District Six reminds us never to turn back

On the 11th of this month, February, Mr Dan Ndzabela, aged 82, and Mr Ebrahim Murat, aged 83, took possession of new houses in District Six in Cape Town. Mr Ndzabela had been removed from District Six in 1959, and Mr Murat in 1967.

We are all familiar with the story of District Six. On February 11, 1966, exactly 38 years before Messrs Ndzabela and Murat returned, District Six had been declared a white area under the Group Areas Act.

This resulted in the uprooting of the black people who had lived in this area for many generations. They were forcibly removed to the Cape Flats. Again as we all know, the Group Areas Act and the forced removals that resulted from its implementation, were part of the process of instituting 'grand apartheid' in our country.

As happened in other parts of our country, Cape Town was deliberately and systematically transformed into a 'whites only' city. This had to do not only with creating exclusively white neighbourhoods because the apartheid regime felt that whites should not share the same living space with black people. It also related to the economic and security imperatives of the system of white minority rule. This system viewed and used these black masses as disposable labour. They were therefore required in the 'white areas' merely to work. At the end of the working day, they had to leave. Once hard and poorly paid work had destroyed their capacity to work, they would then be confined to their 'black areas', out of sight of those who had exploited them.

Thus those who had grown rich on the cheap labour of these masses would wash their hands of any responsibility to take care of these millions who no longer had the possibility to earn even a meagre wage.

But those who instituted this system also knew that the brutally exploitative social system they had put in place could not but provoke resistance and rebellion among the oppressed and exploited masses. To facilitate their capacity to quarantine and suppress such a rebellion, it was necessary that the oppressed and exploited should live as far away from the 'white areas' as possible, in locations that could be surrounded and beaten into submission whenever the need arose.

These considerations led to the destruction of District Six and its proclamation as a 'white area'. As we all know, the same thing had happened to such other settlements as Cato Manor in Durban, Lady Selborne in Pretoria, and Sophiatown in Johannesburg.

This system was further extended with the establishment of the Bantustans, permitting forced removals from both urban and rural areas and the dumping of millions of Africans in the rural areas that had been marked out as 'native reserves' earlier in South African history. These 'reserves' constituted the institutionalisation of the outcome of the process of land dispossession that had started soon after the arrival of the Dutch settlers at the Cape in 1652.

The removal of black people from District Six from 1966 onwards, and even earlier, was by no means the first forced removal from Cape Town. The first such removal took place in February 1901, 65 years before District Six was declared a 'white area'.

That year Cape Town and other parts of our country fell victim to an outbreak of bubonic plague. This deadly disease had started in the Far East. Merchant ships sailing past the Cape on their way to Europe brought it to our shores, where it took many lives and caused a lot of panic.

This provided an excuse for the white authorities of the day forcibly to relocate the Africans living in central Cape Town to a state farm called Uitvlugt. This new settlement was called Ndabeni and was located near Maitland.

The false and insulting reason given for this forced removal was that because they were generally diseased, the Africans in central Cape Town, many of whom worked at the docks, contributed to the propagation of the disease.

The truth is that rats that came with the ships sailing into Cape Town from the Far East transmitted this disease. But such was the strength of the racist stereotype of the Africans that the white authorities of the day, with the full support of the white community, punished the Africans for the outbreak of a disease that had nothing to do with them, by banishing them to Ndabeni. Within a month, 5,000 Africans had been moved to the new location.

This was done under powers granted to the authorities not under a Group Areas Act, which was then not on the statute books, but under the Public Health Act. Whatever the Acts used to effect forced removals throughout the 20th century, the common and fundamental proposition of the system of white minority rule was that the health of the white population, however defined, would benefit from the location of especially the Africans as far away as possible from this white population.

Interestingly, and as part of the history of the formation of our urban areas, the next major health scare to hit Cape Town occurred in 1918. This time there was an outbreak of a flu epidemic. Again white Cape Town identified Africans as a health risk.

Ndabeni was now viewed as being too close to 'white' Cape Town. People were therefore moved to Langa, separated from the rest of the city by railway lines and a highway. For a long time the people resisted removal from Ndabeni, this resistance gaining particular intensity during the period between 1927 and 1935. Nevertheless white South Africa was determined to have its way, regardless of the fact that the flu epidemic had come and gone. The people were forcibly removed from Ndabeni and resettled in Langa.

