2024 South African Elections Outcomes: Towards a progressive United Front against Neoliberalism by Lindokuhle Mponco

Introduction

The South African parliamentary outcomes have been concluded with a grand coalition consisting of the ANC, DA, IFP, Patriotic Alliance, and Freedom Front Plus, and many other smaller neoliberal parties. Those smaller centre-right and right-wing parties voted with the grand coalition due to sharing the same class interests. Indeed, Lenin was correct when he said there are decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen. What has happened is the completion of a three-decade long process of the consolidation right-wing forces within the ANC, and the total annihilation of left within the ANC, and in the broader alliance. Furthermore, the ANC has unmasked itself as an outright bourgeois-capitalist party which subscribes to the neoclassic liberal approach to economics, politics, and the society in general. The outcome confirms that the right-wing forces have openly re-consolidated and continue to get votes from the working class and peasantry in large numbers. However, there have been developments in the left-wing and the formation of a progressive caucus within the corridors of the National Assembly. The progressive caucus consisted of the following parties, EFF, UDM, PAC, ATM, Al-Jamah-ah, and UAT (United Africans Transformation a new entry and a new party). This grouping consisted of a left-wing party and centre-left parties which is consistent with how a United Front as envisioned and outlined by the COMINTERN in 1922 is constituted. As things stand, only EFF and ATM remain part of the caucus.

 

Why form a United Front?

In 1922, the Communist International held their fourth world congress. It was held at the backdrop of a victory of the Bolshevik forces against the reactionary White armies. Internationally, the world was still reeling from a very devastating imperialist world war which had basically torn the European economy asunder. Workers were rising up not only in Europe, but in the colonial world, and the far east and this was becoming a perfect opening for the Communist bloc to advance the world socialist revolution, which would lead to the global overthrow of capitalism. The unity of these worlds would mean that the proletariat totally crushes the bourgeoisie at an international scale. However, most workers remained loyal members and supporters of the established social-democratic parties or the national liberation parties. The slogan of the third congress was aptly titled, 'TO THE MASSES!' reflecting the need to grow the mass base of communist parties internationally after the defeats of the German revolution, Hungarian revolution, and the Finnish revolution. The election outcomes of 2024 in South Africa have proven that the biggest Leftist Party, the EFF needs to go back to the masses, and sink their roots within the decisive classes (workers and peasants). 

 

However, the fourth congress of COMINTERN made it clear that the United Front is not merely a tactic for 'electoral combinations of leaders in pursuit of one or another parliamentary aim', but a tactic to do the following:

 

 "The united front tactic is simply an initiative whereby the Communists propose to join with all workers belonging to other parties and groups and all unaligned workers in a common struggle to defend the immediate, basic interests of the working class against the bourgeoisie. Every action, for even the most trivial everyday demand, can lead to revolutionary awareness and revolutionary education; it is the experience of struggle that will convince workers of the inevitability of revolution and the historic importance of Communism."  

 

The intention of forming a progressive United Front would flow from this logic given that South Africa has now descended into the depths of neoliberalism after the consolidation and confirmation of the grand coalition. For the next five years, it is patently clear that the assault on the toiling masses of our people will accelerate and intensify. This is why we need to unite the motive forces of our revolution by firstly uniting with parties found in the centre-left, and have parliamentary representation, and then reaching out to the unions, civic organisations, and other mass-based organisations that are rooted in working class and rural communities, who share the same interests with us in the immediate, and mid-term. The international situation and the national situation are inextricably linked due to the character of our bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie of any semi-colonial society is bound to the foreign bourgeoisie of mainly the coloniser or the neo-coloniser in the global south context, or the general foreign bourgeoisie across the world.

