I wish it were possible to storm the gates of neo-liberal state power in this country, dominated by the ruling African National Congress, and declare a workers’ socialist republic. But I know with certainty that at least for the next decade there will be no such prospect.
The ANC is still deeply rooted among the majority black working class and, in the absence of a significant mass-based leftist alternative, it will take a long time to uproot this support.
Despite attacks on the lives of the poor, which have taken place alongside some major positive changes in broader society, the ANC won an even bigger majority in last year’s election. This must be a big lesson for organisations such as the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF), a network of allied organisations fighting against the commodification of basic resources.
A significant beginning for the forum and other leftist organisations would be participation in next year’s local government elections. It is limited space, I know, because the APF and others who may be eager to test their support lack the financial and organisational resources to effectively participate in elections. But it would be a movement that could grow stronger over the next decade.
A second step would be to make more serious and sustained attempts to explore issues and campaigns of common concern with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party.
Any effort by the social movements to participate in local government elections will have to lead to them adopting a different strategy of engagement, before and after such elections. Continuing to criticise and protest against the neo-liberal policies of ANC-dominated councils must be combined with beginning to seriously engage all local structures in which they could wield some influence and build support. Chief among these are the ward community structures that, admittedly are party-dominated, but which could become forums for lively and useful policy intervention as well as contestation. These are public, not ANC, political spaces.
Abstaining from elections and ANC-dominated structures is tantamount to surrendering to ANC hegemony. Despite growing intolerance from ANC councillors, the space for constructive intervention must be valiantly fought for as a democratic right. Participation in local government elections and the use of political space will establish a presence for organisations like the APF.
Here’s a concrete example of how the social movements could use their muscle. The contract management unit of the city of Johannesburg is meant to monitor the service delivery performance of Johannesburg Water and other utilities. Four years after it was formed, the public knows little or nothing of what it has done and plans to do. In fact, most people will probably not have heard of this unit in the first place. Yet little has been done by the APF and others to demand a voice in this government agency, which is supposed to protect the interests of users of basic public services.
Until the APF and others engage the state they will, metaphorically, be little more than an irritating flea on the back of an elephant — the ANC.
While some may call this position “reformist”, even strong extra-parliamentary activities will fade with time if it does not make its presence felt inside Parliament.
Ebrahim Harvey is a political writer and doctoral student at Wits University