18 March 2020
The South African Communist Party denounces greedy business mentality and expresses its sincere gratitude to the South African Airways (SAA) on its developmental intervention. The SACP congratulates the national airline, SAA on the successful role it has played in the repatriation of South Africans from Wuhan, China. This is not a developmental role in the eyes of greedy business.
The SACP wishes to thank SAA for making available its aircraft A340-600, captain and crew for the repatriation in the midst of the global emergency of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Words of thanks also go to the captain and entire flight crew, as well as members of the South African National Defence Force, Health and other professionals, who made themselves available and participated in the successful repatriation mission and 146 South Africans landing back home on Saturday, 14 March 2020.
The SACP further thanks the workers and managers of the facilities in Limpopo Province for their welcoming hospitality to the fellow South Africans, and for making themselves available to serve them during the quarantine period.
The SACP rejects the greedy call by certain sections of business on government to abandon State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). What these narrow, self-serving private profit interests want is another form of state capture, the pursuit of private capital monopoly, including through lobby for means that will lead to the liquidation of SOEs.
SOEs require recapitalisation, adequate support and turnaround in order to serve a developmental mandate.
What business must be doing now is to end the investment strike, release the trillions of rand acquired from the economy held in liquid cash and therefore re/invest in the productive sector to boost the economy and create employment and decent work.
The SACP reiterates its call on the private health care sector, especially but not exclusively hospitals to not place greed or demand for payment for private profit and self-enrichment ahead of human life. The private health care sector should make available facilities and take part in the national effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, and provide testing and treatment purely on humanitarian grounds.
