WeeklySA_AdminALLIANCE: Petty squabbles show how difficult potential unity of the left is likely to be…
A number of political parties, political movements, social organisations, civic movements and, what have you, are mushrooming all over the country as we prepare for the 2024 national and provincial elections.
Just about everyone agrees that these elections are arguably the most important since 1994. The reason for this is the tantalising prospect that the African National Congress, which has been in power for the past 29 years, could be turfed out of office.
With the ANC seemingly on the ropes, there’s a frenetic search to put together coalitions that could topple the once indestructible behemoth that was the ANC. The Democratic Alliance has come up with what it calls a Moonshot Pact. A few parties have shown interest in this as-yet-not-well-defined animal. Yet it can be safely stated in advance that this pact will be to the right of the ANC.
Other parties have rejected the idea out of hand. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa has also called for a coalition of parties to discuss ways of joining forces to oust the ANC. My sense is that such a coalition, if it comes into being, is likely to be centrist or what is called social democratic in some countries.
Amidst all this activity, where are the forces to the left of the ANC? Why is the Economic Freedom Fighters not spearheading such a bloc. The EFF is the biggest political organisation espousing leftist ideas and radical transformation of the country. They should be in the forefront in leading this charge.
They should be big and mature enough to approach small parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress, the Azanian People’s Organisation, trade union federations such as Saftu and the miners’ union Amcu to say, “the country is in a crisis, we need to forego our petty differences and form a solid bloc to strengthen progressive forces”.
Let me nail my colours to the mast. The only hope for the black people of this country. If they want to see a genuine prospect of realising true liberation can only be brought about by unified forces of the left. The EFF has made strides in the 10 years since it was founded largely by dissatisfied members of the ANC Youth League. It is no mean feat that in such a short period they are now the third biggest party in Parliament with an impressive 10 percent of the national vote. The party has a presence in every part of the country.
But the EFF on their own cannot bring down the giant that is the ANC. This is why it is critical that they initiate talks with these smaller parties who share a lot in common with them.
Given the success of the EFF in the past 10 years, the question must be asked, what is it that the party has done to garner such support predominately among the youth when other leftist formations such as Azapo and other BC-inclined groupings have been unable to do so.
Crying shame
Azapo and its many splinter groupings have a rich history. These are the parties founded by towering intellectuals such as Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe and Steve Bantu Biko. If it is a crying shame that the PAC has only one member in the National Assembly, it is a damning indictment that none of the Black Consciousness movement parties have a presence even in local municipalities.
The problems afflicting both PAC and BC are the never-ending senseless fights over positions. Pure and simple. You have individuals who want to be leaders and sycophants who want to be closer to these leaders. I have observed over the years these squabbles over leadership positions. No fundamental differences on critical matters such as developing fresh tactics and strategies to grow their parties.
When the South African Federation of Trade Unions was founded six years ago, there was hope in leftist circles that the workers would have a voice that would champion their cause unlike the country’ s biggest federation, Cosatu, which was failing them. No matter what convoluted explanations the Congress of South African Trade Unions may offer, the alliance with the ANC has not provided any significant benefits to the workers. Sadly. those workers who were looking up to Saftu to be the vehicle to fight their battles are probably not so sanguine anymore. This is because Saftu is also riven with divisions so early in its existence.
Its founding secretary general who was also at one time SG of Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi, is at loggerheads with Irvin Jim the boss of Numsa, Saftu ‘s biggest affiliate. Jim wants to have his one-time friend Vavi removed as SG.
At this stage, the source of the differences is unclear other than the strong suspicion that Jim is flexing his muscles. Numsa too is having its fair share of problems. They have just fired their president and she is not taking this lying down. She is challenging the expulsion. All these petty squabbles show how difficult a potential unity of the left is likely to be. That is if it is ever contemplated.
Advancing black cause
On the other hand, if all the BC adherents as well as the PAC could get their act together, do away with petty squabbles, abandon position-mongering, and Saftu, Numsa and Amcu throw their lot together to advancing the Black cause, this would be a momentous development.
Here is the possible scenario. If the combined left obtained between three to five percent of the national vote and the EFF increased their electoral support by about five percent, this would cause a seismic shift in our body politic.
Garnering just above 20 percent of the national votes would strengthen their hands in any negotiations with the ANC.
As I stated in my previous column, the DA is a racist party and there is no way the ANC could enter into a governance alliance with them. The logical partner is the EFF and a broad left front which could also include the UDM and the likes of the African Transformation Movement.
Failure to put together this front can mean only one thing. Peasants, farm workers, workers in the cities, slum dwellers, the urban and rural poor will rightly state that the dream of 1994 was just a chimera. A painful pipedream.
Comment
PATIENTS OUGHT TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY
Hospitals are health institutions where patients are attended to by doctors and nurses with the main objective being to provide them with the best medical treatment to help them recuperate from their respective maladies.
These are institutions where patients are psychologically prepared and given hope that they will be healed and ultimately reunite with their families. It is a place where the medical staff are expected to do their utmost to save human lives at all costs. This is also in line with the Hippocratic Oath that they subscribe to.
The story of 21-year -old foreign national, Dulcie Samuels Inguene, which appears in today’s edition, is not only shocking but smacks of extreme negligence by management at the King George Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. After delivering her first child, a baby boy, at the hospital on April 25 this year, her excitement turned into trauma when she established that her womb had been removed – without her consent.
Her husband was never at any stage contacted by the hospital management and informed about the decision which has left the couple in a state of shock as they were planning to have more children.
To add salt to injury, the hospital management could not even provide her with a reason why her womb was removed. This is unacceptable.
Doctors who helped deliver the baby are obliged by law to inform her about any action they take regarding her life. In their response, the hospital spokesperson declined to discuss the issue with the media but said there were a number of precautionary clinical interventions applied to save a patient’s life.
But that is not the issue. What the distraught mother wants to know is why her womb was removed without any of the medical staff informing her or her husband about that decision.
While we appreciate the pressures medical practitioners and nurses are subjected to daily, we believe that patients have the right to get answers regarding their ailments or any clinical action performed on them. The medical staff should be also reminded that they do not own or control human lives.
They must treat their patients with the greatest care and dignity instead of trampling on their human rights . This incident has now, unfortunately, left the distraught mother with the fear that her husband might now move out of their wedlock and have an affair with another woman who can raise more children for him.
The hospital has – after almost a month – promised to facilitate a meeting with the traumatised mother to address her concerns.Why did it take so long ?
Inguene has threatened to take legal action against the hospital management for violating her rights. The authorities should also investigate the matter and act against those responsible for this unkindest cut that has left the couple heartbroken.
Published on the 98th Edition