 

The advance of neoliberalism in South Africa has taken a posture which renders the working class far worse than what it was in 1994. The intensification of neoliberalism in the past decade has led us to a point whereby it is clear that the state is at war with the workers, students, and peasants, who in their majority are young, black, and mainly female. Remember, the state according to Marxist literature, is a tool wielded for class oppression. It is a tool in the hands of the dominant class. In South Africa, the dominant class is the capitalist class, which is majority white and owns the means of production in our society. The dominant class then uses the state to implement policies that will benefit them. The signing of the coalition agreement by the DA-ANC-IFP bloc has basically confirmed that the mission of the Neoliberal grand coalition is to scrap the gains of the toiling masses. These are some the things they seek to undo:

 

1. NSFAS grant to students who have a combined household income below R351 000.

2.  State Ownership of Eskom, and many other strategic SOEs.

3. National Health Insurance

4. Employment Equity and many other Affirmative Action related policies.

5. Workers' right to strike, bargain, and associate with a union of their choice.

6. National minimum wage.

7. Social relief distress grant.

8. Free water provision for working class communities, and the poor who dwell in slums and shanty towns.

9. A balanced energy mix, with coal and nuclear energy playing a key role.

 

 

The Neoliberal grand coalition is clear on what it seeks to achieve. It is clear on who they represent, and it is not the toiling masses of our people. They represent the interests of the ruling class which is capitalist in character, form, and nature, in simpler terms, 'the markets'. They will be driving a bullet train towards the oppressed layers of society, and we must respond by either moving away, or finding ways to stop the train, or allow the train to turn us into mincemeat. 

 

 

What is to be done

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels summarized the role of the executive authority of a liberal bourgeois government, and in sum, the whole apparatus of a capitalist as follows, "The capitalist state serves as a managing committee of the bourgeoisie." This effectively means that the government of a liberal bourgeois state serves to manage the interests of the big bosses, oligarchs, and aristocrats who are tied hand and foot to this orgy of self-interest and greed. This leads the oppressed masses of our contemporary society to a revolutionary conclusion of reversing the tyranny of the market as Chris Hani would put it. The working class, students, peasantry, and progressive layers of the middle class must form a united front which will seek to defend some of the gains of 1994, no matter how minimal they are. The current political reality has thrown the working class, students, peasantry, and progressive layers of the middle class aback, and is nothing but a regression. These oppressed layers of society and the organizations that represent them must meet under one room and chart the way forward in forming this progressive United Front against Neoliberalism. This must be a National People's Summit which will pave the way for forming the United Front while providing the ideological basis of why this is to be formed. The National People's Summit must also answer the question of What is to be done? by immediately drafting a program of action which will seek to fulfil the demands of the Freedom Charter in totality and protect and defend the progressive gains of the 1994 settlement. We must reorganize the left, while expanding our base through defending the immediate interests, while advancing the fight for the fulfilment of the neglected and negated interests of the oppressed masses of our people as articulated in the Freedom Charter.

 

 

 

 

Towards a People's Coalition by Lindokuhle Mponco

Introduction

In Marxist literature, a People's government has come to mean a government of the majority in terms of class and in terms of aspirations of a government. A people's government centres the core needs of a society, and centres the majority contributors, and ultimately everyone in the process of making, implementing, and analysing the decisions made by the government which not only represent the interests of the majority, but the interests of ensuring we have an equal and equitable society. A generalised summary of all Marxist literature sees a People's government being a government that represents the interests of those that provide labour without a profit returning to them in a form of shares or dividends. It represents those that do not own the means of production. This means that a People's government according to the Marxist methodology of analysis is a government of the toiling masses (all tiers of the working class both in the rural areas and in the urban areas, and the peasants). A People's government stands contra to the government of the bourgeoisie. It stands on the opposite end of the government of the capitalists (those that own the means of production). In summary, a People's government is a government of the oppressed classes and stands opposite to the status quo (a government of the bosses and the elite of the aristocracy).  Therefore, this article explores the theme of ensuring that the Coalition government is not just a mere coalition, but a People's Coalition.

 

A Bourgeois Coalition (DA-ANC/ANC-MK/ANC-IFP and any other Centrist small Party)

The recent engagements on coalitions have seen the outright rejection of either a firmly Socialist Party and programme that comes with it, or an outrightly Neoliberal Party and programme that comes with it. The clear picture we get is that the EFF is to many the most recognizable Left-Wing vehicle, and the DA is to many the most recognizable Right-Wing vehicle. The coalitions engagements have been silently about the continuation of neoliberalism, or the discontinuation of neoliberalism towards a much more radical and socialist leaning path. It seems like the liberation struggle has come full circle and the phrase, 2024 is our 1994 has become a reality in the most poetic and profound sense that will only be felt 5 to 10 years from now. The WMC-owned media has gone on full blast calling for a Neoliberal coalition which includes the DA, the IFP, and at worst, the PA. However, what is becoming apparent is that a traditional bourgeois coalition is off the cards given the fear of potential instability, and obliteration of the ANC. 

