14 September 2005
The Alliance Secretariat held a scheduled meeting today (14 September 2005).
The Secretariat reaffirmed the centrality of our common Alliance programme of action, particularly the implementation of the 'know your neighbourhood' campaign through which the local structures of our movement engage in direct interaction with the masses of our people.
As we prepare for the forthcoming local government elections, the Alliance recommitted itself to a common programme to deepen democracy, especially at the local level. In this regard, the Alliance expresses thanks to the thousands of our people who registered to vote at the registration weekend on 3 September.
Local democratic participation is fundamental to the advance of social transformation. As part of the struggle to improve service delivery, we call on all our structures to build and strengthen participatory democracy at a local level.
The Secretariat received alarming reports regarding the situation of farm-workers, their families and other tenants on farms throughout the country. The shocking absence of human rights and basic dignity in many rural areas remains in stark contradiction with the objectives of our liberation struggle. The Alliance agreed to launch a new campaign to mobilise both government and civil society to ensure the full extension of our democratic victories to farms. This will address the issue of ensuring the full implementation and compliance with legislation, regulations and sectoral determinations, and will aim to build the level of organisation of farm-workers throughout the country. The Alliance organising unit shall convene an urgent meeting to develop this campaign.
We noted with concern the collapse of the agreement between the Department of Correctional Services and Popcru. The Alliance will facilitate a discussion aimed at reviving the negotiations.
The SACP reported on preparations for the forthcoming Red October campaign, which will focus on fighting hunger and demanding food security for all. The campaign will be launched on 8 October 2005 in the North West, with the full support of all Alliance partners.
With regard to matters affecting the Deputy President of the ANC, the Secretariat received reports of recent discussions including those held by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC and the Central Executive Committee of COSATU. In this context, the meeting re-affirmed decisions of the recent Ten-a-Side meeting, held on 24 August.
All Alliance partners expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting of the ANC's NEC. In terms of the NEC discussion, the ANC has established a process led by the President and the Deputy President of the ANC to identify and address the substantive issues that have arisen. The Alliance expressed appreciation of the fact that the ANC was exercising a clear leadership role towards the resolution of these issues.
It was agreed that this process must be given full support by all Alliance partners. On this basis, the next ten-a-side meeting of the Alliance, which intended to discuss a number of issues including the proposed Alliance Commission of Inquiry, will be held in abeyance pending the outcome of the ANC process. Furthermore, all Alliance partners committed themselves to contributing to the creation of a climate conducive to the conduct of this process.
At the same time the Alliance reaffirmed its full support for the Deputy President of the ANC in these trying times. Such support may find expression in a variety of ways. In this respect COSATU has led in the creation of a 'Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust'.
Furthermore, members of the Alliance plan to participate in various activities in solidarity with the Deputy President of the ANC on 11 October 2005. These activities will be undertaken with a view to building the unity of our movement as a whole. This means that support for the Deputy President should be expressed in a manner that respects and supports the entire leadership of our movement.
We call on all members of our movement to redouble their efforts on the important tasks of building unity and cohesion in our ranks and advancing the agenda of social transformation.