Umrabulo No 22, February 2005

Umrabulo was a word used to inspire political discussion and debate on Robben Island. This concept was revived in 1996 when the ANC published the first edition of Umrabulo. The journal's mission is to encourage debate and rigorous discussions at all levels of the movement.

Call for contributions

Umrabulo welcomes contributions from readers. Contributions may be in response to previous articles or may raise new issues. Contributions may be sent to the address below.

Subscriptions

To subscribe to Umrabulo, complete and return the subscription form http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pubs/umrabulo/. Subscribers receive Umrabulo quarterly by ordinary post. This service is available to both South African and international subscribers.

Editorial Collective

Fébé Potgieter (Editor), Joel Netshitenzhe, Pallo Jordan, Naph Manana, Mandla Nkomfe, Mduduzi Matloporo, Michael Sachs, Steyn Speed

Contact Information
Address: Umrabulo, PO Box 61884, Marshalltown, 2107, South Africa
Telephone: 011 376 1000
Fax: 011 376 1134
e-mail: umrabulo@anc.org.za

The contents and views expressed in Umrabulo do not necessarily reflect the policies of the ANC or the views of the editorial collective.

Editorial

A healthy debate on empowerment

There are some who believe there is not enough debate in our democracy. The ANC is regularly accused by a variety of commentators of stifling debate within its own ranks and in society at large. On both counts, there is no better indication of the inaccuracy of these views than the debate over the last few months on the question of black economic empowerment (BEE).

Since ANC Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe addressed the Black Management Forum (BMF) in September last year, a wide-ranging public discussion has taken place, in which a variety of views have been aired.

Members and leaders of the ANC, COSATU and the SACP, as well as leaders of opposition parties, have all participated. A plethora of 'analysts', 'commentators' and other observers of the process of change have commented.

This is an indication of the vitality of democratic engagement, both within the ANC and in society at large.

But the public media, especially the print media, has done little to help the public understand and participate in the discussion. The Secretary General's input was widely misquoted, misreported and misinterpreted. In this edition of Umrabulo we seek to balance these distortions by focussing on various views on black economic empowerment within the ANC and the alliance more broadly.

In a new paper, the Secretary General takes his initial intervention further, locating the process of BEE within the ANC's overarching economic vision, that 'the people shall share in the country's wealth'. The ANC's policy calls for a broad-based approach to empowerment that contributes to defeating the two-economy divide. As we implement this policy, all our members, and all progressive South Africans, must ask if they are truly contributing to this vision.

Responding to the frequent claims that government policy is directed toward the creation of 'a narrow, ANC-linked elite', the article by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka demonstrates how both the legislative framework and the approach of government departments is focussed on a broad-based conception of empowerment. This approach links the transfer of equity to the kind of transformation that the Secretary General calls for.

But the current owners of the means of production in our country, who remain overwhelmingly white, can be expected to resist thoroughgoing transformation. This perhaps explains why so many private sector BEE deals focus on narrow asset transfer, rather than broad-based BEE. Government has intervened to address this, through the Broad Based BEE Act, which, among other things, creates a framework for empowerment charters.

Andy Brown, a consultant on BEE matters, shows how the charter process can be used to expand the developmental impact of BEE processes. Rather than rejecting the process overall, it is incumbent on democratic and progressive organisations to engage with the charter processes to push the envelope of progressive outcomes.

We also include an extract of Dan O'Meara's seminal work, 'Volkskapitalisme'. Afrikaner economic empowerment was directed at a narrow ethnic base, and relied on the super exploitation of black people to achieve its chauvinist ends. Nevertheless, a crucial lesson of this history is that Afrikaners were able to unite their own capital, political formations, mass media and civil society in a common effort towards resolving the 'poor white' problem.

The Secretary General writes that in seeking not only the deracialisation of ownership, but also its fundamental transformation for the benefit of the masses of our people, we need to "act together, as black entrepreneurs, the progressive union movement and the agencies of government to realise an authentically transformative and broad-based approach to black economic empowerment".

Realising this unity requires an open, democratic and vibrant debate. Despite the diversionary influence of weak and lazy journalism, these debates are indeed taking place within the ANC, in the democratic movement as a whole, and among the people of our country.

An invitation to Umrabulo readers

Readers of Umrabulo are invited to submit articles for publication in the Readers' Forum section. Articles may cover any topic considered relevant to the purpose of Umrabulo, including responses to previous articles. When submitting articles, please consider the following:

Readers' Forum articles should be between 1,500-3,000 words in length.
Umrabulo is aimed at a broad range of people within the ANC and democratic movement, but especially at branch members. Contributions should therefore use plain language. Jargon should be avoided, and specialist terms should be clearly explained.
Contributions may be submitted in any South African language. Until resources permit otherwise, however, articles are likely to be translated into English for publication.
Articles should be submitted together with the name and contact details ofthe author.
Articles may be submitted by e-mail, fax, post or by hand.
The editor may edit any contributions for length or to ensure clarity.
The Editorial Collective reserves the right to decide whether or not to publish a contribution.

Articles may be sent to the following address:

Umrabulo
PO Box 61884
Marshalltown
2107

By e-mail: umrabulo@anc.org.za
By fax: 011 376 1134