The Government of National Unity (GNU), which is a grand coalition, is the favoured option of the ANC, and the Tripartite Alliance in principle is not fundamentally opposed to this approach, while the EFF has made it clear that it is also willing to compromise, however, it is not in support of a GNU, while the MKP is clear that it will not engage the ANC as long as Ramaphosa is President of the ANC. It is quite clear that the Left-Wing is thinking about compromise, and joining their future with the ANC, a party which has been a loyal servant of Monopoly Capital for 30 years straight without a pause. The GNU is another form of a bourgeois coalition which will render South Africa in a cul-de-sac of no qualitative growth, while the gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase. This in Marxist terms is class collaboration. The EFF has been the Vanguard of the Working Class for the past 10 years; however, it might lose the working class to MKP if it forms part of the GNU, while it seems like the DA might be hesitant to form part of this GNU with the EFF involved. The EFF has correctly advanced a Marxist posture that the GNU is a non-starter, while a traditional coalition stands a better chance of working better for the working class. 

A People's Coalition (ANC-EFF-UDM)

While coalitions in this cycle in their nature will lean towards the bourgeoisie, there is one coalition which could possibly swing and tilt the scale to the favour of the People (Working Class, Middle Class, and Peasants). The coalition option of ANC-EFF-UDM at national level might consist of 201 out of 400 seats, which is a simple majority, and just enough to pass certain laws, and take certain decisions but it remains the most stable option politically, socially, and economically. This might be minimal, but might be enough for stability, and fundamental change. The 201 seats might not look numerically appetizing, but it is a coalition which is ideologically balanced, and geared towards strengthening state capacity, and building an economy that is centred around the people. The UDM is not opposed to the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank, the establishment of a state bank, the expropriation of land without compensation, free healthcare and 24/7 clinics, free quality education, free housing,  nationalisation of strategic sectors of the economy including the mining sector, and the creation of a sovereign wealth fund. They have voted with the EFF on most of these motions both in the 5th and the 6th administration while the ANC has voted against it. 

 

The current trajectory that is required is a more left-leaning approach which is oriented towards a socialist path. The experience of the 30 years of an ANC majority where neoliberal economic policies were the order of the day has been roundly condemned as a failure, thus meaning that we must shift towards a left-leaning framework. The UDM is not opposed to leftist policies that are centred around nationalisation but rather we can see through empirical evidence (support in motions) that they supported them even though they identify as a Centrist organisation. The ANC calls itself a broad church which implies Centrism, but they infer that they are a disciplined force of the left, while they have been very disciplined with implementing right-wing policy. The ANC is currently led by a neoliberal contingent which has roots to the CODESA grouping. The CODESA grouping is the political elite which brokered the democracy we currently enjoy, which is basically liberal bourgeois in character. The CODESA grouping is dangerous, and definitely a WMC product. However, the changing balance of forces might tilt them towards a posture of temporarily agreeing to a coalition with the EFF, and allowing the people to manage the democracy while capital tries to figure a way out of this mud fest. A People's Coalition (ANC-EFF-UDM) not only undermines the character of the democracy but stretches it to its utmost limit so that the people can realise that this democracy is not enough to advance aspirations of the toiling masses of our people. We are fortunate that the base of the ANC is majority workers and peasants due to their ties to COSATU, SANCO, SACP, SASCO, and many other formations that form part of the mass democratic movement.  Due to the Tripartite Alliance condemning us to the two-stage theory approach, we find ourselves having to yearn for Socialism within this paradigm. However, a diligent socialist will know that the time is ripe for a socialist revolution even though the subjective conditions are not yet ready for such.

