Revolutionary greetings
It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to be here to interact and share ideas with you.
I would like to commend the Oupa Phasha district of the South African Communist Party for organising this dinner in honour of women. It is a correct thing to do since we are in a month in which the revolutionary stance taken by women against chauvinistic legislation is celebrated. We celebrate the gallant act of defiance led by the women of honour, the heroines such as Mama Lilian Ngoyi, Mama Helen Joseph, Mama Rahina Moosa, Mama Albertinah Sisulu, Mama Dorothy Nyembe and many others who fought and advanced the struggle for the total emancipation of women.
The celebration of women and their fight against any form of patriarchy cannot be complete without remembering the valuable contribution of the women communist. In honouring women communist we have to go as far back as to remember the sterling roles of women such as Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zatkin and Sofia Perovskava in Europe.
Then within the ranks of Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) we had the Dora Tamanas, Josie Palmers, Betty Radfords, Hilda Watts, and the Ray Alexandra, Violet Seboni, Ruth First, Ncumisa Nkondlo and many other unsung heroines some of whom have long fallen while others are still alive.
The history of the ANC and its alliance partners depicts that it has been one of the international progressive forces that uphold the democratic principles and values. It has been able to attract support and membership from diverse interest groups because of its democratic tradition. This tradition is by and large based on the founding principles of building a just, non-racial and non-sexist society.
There has never been ambiguity in the minds of the founders of the alliance what they meant by establishing a non-racial and no-sexist society. It has been clear in their minds that it is the kind of society where the attribute of race and gender are discounted as the determinant for what social station one occupies or treatment that one is subjected to. They were clear that the “triple oppression” suffered particularly by black women because of their race and gender was chauvinistic and repugnant.
As a result, the principled stance of the ANC led alliance that the liberation of the oppressed masses of South Africa will never be complete until the revisionist system of patriarchy is defeated in all its manifestation remains relevant even today. This principled position has been and still is the propelling force that guides our programs.
Today, in many discussion fora and public domain where the political discourse reign supreme critical questions have been raised in relation to gender equity: How far has the ANC both inside and outside government been able to advance the program for the total emancipation of women? Have we been able to affirm women as equals in spheres of influence? How far are we from realizing the non-racial and non-sexist society?
Comrades, there is no doubt that the ANC government has made tremendous stride in changing the status and conditions of women in society. In the last fifteen years of its rule we have all witness the development of the legislative framework that provides for the promotion and protection of women rights and interests.
Furthermore, as a direct consequence of the ANC government program we are witnessing an increase in the number of women occupying positions of power both inside and outside state organs. In many industrial sectors we are seeing unprecedented change happening in boardrooms and production lines. For instance, the sectors which were once the preserve of the male species such as mining and finance have opened up to women participants. All these developments points to the well orchestrated programs of women empowerment driven by the ANC.
However, in some quarters of our society arguments are advanced on whether the indicator for the success of gender oriented programs should be based on quantity or quality of the candidates. To me both quality and quantity are inseparably and equally important as the indicator because at one level we are interested in advancing as many women as possible so as to erode male domination in many areas of socio-economic activity, hopefully, resulting in creating a balance in gender relations. But it is not the objective of the progressive women movement such as the ANC Women’s League to replace one form of repressive domination with another.
Notwithstanding the progress made, the material conditions of the majority of women have not changed much. Casualty and femininity of labour targeting women because their labour comes cheap remains a challenge. Such enclaves of chauvinism must be fought and eradicated from our society. This we recognise as government. It therefore becomes critical important that government policy show a stronger bias towards women empowerment. When we talk about creating jobs and implementing pro-poor policies, this must be understood to mean that women are at the centre of these interventions.
In government we must take extra care to ensure that women owned enterprises should not be the first ones to suffer when we experience cash flow challenges.