A brief history of South African townships by Ciraj Rasool provides a graphic account of what Ndabeni was. It says: "Ndabeni also bore the stigma of a plague camp...with its surrounding fence and street grid with its regular (police) constable patrol. It consisted of five large dormitories, each of which accommodated 500 men. 615 lean-to corrugated iron huts also housed 8 people each. Nobody had privacy, and washing and cooking facilities were inadequate. Huts had no floors and were subject to flooding in winter, and only later were they raised on banks."

Another account says: "From the start, no strangers were allowed to stay more than 24 hours. Liquor was banned, women were not allowed to stay overnight and arrivals had to present themselves to the Superintendent who would give them an identity card and a place to live. At first Africans responded by refusing to pay rent, but defaulters were arrested and forced to leave the city."

Ordinary racism had given white South Africa the excuse to move Africans out of central Cape Town. The unmitigated and uncontrolled exploitative imperatives of the capitalist system used this as an opportunity to create a virtual prison for cheap, unskilled, male African workers.

These had no choice but to work for any wage they were offered. They were also obliged to leave Cape Town and return to the 'native reserves', once the capitalist economy and white society had no need for their services.

The movement from central Cape Town to Ndabeni and from Ndabeni to Langa, as well as from District Six in central Cape Town, to the Cape Flats, had to do with this complex of issues - meeting the needs of a virtually unregulated capitalist system, satisfying the requirements of a rabid racism, and addressing the security imperatives of the system of white minority rule.

The February 1966 proclamation of District Six as a 'white area' was more than a human tragedy, resulting from the uprooting of a long-settled community, with its cohesive bonds of community and system of inter-personal relations, its culture and way of life.

It represented the further entrenchment of the capitalist system in its most brutal form, the affirmation of the correctness and inevitability of racism and racial discrimination, and the strengthening of the security system designed to guarantee the permanence of white minority domination.

The brief history which we have already cited says: "In September 1996, the Land Claims Commissioner, Wallace Mgoqi, addressed a packed meeting in Langa of former residents of Ndabeni, who had launched a claim for compensation arising from their removal to Langa almost 70 years ago. Complaining that their houses in Langa were too small as the children and grandchildren were living with them, former Ndabeni residents, now in their 70s and 80s, said that they longed to return to the area, even though this was now not possible because of the subsequent (establishment) of factories there. Ndabeni, they said, was a place where people had lived like a family and shared their possessions with each other. They were close to the city and had easier access to transport. 'Ndabeni had no lights, but crime was not like it is today', one resident said. To tumultuous applause, Mgoqi assured the meeting that top priority (would be) given to compensating the former residents of Ndabeni."

Our government has honoured this commitment to the people who once lived at Ndabeni. Some of the claims have already been settled, while others are pending further interaction with claimants.

Nelson Mandela was released from prison on 11 February 1990, exactly 24 years after District Six was proclaimed a white area, and exactly 14 years before Dan Ndzabela and Ebrahim Murat returned to District Six as residents.

It was most appropriate that he was at District Six on 11 February 2004, to give Dan Ndzabela and Ebrahim Murat the keys to their new homes. This historic and symbolic act told the real story about the meaning of Nelson Mandela's liberation from jail, and our country's emancipation from white minority domination.

The return of Dan Ndzabela and Ebrahim Murat to District Six tells the story of what our liberation must be about. Ours remains a capitalist society. Nevertheless our movement, the ANC, has said we will never agree that we return to the days when this system had absolutely free reign brutally to exploit the workers and the people, without let or hindrance. We have said the rights of the workers must be protected and all our people given the possibility to enjoy a better and decent life.

Racism and racial discrimination in our country are now prohibited both by our Constitution and our laws. Our movement, the ANC, is committed to the objective that never again will any of our people, black and white, be subjected to racist discrimination and dehumanisation.

Through a protracted struggle led by our movement, the ANC, our people defeated the apartheid system of white minority domination. We are determined to ensure that such domination will never revisit our country and people again. We will continue to do everything possible and necessary to eradicate the terrible legacy we inherited from centuries of racist and apartheid rule.

