South Africa

[Author’s Note: This address was delivered at the Detroit branch of Workers World Party public forum held on Saturday, 22 April 2017.  The event examined various anti-imperialist struggles taking place around the world from the Middle East and Africa to the Democratic Pe

This is the land of our fathers, grandfathers and mothers, the land where some sacrificed their lives to make sure that everyone can enjoy their life without any discrimination whatsoever, where diverse cultures united. But that is not yet achieved.

With the claims that a new trade union federation will be launched in March 2017, it is appropriate to draw up a balance sheet of the labour movement in South Africa, and ask whether the optimism of many that a new Left force is going to be unleashed is justified.

Cuba’s efforts to roll-back racism offer valuable lessons for South Africa, where racism, because of the legacy of colonialism, slavery and apartheid, is deeply ingrained within institutions, social relations and everyday behaviour.

This week could well be remembered as South Africa’s most important political inflection point since the September 2008 ousting of sitting President Thabo Mbeki by his own party, the African National Congress (ANC).

In 2008, in response to what were called the “xenophobic riots” in the townships, we argued that only complete reform of the economy can provide solutions to the despair and desperation of the majority Black population who have been living in horrific poverty.

In early September 2016, the South African government announced that it intends to issue a request for proposals under its ambitious and controversial multi-billion dollar nuclear reactor building programme (Ensor and Paton, 2016).

September offered South Africa yet another occasion to pore over shared national heritage, contested memories and the construction of meaning.

On 17 April 2016 Glebelands Hostel Community Violence Victims hosted a press conference to announce their appeal to the United Nations for assistance in bringing an end to the violence which has beset this comm

Nuclear power kills. If ever one had any doubts about the truthfulness of this statement, the past few months in South African politics have surely dispelled them.