“Operation Bhadala”, which we have initiated to speed up payment to service provides, has to prioritise small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and women owned companies for payment. It cannot be correct that companies that are owed small amounts are the last ones to be paid while those that are owed millions receive their money first. Small companies will collapse if we allowed that to happen and all our efforts at women empowerment will come to zero.
Since the April election, we have seen developments which demand our response as a ruling alliance. In the very first weeks of our inauguration, we have had to deal with service delivery protest and labour strikes. There have also been threats from the taxi industry which seem to challenge our right to govern. We have also seen a developing perspective which suggests that the ANC in the province is divided and that we are at loggerheads. This perspective is incorrect and we must challenge it.
We are using all opportunities available to us to communicate with people, including forums such as these where we interact with various stakeholders as platforms where we can articulate the correct perspective about what is happening about service delivery and what is the state of our movement and the alliance in general. We cannot afford to allow others to interpret our decisions in ways that favour their interests.
The fact of the matter regarding the state of the ANC is the following:
* the ANC emerged out of election victorious and united
* the ANC manifesto has been adopted by government and it now guides the programme of action and goals
* the ANC emerged with its vision, strategies and tactics still intact
* we all agree about the need to strengthen our economy, so that it creates sustainable jobs and eradicate unemployment.
We have embarked on a process to re-configure government departments and its agencies to align them with the new mandate. While we are determined to handle this process with care, dignity and with the interests of the people at heart, we will have to take tough decisions.
We will not shy away from making correct decisions in fear that they will be interpreted otherwise. We will continue to make critical interventions where we see that service delivery is affected. Our people come first. We will also make strategic interventions to eradicate corruption within government process. We are doing this to renew government and to create an efficient, responsive, well managed and well functioning administration. It is indeed the moment of renewal.
It is our role is to ensure that we facilitate the growth of our economy in such a way that it benefits the largest majority of our people, women and especially the poorest of the poor. We have adopted a clear programme of action for the next five years, based on our election manifesto. We will in the next five years invest resources more strongly in social transformation and the improvement of service delivery. We have to intensify the fight against poverty as our people need to see the gains of freedom in a more meaningful manner.
Comrades, this year’s Women’s Month happens in the midst of tough economic conditions characterised by the global recession, high food prices and increasing energy prices. It is a very critical political epoch in that capitalism as the dominant global free market system is on the back foot. The inherent internal contradictions of the capitalist system are steadily and surely exposing the fallacy of unfettered market economy.
The manner in which the “centre” of global capitalism has been shaken points to a need to re-evaluate the role of government in economic development issues particularly in the context of the developmental state. The reality is that the fundamentals of the market economy have been badly battered.
This situation is calling for critical introspection to take place. We are currently witnessing the domination of global political discourse by the proponents of neo-mercantilism, who espouse the idea of collaboration between government and merchants and the classical economists who are staunch supporters of unfettered free market economy. As long as the debate continues to be dominated by the two schools of thoughts, without a cogent ideological argument advanced by the left forces, this debate will remain dry and barren. There is a need for the voice representing the left leaning forces to be heard and occupy a space provided by this ideological discourse.
As the cadres of the party, it is important that we should begin to influence this debate and also assist in contextualising it such that it speaks also to our unique conditions. In fact it is our responsibility to ensure that the debate of this nature helps to shape and mould programs that are relevant to achieving the goals of the developmental state. I urge all of you; let it not be just debate for the sake of debating.
Lastly comrades, I would like to call all of you to continue to lend support to the struggle for total emancipation of women. This struggle should not be a struggle waged by women only but by all members of society who value freedom and equality. Let me close by reminding you of the words of the first woman cabinet member of the Bolsheviks, Alexandra Kollontai, when she stated:
“I always believed that the time inevitably must come when woman will be judged by the same moral standards applied to man. For it is not her specific feminine virtue that gives her a place of honour in human society, but the worth of the useful mission accomplished by her, the worth of her personality as human being, as citizen, as thinker, as fighter”
Aluta continua!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
29 August 2009
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gautengonline.gov.za/)