It is precisely because during the last ten years, our First Decade of Liberation, the ANC remained loyal to these fundamentally important positions, that Dan Ndzabela and Ebrahim Murat have been able to return to District Six and the people of Ndabeni have been compensated for their losses.

Some of the principal parties that are sworn to oppose us during the forthcoming elections, determined to defeat us by persuading the masses of our people to turn against their movement, have adopted positions different from ours on some of the fundamental issues that are central to the historic mission of our movement, to build a people-centred and caring society.

Together, such parties as the DA, the IFP and the ACDP argue for what they describe as "a flexible labour market". They say they stand for a "free market", with as little state regulation as possible. As part of this, they want the democratic state to stop providing such basic goods and services to the people as water, electricity, transport, telephones and so on. They agitate for wholesale privatisation of all publicly owned productive enterprises.

They are opposed to such interventions as setting minimum wages and conditions for employment equity. They say that every individual should be encouraged to find his or her place in "the market". They are against the participation of the organised workers, through their trade unions, in the process of determining the future of our country.

They call for a "minimal state" to deny the masses of our people, who had been impoverished and disempowered by centuries of racism and apartheid, any meaningful support by the government they will elect on April 14 this year.

In the meantime they are perfectly conscious of the fact that those who had benefited from the system of white minority domination continue to occupy privileged economic and other positions in our society, and can assume a position of unfair advantage over the historically disadvantaged, especially if the democratic state abandons its developmental role.

In reality what these parties, the DA, the IFP and the ACDP and others want is as faithful a return to the old system of unregulated capitalism as possible. In our situation, this is the real and undisguised meaning of such phrases as "a flexible labour market", "the free market", "a minimal state", "privatisation and deregulation", and so on.

To the extent that this is possible in our democratic society, they want to recreate the Ndabeni township that was established after the 1901 removals that followed the outbreak of the bubonic plague, and the townships on the Cape Flats as they were during the apartheid years, but without recourse either to a Public Health Act or a Group Areas Act.

The anti-ANC 'coalition for change' they are talking about is, in fact, a coalition for backward change, that would return our country to the days of tension, conflict and crisis, which our people, acting together, have consigned to the dustbins of history.

The urgent and immediate task facing all our members and structures, and the entire democratic movement is to ensure that once more we mobilise the millions of our people to confirm their commitment to the vision that inspired many among them to sacrifice their lives for freedom. That vision is focused on the provision of a better life for all and the creation of a people-centred society.

We must work hard among the people to mobilise them to give the ANC a decisive victory in 2004, and thus democratically renew the mandate they gave our movement, the ANC, in 1994 and 1999. These masses know that the alternative to this outcome is too ghastly to contemplate.

Poverty alleviation

Government intensifies fight against poverty

The fight against poverty has gained momentum over the last few years, with the ANC-led government making ever greater strides to improve the lives of the country's poorest.

This emerged from media briefings by cabinet clusters held in Parliament this week as cabinet ministers reported on progress, challenges and plans in national government.

A number of briefings focused on the work government is doing to meet the challenges of poverty through a range of integrated and cross-cutting interventions. These include the provision of access to a regular income for poor families, improving the household assets of the poor through housing and land programmes, and providing access to basic services.

Taken together, this areas of work have helped to build a better life for the country's poorest, while contributing to social stability and development. The will need to remain an integral part of government's work alongside ongoing efforts to build the economy, create work and build the country's skills base.

Social security

Access to social grants has been significantly improved particularly over the last three years, accompanied by an increase in expenditure on grants. Between April 2000 and the end of November 2004, the number of people receiving social grants increased from 3,2 million to 7,5 million, with a budget of R34 billion a year.

This increase has largely been due to the massive expansion of the Child Support Grant from less than 350,000 children in 2000 to about 3,9 million at the end of November 2003. This number is set to increase further as the qualifying age for these grants is extended up to the age of 14 years over a three year period. This year children under 11 years of age will be registered to receive these grants.

Despite this progress, there are still gaps in the provision of social assistance to the poor and most vulnerable. For this reason, work is ongoing to develop a comprehensive social security system which builds on existing schemes and prioritises the most vulnerable households. This system, which will include social health insurance, should come into effect by 2006.

