6 May 2004
President of the NUM
Members of the National Executive Committee
Leadership of the Alliance and fraternal organisations
Delegates to this special national congress
Excellencies
Comrades and Friends
I bring revolutionary greetings to you, the delegates to this special National Congress, on behalf of the National Executive Committee of your movement, the African National Congress.
And in doing so, I do not use the term 'revolution' lightly. Revolution means the mobilisation of social forces for the transformation of society. As people committed to a better life for all, our task is a profoundly revolutionary one.
The 2004 election represented an overwhelming expression of confidence in the ANC from the country as a whole, and particularly from the black working class and poor. Your sterling efforts as organised structures of the NUM, and as individual activists, has once again been resoundingly demonstrated. Allow me to take this opportunity to once again commend you on the work you have done to consolidate and advance the national democratic revolution.
It is vitally important that you, as leaders of the working class, continue to participate in the political structures of the African National Congress. Your involvement in union work, and your engagement with the ANC as an organised structure are vitally important components of your work, which can only enrich the ANC as it strives to build a better society.
However, revolutionaries have a responsibility to continuously educate themselves, and to improve their political understanding and consciousness of the class struggle. The development of your political consciousness will not result from trade union work alone; neither will it be advanced only through engagement as a union with political structures. Rather, the development of your consciousness requires each one of you, as individuals, to actively participate in political structures.
During the election campaign some of the opposition parties appeared to be primarily concerned with the spin doctoring of apparently simple solutions to complex problems. The main objective of such propaganda efforts was the projection of false images, designed to entice the unthinking support of those without the depth to analyse their own situation for the purpose of changing it.
In contrast, the ANC's campaign was primarily concerned with explaining to our people how they should realistically act, together with government, in a practical manner to overcome the many issues they confront in their daily lives. Our election campaign sought to mobilise millions of our people into direct engagement with the country's political leadership. Through systematic door-to-door work, and other forms of direct interaction with the voters, we sought to achieve the heightened mobilisation of social forces throughout the country.
Contrary to the views of so many sedentary 'observers' and 'analysts', our people did not only offer complaints and misgivings. They also offered suggestions: practical answers to complex problems and realistic ways of solving the problems they face in their daily lives. This kind of work, involving the mobilisation of social forces to confront directly the problems in which they find themselves, is at its heart a revolution.
Never before has South Africa witnessed a mobilisation and interaction on the scale of the ANC's 2004 election campaign. The last time such an extensive participatory process took place was for the Congress of the People, which drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955.
Comrades,
The results of this hard work, in which you participated so fully, are there for all to see. We have achieved all the objectives we had set ourselves in the campaign:
Youth and first time voters were mobilised to the polls in their millions, dispelling the false prophesies of board-room analysts.
The ANC increased its majority in all legislatures, including the National Assembly.
For the first time, we are effectively in control of all nine-provinces, including KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape. In both of these provinces, the ANC got more votes in 2004 than in any previous election (including 1994, where voters were not required to register).
The ANC has become the biggest party amongst both Indian and Coloured voters and, for the first time, significant sections of the working class of these minority communities came out in support of our movement.
The results show clearly that the ANC is the only national organisation of the people of South Africa. Consider the following facts concerning some of the opposition parties. The DA, which claims to be the only national opposition, is in fact unable to gather any support outside the urban centres of our country. 61% of their votes came from the Metros. As we all know the vast majority of these are from a single ethnic group; The UDM, which once hoped to out-do the DA in their opposition to the ANC, received 60% of their votes from a single province, the Eastern Cape. As we all know, the vast majority of these votes were from a single ethnic group. The IFP, which has long been known for delusions of grandeur, received 90% of its votes from KwaZulu Natal. As we all know, the vast majority of these were from a single ethnic group.
The strategy and tactics of the ANC direct us to unite our people behind the democratic revolution. This means that we cannot afford to ignore the voices of those who voted for parties other than the ANC. And the reality is that many of the supporters of the IFP, the UDM, AZAPO or the PAC are in fact part of the historic constituency of the ANC. In KwaZulu Natal, and the Eastern Cape, considerable work has been done on the ground to bring them home. But we must also consider the question of cooperation with such parties in the light of our historic task of building national unity.
This too, applies to the New National Party. The National Party, let us not forget, was the primary architect of apartheid. There is no doubt that the experts in establishing that system can strengthen our national effort to dismantle it, and this indeed is the route that the NNP has chosen. It is a difficult and brave decision on their part, for we all know the baggage that they carry. The baggage of forty years at the helm of a crime against humanity. A baggage which cannot be altered by the simple act of appending 'New' to the hated name of the National Party. A baggage which may ultimately lead to their own demise.
The DA of course remains the true heirs to the NP's tradition of conservative politics. Their intention to fight back against the democratic revolution has suffered two major setbacks: first in 1999, then in 2004. It is not possible for us to find any meeting point with them, since our understanding of democracy is the direct opposite of theirs.
Comrades,
It is true that the three-thirds majority which some of you in the NUM have urged us to pursue remains elusive. Nevertheless, the strength of our mandate is humbling indeed, especially when one considers that the vast majority of the eleven million South Africans who voted ANC come from the ranks of the poorest of the poor. These masses were mobilised into action by a revolutionary campaign.
