SACP Mpumalanga PEC Statement
2 September 2014
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Mpumalanga Province convened in its 11th Plenary Session of the 8th Congress Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) on Sunday, 31st August 2014 at Mbombela. The meeting focused on consolidating activities and campaigns in order to advance our Party Programme the South African Road to Socialism. The meeting further assessed our task to dislodge lumpen tenderpreneurship and its influence in the province.
Forward to a Radical Second Phase of our Transition
The PEC noted that the ANC`s Mangaung National Conference and the Alliance summit in 2013 made it clear we must advance and deepen a second radical phase of our democratic transition. We believe that RADICAL should mean a paradigm shift in policy thinking and behaviour towards the goals of our revolution with the Freedom Charter as the minimum programme. The PEC believes that in order to advance that qualitative change, the radical second phase of our transition must clearly align with the Freedom Charter which is the basic programme of our National Democratic Revolution.
Beware of false rumours spread about retirement funds
The SACP calls on workers and public servants not to resign on the basis of unfounded rumours that government is planning to take away people`s hard-earned pensions and prevent them from accessing their funds. In some cases these rumours are being deliberately fanned by anti-Alliance elements in the union movement and unscrupulous financial services providers for their own narrow political ends. We are aware that there are teachers and health-care workers who are resigning from their jobs in order to access their money in the mistaken belief that they may be denied access to their funds in the future.
Those fanning rumours are acting in the most irresponsible way. Not only are the rumours wrong, they expose those panicked into resigning to serious losses. For instance, if you resign in order to withdraw retirement funds only R25 000 of those savings are tax free. Whereas on retirement R500 000 is tax free.
The rumour-mongers are deliberately confusing retirement reforms under way directed at provident funds. There are currently no measures in place to force workers on resigning from their jobs to preserve their retirement savings. What will take effect from March next year is that only when they retire members of provident fund be obliged to use two-thirds of what they have saved after march 2015 to purchase an annuity (a monthly pension). However whatever has been saved up till March 2015 will still be available as a lump sum on retirement.
In the case of public servants, their pensions are regulated in terms of the Government Employment Pension Fund (GEPF) rules. The GEPF will not change at this stage. Government is obliged to consult workers before any proposals or reforms can be put into law. Proposals by government aimed at lowering charges on pension funds, encouraging workers to keep their savings until retirement, and convert some of their retirement savings into income at retirement are some of the proposals for consultation with all workers.
The SACP calls upon Treasury and Department of Public Service and Administration to disseminate information to all workers, assuring them that the law has not changed and that workers have access to their hard-earned pension funds.
Health and water crisis in Mpumalanga
We have noted with a serious concern the state of health in the province, having read the human rights commission report. We believe this is a serious challenge for the working class which is depending on public health care. The department of health in Mpumalanga never had stability in terms of Members of Executive Council and Head of Departments. It has been characterised with chopping and changing. We were seriously concerned of what happened at Themba Hospital, where patients were left unattended by nurses due to the inefficiency of the department and its failure to pay what is due to the workers.
We are calling for national intervention to administer that department before we lose many more lives.
The PEC noted that two years ago a lot of money was directed to Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency which was mandated to deal with the problems of water. Despite that the province is still facing a massive challenge of water crisis. We learned that now Municipal Infrastructure Grant is being taken from municipalities to attend to the same problem, now to be given to Rand Water.
The CEO of Mpumalanga Development Agency has resigned, and was offered a golden handshake. We see this as another instrument used to loot public resources by lumpen-tenderpreneurs in the name of service delivery to the people. Lumpen-tenderpreneurs have compromised service delivery in the province.
We are again calling for national intervention before it is too late.
United States of America: A deadly cancer eating the world
The U.S. continues to be a war-mongering imperialist state, and has become a common denominator in every conflict found anywhere in the world and in every consequent mess. The U.S. undermines or controls all international institutions; they continue to instigate regime change in countries which do not agree with them. We are watching with serious concern their sudden interest in the SADC region in particular and Africa in general. The U.S.`s building of a huge embassy in Swaziland and their interests in the mountains of Lesotho are not an innocent affair. In fact the turmoil that Lesotho is facing might not be independent from U.S. interests in that country and given its location, in South Africa and our region.
Recall South Africa`s Ambassador from apartheid Israel, Dismiss the apartheid Israeli Ambassador from South Africa
The mass destruction in occupied Gaza continues. The SACP is concerned by the indiscriminate aggression shown by the apartheid Israel. We reiterate our call for South Africa as a country which respects human rights and value human life to recall its Ambassador from Israel, and to dismiss the Israeli Ambassador from South Africa.
The PEC expressed its full support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement campaign to boycott Woolworths and G4S Security Company. South Africa is obliged to advance the struggle for international solidarity, noting the support it received during the apartheid era from international fronts and our resolve to achieve a new world order free from imperialism and other forms of oppression.
We are deeply concerned by the silence of International Bodies to act against Israeli war crimes. It is incumbent of the international Criminal Court of Justice to act with the same energy it has dealt with African leaders.
Defeat the monarchy for a democratic Swaziland:
We welcome the Department of Home Affairs decision to renew asylum status especially for leaders of the Communist Party of Swaziland for six months. We viewed the decision to deny them such asylum as having been an insult to the consciousness and values of the people of South Africa who themselves benefited a lot from international solidarity.
It is a well-known that political parties are banned in Swaziland and the deportation of activists from that country is equivalent to jail term, torture and death sentence, just like the President of PUDEMO Cde Mario Masuku and our own compatriot Cde Amos Mbendzi who are still languishing in those dirty jails of that dictatorship.
Land and Agrarian Reform:
The SACP condemns evictions of farm workers and their families by farmers in most areas of Gert Sibande District. We will roll out a campaign in collaboration with the progressive trade union movement around this matter.
Membership Month Rally
The province will host a national membership recruitment month rally on Sunday, 7 September 2014 at Sakhile Community hall, Lekwa Sub-district. We will convene community activities in the run up to the rally. This will include the Red Forums which will focus on our campaigns against crime and corruption, drugs and substance abuse, and the challenges facing farm workers.
Issued by SACP Mpumalanga
Enquiries:
Bonakele Majuba - Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 082 968 4877
Lesetja Dikgale - Provincial Spokesperson
Mobile: 076 869 4360
Tinyiko Ntini - Provincial Media Liaison
Mobile: 073 811 2020 or 084 979 5999