The pilot food emergency scheme, aimed at relief to the poorest households, has made progress. Following the escalation of food prices in 2002, R400 million was allocated to assist both neighbouring countries and the poorest households that could not afford up to R200 expenditure on food. These amounted to about 245,000 families including child-headed households. These families have been identified in partnership with faith-based organisations, business sector, the trade unions and community organisations.

A further R1,2 billion has been allocated over the next three years and distribution is currently underway. About 300,000 poorest households, covering over 1,5 million people, have been provided with food parcels. This programme has ensured that in households where there was uncertainty of what to eat the next day, there are at least meals for a period of three months, during which beneficiaries are being registered for social grants, linked to sustainable poverty relief and income generation programmes and supported to be self-reliant.

Public works

In addition to the provision of much need social and economic infrastructure, public works programmes aim to benefit people who are excluded from the formal economy and are not eligible for any social grant. It has enormous potential to alleviate poverty in both rural and urban settings.

Since 1999, the Department of Public Works has invested more than R1,7 billion and created close to 124,000 jobs in impoverished rural areas in six provinces.

The strategy of public works is due to be taken to a new level with the launch of the Expanded Public Works Programme in April 2004. This programme will focus on job creation in the areas of infrastructure provision, social services and environmental protection.

In the infrastructure sector a labour intensive contractor learnership programme has been established, with support from three national banks. Training and skills development will form a major part of this programme. In the social sector, the public works programme will focus on expanding home and community-based care programmes and early childhood development programmes. Not only do these programmes address critical community needs, they are also labour intensive. The environmental element of the programme will seek to build on the current programmes, including Working for Water, land care and coastal care.

Access to health care

Through improving access to health care, education, water and sanitation, and electricity, the ANC-led government has helped to alleviate poverty and build a better life for millions of South Africans. This remains an ongoing challenge as government works to overcome capacity, resource, personnel and infrastructure constraints. It is also having to accommodate the increased number of people using services as a result of better access.

In the public health sector, free health care was introduced for pregnant women and children under six in 1994. Since then, the number of child cases has more than doubled. In 1996, user fees at clinic level were abolished, resulting in an increase in usage from an average of 1,8 visits per person a year in 1992 to 2,3 visits in 2001. Last year, free health care was extended to people with permanent disabilities, including frail elderly people and people with psychiatric conditions that serious impede daily functioning.

This increased usage, which contributes significantly to improving the health of the nation, places increased pressure on the country's health care infrastructure and extra demands on health care personnel. The government has therefore focused on improving the availability and condition of health facilities.

By the end of 2003, more than 900 clinics had been built or had major upgrading since 1994, significantly strengthening the platform for delivery of primary health care service. Renewal of hospital stock focused initially on renovation and maintenance, but in the last two years has progressed to major rebuilding under the hospital revitalisation programme. Three new tertiary care hospitals have been commissioned, including the Nelson Mandela Hospital in Umtata which will be opened this year. The others are the Inkosi Albert Luthuli in Durban, which is already functioning, and the Pretoria Academic Hospital, which is nearing completion.

One of the greatest challenges in the provision of equitable health services has been the uneven distribution of our human resources, between the public and private health sectors and between urban and rural areas.

The Health Department has concluded a vital agreement in the bargaining council to pay special allowances to professionals working in rural areas and those with skills that are in scarce supply in the public sector. The total allocation for these allowances is R500 million in the current year and will rise to R750 million next year.

Certain categories doctors, specialists, dentists and other health workers will receive 'scarce skills' allowances ranging from 10 to 15 percent of their current salaries. Rural allowances range from 8 to 22 percent of annual salary. This year about 3,000 young professionals are doing community service, and a much larger proportion are serving in predominantly rural provinces.

Strategies to reduce the price of medicines are being pursued. Draft regulations on medicine pricing have been published for comment. These focus on a single exit price for manufacturers and controlled fees for wholesalers and retailers. These regulations will be finalised and implemented by the beginning of May.

These are just some of the measures being taken by the ANC-led government to address the challenge of poverty. Over the next few editions, ANC TODAY will highlight some of the other areas in which progress is being made to build a better life for all South Africans.

More Information:

• Parliamentary Media Briefings, February 2004

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