The extent of mobilisation during the election campaign has set a new standard for the manner in which our government interacts with the people. The newly elected premiers and ministers must ensure that the manner in which they conduct themselves builds upon these lessons in democratic practice. Having set such a high standard, our goal must be to maintain the momentum. Every day we must conduct ourselves as if it is an election day.
Another pioneering aspect of our election campaign, which we must extend into the normal course of our work, was the manner in which our movement interacted with sectors of society. As we developed our manifesto, consultations were held not only with our allies in the broad mass democratic movement, but also with a range of organisations many of which were traditionally bound to the camp of the opposition, for example the Afrikaner Bond. The manner in which we interacted with these groupings inspired them to develop a sense of belonging and therefore to give meaning to the preamble of the Freedom Charter, which says "South Africa belongs to all who live in it".
Comrades,
The consequence of our humbling mandate from the masses of our people is that we must now act decisively to implement the people's contract to create work and fight poverty. We must unite our people and all their organised formations in a national effort to push back the frontiers of poverty. The role of COSATU and the trade union movement as a whole is critical in this regard.
Not only must the unions act as representatives of their members, they must also provide leadership and direction on many complex questions. The task of pushing back the frontier of poverty, requires that the government and public service as a whole must render service in the most effective manner, especially to the poorest. Therefore, role of the unions is critical to ensure that the principle of Batho Pele becomes the norm.
Public sector unions must clearly make an enormous contribution in this regard, since they would be at the cutting edge of such transformation. But in the broader challenge of pushing back the frontiers of poverty, other unions in other sectors must also play their role. This includes not only ensuring that working conditions are improved throughout the economy, but also that investors make responsible investments in sectors that will contribute to this struggle against poverty. It means not only defending and advancing the rights of workers, but also mobilising them to acquire the skills they need to overcome the two-economy divide.
Pushing back the frontiers of poverty requires an ongoing national effort to mobilise people for change. Over many years the union movement has built a reservoir of organisational capacity and talent, which can be deployed to enhance this struggle. For example, government programmes of expanded public works would require workers to bring experience of organised labour to bear. Unions could mobilise even unemployed workers towards the implementation of this massive organisational task.
Comrades,
Solidarity is the defining characteristic of the workers movement. The struggle against poverty is a global struggle, in the same way that the struggle against apartheid was.
We cannot therefore only speak of ourselves and ignore others who are less fortunate than us on the continent of Africa and the rest of the world. At each moment we must be aware of our international responsibilities. Not only as the recipients of aid from abroad but also, within our own meagre resources, as contributors to the development of others.
Not only should we do so because of our commitment to international solidarity. But also out of our own self interest. This is because our capacity to tackle our own problems is enhanced by the extent to which we are able to help others.
Furthermore, our development as a country, and our ability to push back the frontiers of poverty, is directly depended on the success of the same struggles throughout the continent of Africa. Realising this fact, we have advanced the NEPAD programme. Again, this huge effort at organisation can only benefit from the contribution of the union movement. South Africa is blessed with a strong and developed union movement. Unfortunately, many countries in Africa still have a long way to go to achieve this level of organisation of the working class. Your contribution to NEPAD must involve the transfer of the skills we have to build a continental union movement for the African renaissance.
Beyond Africa's borders we must also continue to lend a hand in the global struggle for a just international order, which places the eradication of poverty at the centre of the global agenda.
The forces of imperialism have been unleashed with tragic consequences in the Middle East. Pictures of American soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners of war give lie to US claims that the have 'liberated the people of Iraq'. The reality, as we know, is the US is engaged in a colonial occupation of a foreign nation for the purposes of extracting raw materials.
This fact stands as a warning to us all. Let us jealously guard our unity as a people, since only by uniting in action and acting in unity can we expect to defend our hard won freedom.
Comrades,
The results of the 2004 election confirm the correctness of our policies and the massive popular support that the ANC has across the country to proceed with determination and speed in changing people's lives for the better.
They confirm that South Africans have embraced the non-racial inclusivity of the ANC. The politics of antagonism and division are receiving less and less support from South Africans.
In the immediate term, our tasks are:
Thank the people for their overwhelming vote of confidence. We need to return to the people and report back on what has been achieved in this election; to thank them for the confidence they have shown in the ANC; and to begin work in making the people's contract a living reality.
Set up legislatures and establish stable, capable governments at national level and in all nine provinces. This includes working with other parties, particularly in KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape, to establish provincial governments that have the support and confidence of the electorate and are capable of meeting the needs of the people.
Begin in earnest to put the ANC's election manifesto into practice, building on what has already been achieved and intensifying the programmes already in place. The manifesto draws on the foundation build over the last ten years, and many of the plans for its implementation are already in place. At ever level, work needs to be done to chart the immediate tasks ahead.
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of freedom in appropriate ways, which involve the people and which build a solid foundation for the next decade of democracy.
I know that this conference will help us to do just this. We are also mindful of your own immediate struggle against the possible closure of some shafts at the Harmony mine. We would be there to lend whatever support is required of us and exert whatever influence we can to ameliorate that problem.
I wish you well in your work at this Special National Congress. I trust that your deliberations will take us forward by building unity around practical solutions to the problems we face. By doing so you would be making a meaningful contribution to buidling of a peoples contract to create work and fight poverty.
Thank you.