 

The ANC acknowledged this in 2012 in its discussion document that there might be a need for a second transition. The National Democratic Revolution speaks of the second transition as a phase where the SACP, and by extension the alliance all fights for the realisation of socialism. The first transition being the phase of we are in which is democratising the state and providing the basic needs. The alliance has failed in providing the basic needs, thus a coalition with EFF and UDM will provide the necessary external pressure and critical support where necessary in terms of providing basic needs. The EFF and UDM have also been bastions of anti-corruption struggles throughout their existence with both leaders of these parties being victims of purges by corrupt leaders within the ANC. Furthermore, the fact that these parties are breakaway movements from the ANC adds to the necessity for a coalition with these parties which are centred in people-centred policies. This is also a chance for the ANC-EFF-UDM to fulfil the Freedom Charter in totality, which will set the necessary conditions for socialism. This coalition can at worst be described a Centre-Left coalition like that of Brazil, and at best a moderate Left-Wing Coalition which is similar in design to that of Bolivia.

 

Conclusion

The Left-Wing is waiting in bated breath as the coalition talks unfold. However, one thing is for sure, a people's coalition is necessary to roll back the tyranny of neoliberalism. It might be ironic that the ANC is a fundamental cog in this reversal of the tyranny of neoliberalism, but it is poetic justice for abandoning its generational mission of liquidating the fascist arrangement, and setting up the foundations for a state that can easily transition to socialism because of the platform provided by the Freedom Charter.

 

 

29 May 2024: Neoliberalism vs Socialism by Lindokuhle Mponco

 

Introduction

South Africa was faced with the reality of either shifting to the left or to the right. On the left, the most distinguishable parties are the EFF, and PAC. The entry of Umkhonto WeSizwe Party throws a spanner in the works since MKP doesn’t have a distinguishable ideological base. Thus, leading one to the conclusion that MKP has a similar ideological base as the ANC, broad church, with the dominant tendency being centre-left conservative.  On the right, we have DA, FF+, Action SA, BOSA, PA, IFP and Rise Mzansi, which is much more centre-right than they are full blown right wing. The South African voter is confronted with that blunt reality. The ANC of course stands at the centre of it all, while ideologically it tilts to the right, slowly but surely shifting away from its centre right position. Thus, the South African voter was confronted with choosing between a leftist alternative which is characteristically socialist, or the current status quo, which is a right-wing reality called neoliberalism, or a political reality with MKP in the centre of the reviving neo-feudal forces, and ownership patterns which see aristocrats control land distribution and allocation.

 

30 Years of Neoliberalism

Since 1994, the ANC led government has pursued a social-economic reality which is centred around the free-market, and Monopoly Capital driving development, and subsequently growth. It has manifested itself in many macroeconomic frameworks (GEAR, ASGISA, and NDP) which have led to inequality, poverty, and unemployment. These triple challenges have escalated instead of decreasing due to the macroeconomic framework of neoliberalism failing to create jobs, grow the economy in a sustainable and equitable manner, redistribute wealth, and develop society while uplifting millions from the doldrums of poverty. The World Bank review of 2024 had the following analysis on the state of South Africa:

"Weak structural growth and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated socio-economic challenges. (“South Africa Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank”) South Africa’s GDP has recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, but the strength of the recovery has been hindered by multiple structural constraints, including ongoing power shortages and logistics bottlenecks. The recovery in employment continued in 2023 (790,000 jobs were added, leading to a higher level of employment than before the pandemic) but the pace of job creation has not kept up with the growing labour force, resulting in a rising number of unemployed people. The unemployment rate stood at an elevated 32.4% in 2023, with women and youth persistently more impacted. Inequality remains among the highest in the world, and poverty was estimated at 62.7% in 2023, based on the upper-middle-income country poverty line, only slightly below its pandemic peak. These trends have prompted growing social demands for government support, which could put the sustainability of public finances at risk if they are to be met." (“South Africa Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank”)

The biggest Neoliberal institution in the world deems South Africa the most unequal society, thus, an admission that Neoliberalism has put South Africa in a precarious position. The precarity of our position is such that any seismic shift in the socio-economic conditions towards a negative posture, will lead to a socio-political crisis.  The observation the World Bank made was not only limited to the structural defects of the Neoliberal framework of growth, but it further made these observations:

"South Africa remains a dual economy with one of the highest and most persistent inequality rates in the world, with a consumption expenditure Gini coefficient of 0.67 in 2018. High inequality is perpetuated by a legacy of exclusion and the nature of economic growth, which is not pro-poor and does not generate sufficient jobs. Inequality in wealth is even higher, and intergenerational mobility is low, meaning inequalities are passed down from generation to generation with little change over time."

