In a few months, people will be queuing at the polls to once again choose their representatives in the local government elections. At its 25th anniversary rally on December 4, Cosatu launched its election campaign in support of the ANC.
This will once and for all remove any lingering doubts as to whether Cosatu remains solidly in support of the ANC, with whom we have worked together closely since December 1 1985.
Yes, we are sometimes very disappointed by our councillors’ inaction. Yes, at times we have disagreements with the ANC government, and we even march against it when necessary. But no other party could have imagined achieving as much as the ANC government has. Look at the Western Cape and you will see the disaster we will face if the Democratic Alliance gains any ground next year.
The open toilets saga and mass eviction of poor communities are just the two best-publicised examples of the DA’s war against the poor. It remains the party of the rich and privileged. In many poor communities, however, especially those living close to wealthy suburbs, people have been involved in protests.
In 2004, there were ten such protests; in 2009 the figure had risen to 105, and it has already passed 83 in 2010!
We are sitting on a ticking bomb, and must find ways to address the problems these communities face. It is a task we have to tackle together, and the ANC, as always, needs to involve not only its allies but also the broader mass democratic movement, including organisations that spring up in communities to speak for the people.
That is why Cosatu, just like the ANC, has decided to work more closely with progressive civil society, to build a broad-based movement to confront the challenges we face.
As the recent civil society conference made absolutely clear, however, this is not an anti-ANC or anti-government initiative, but the exact opposite — an attempt to work with the ANC and government to help us find solutions and to maintain the support of the majority.
It would be fatal to see communities and civil society as enemies of the revolution. They are potential partners and allies who must be drawn into the revolutionary camp and isolated from the counter-revolutionary forces that would like to embrace them but can offer them nothing.