The Chris Hani memorial tour visited Australia from September 26 to October 6 to give a first-hand account of developments in South Africa. The delegation consisted of Charles Nqakula, general secretary of the South African Communist Party and member of the ANC's National Executive Council; John Gomomo, president of the peak union body, COSATU; and Thenjiwe Mthintso, MP and member of the ANC's women's caucus. All three visitors knew Hani well and are members of the SACP.
In Newcastle on September 26, Thenjiwe Mthintso and John Gomomo addressed a meeting of 80 in the Newcastle Workers Club.
The focus of Gomomo's speech was on the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Plan. The union movement faced several key problems, not the least of which is that only 47% of workers are unionised (although Gomomo noted that this was higher than in Australia).
Having learned from the ALP-ACTU alliance, Gomomo said, the union movement would maintain its independence. If the government begins ignoring the rights of workers, then the unions will be able to act in their defence. This independence has been important since the negotiations began. Mass action by COSATU prevented the old government selling off public assets before the elections. These actions were taken despite ANC criticism.
Another problem has been that some of the union leadership has been seconded to the government. This has benefits too, he acknowledged. But, as is often the case, Gomomo said, comrades who fought together often turn on each other after the victory — as happened in Namibia, where workers were the victims of a draconian Labour Relations Act. To avoid this it was thought advisable to put COSATU members in the parliament, where they are now in a position to block any anti-RDP forces in the government of national unity and to draft new labour laws.
In Brisbane, John Nebauer reports that 120 people gathered at the Brisbane TLC building to hear Charles Nqakula on September 30. Nqakula told the gathering of the monumental importance the victory of the ANC for the people of South Africa. "We come to Australia to celebrate the victory that we won. That victory is a victory not only for South Africa but a victory for all mankind."
Speaking about the long struggle waged by the South African people for their freedom, Nqakula, said that the ANC Freedom Charter was to "bring freedom to our people. Freedom is the provision of housing to our people, the provision of food to our people, the provision of water, health and education to our people."
The question and answer session proved quite lively. A number of participants were concerned that talk of a South African "accord" would prove to be similar to the Accord process in Australia, which has led to a drop in the living standards of Australian workers.
Nqakula said that, although companies would be encouraged to invest in South Africa, the interests of the South African workers would not be jettisoned in the process.
Nqakula was very enthusiastic about the growth of the SACP from a few hundred members in 1990 to over 60,000 by December 1992. He expressed his confidence that the growth of the SACP and its alliance with COSATU and the ANC would bring about the victory of socialism in South Africa.
In Adelaide on October 4, several meetings were organised, reports Andrew Hall. The RDP agreement between workers, business and government was discussed, just as it is being hotly debated in South Africa.
Charles Nqakula said "We are talking about a process that has to have coordination between all the parties involved for the growth required. We need to bring the three groups together for coordination, and in some respect co-determination for society to benefit. This eliminates a key area of conflict."
Nqakula denied there was an "accord" between workers, management and the ANC, "but as a part of the process of transformation through the RDP, workers do want coordination, but with strong rights in their favour".
Thenjiwe Mthintso spoke on the issue of women's rights and affirmative action, "especially [for] rural African women [who have] been right at the bottom of the hierarchy".
Another challenging problem, said Mthintso, is youth. "For ages our students have taken the role of leading the struggle, and are heroes of the revolution. This youth is our future, but this youth is unproductive ... unskilled ... uneducated. We need to deal with this in a very imaginative way."
[Thenjiwe Mthintso speaks about empowering women in South Africa on page 15. Our next issue will carry further comments on the RDP made during the tour.]