The admission by the World Bank that South Africa's economy has largely maintained its colonial character and Neoliberalism has not done enough is another point towards Neoliberalism not being the appropriate ideology towards emancipating the masses of our people. 30 years later, we remain a Neoliberal failure of epic proportions.

Where to from here?

The results of the recent elections despite the many objections regarding the fairness of the results have yielded a pro-neoliberal power base. The dominance of the Neoliberal faction in the ANC puts us in a precarious position as the Left in South Africa. However, there is a silver lining in the dark cloud. The EFF (the biggest Left-Wing Party in the country) might have lost electoral support due to the MKP's rise, and dominance in KZN, but it still represents the aspirations of the toiling masses of our people. The EFF can still form a government with the ANC and another centrist party and consolidate a Centre-Left regime which will ultimately be a radical Social-Democratic outlook in terms of economics and politics. There is a faction within the ANC that has no qualms with this arrangement, and this group consists of mainly the Polokwane 2007 group which removed former President Thabo Mbeki in the name of ending the neoliberal order. 

 

However, the reality is that the Neoliberal faction is in charge and is two steps ahead of the Polokwane remnants. This reality is unavoidable, and it seems from the recent conversations on social media by bourgeois journalists and commentators that a push for neoliberal consolidation of the ANC and the DA is advanced. This means that the bourgeois power structures are in phase 2 of their fight, and that is consolidation of their power bloc with the intention of accelerating the privatization agenda, and the neo liberalization of the Higher Education Sector through outsourcing Accommodation and Transportation. This means the status quo will be altered, and we will head to a hyperinflation phase. We must remember that when Boris Yeltsin pursued similar policies, Russia fell into the worst economic crisis since the 1917 crisis which led to two revolutions in one year. In Argentina, Javier Milie has implemented the same policies, and Argentina is going through a wave of protests due to hyperinflation and the increasing cost of living, and the decreasing standards of living. It is quite clear that we are headed to that scenario should there be a consolidation of the ANC and the DA's neoliberal agenda.

 

A scenario of the ANC going into a coalition with MK will require the removal of Ramaphosa, Presidential pardon for former President Jacob Zuma, and the amendment of the constitution to allow for a third term. Should that be agreed upon, we will have a coalition of the MKP and the ANC, which will fundamentally be no different from the period of 2014 - 2018. Furthermore, this will represent the consolidation of the ANC into a petty bourgeois conservative neoliberal party. No Leftist worth their salt can view the MKP as a genuine left-wing force or ally due to the politics of the MKP, ideological base, and the political history and contribution of the leader of the MKP to this Neoliberal reality. The ANC and MKP coalition will continue with the blatantly corrupt behaviour we have been witnessing for the past 15 - 25 years. A scenario of the ANC, MKP, and EFF would yield a much more stable outcome given the outright Left-Wing character of the EFF.

The ANC is so far right that it needs a Left-Wing party to yank it to the centre left. A total shift to the left would be wishful given the fact that we suffered a setback. 

 

However, the most practical and expected outcome is that the EFF won't feature in any coalition given the big push by White Monopoly Capital to block any coalition which has EFF forming part of it. This outcome is an outcome the Party must accept and internalise should it become a reality. It should not just accept it but actively work towards growing the Party qualitatively and quantitatively. This means sinking our roots deeper into the working class, middle class, students, and peasants. This means we must continue pushing our clarion call for Land, Jobs, and to Stop Loadshedding Now! This means that the Party must build structures around that immediate clarion call while not forgetting to emphasise that ours is a generational mission which seeks to actualise a Socialist economy and a political order that follows that same character whereby the working class and the peasantry control and own the means of production, and benefit from the fruits of their labour.