The State always prioritise the needs of the bosses.
This is one reason why the RDP’s aiMs are so moderate. IT is also why
the State continues to attack struggle even with a new government.
The only Black people that the State has helped since the elections has
been the politicians. Their lavish lifestyles and salaries are far
removed from the oppressive conditions of their supporters. The State
aims to build a Black middle class that will help manage and defend
capitalism.
The only way we can force the new government to deliver its promises is
through struggle. This is the only way our needs will be heard above
those of the bosses who are in a business crisis. It is only through
keeping up the fight on the ground that we can force the State to give
in to our demands. Force the bosses to deliver!
But we need to break out of the cycle in which the needs of the majority
take second place to the profits and power of the bosses and their
State.
We need to attack and destroy the system of capitalism that caused our
hardships and racism in the first place. We need a society without
bosses or governments. A society based on workers and community councils
which puts people before profit. Build for working class revolution!