02 April 2001
The South African Communist Party (SACP) welcomes the remarks and observations by the Minister of Social Development, Comrade Zola Skweyiya, that we need to review our country's gambling legislation as reported in today's Business Day.
Gambling merely serves to give false hopes and promises to the majority of our people that they can escape the misery of unemployment, poverty and low-paying jobs. Instead of directing our people's resources to productive investment and economic transformation, gambling takes money away from the poor to the rich and leads to serious social problems.
Gambling promotes individual greed and defeats solidarity and collective economic activities amongst poor and working people.
For these reasons, the SACP calls for a review of the further extension and placement of 50 000 slot machines to be placed in entertainment areas. Those who gain from gambling, promote the lie that gambling contributes to job creation and tourism. Over and above the social cost of gambling, the SACP reminds these self-serving promoters of gambling that it is not the casino economy of gambling and capitalism which will transform our country's economy and meet the basic needs of our people.
Instead, we need a state-led industrial development strategy which will mobilise domestic resources towards productive investment. Only such a strategy will create sustainable quality jobs and address the basic needs of our people all things which gambling and the casino economy of capitalism can never address.
We call on all South Africans poor and working people in particular not to use their hard-earned money in gambling but to use it in building alternative and people-controlled financial institutions. We also call on all South Africans to use their mass power to struggle for economic transformation which will meet the need of poor and working people and not those of the bosses such as gambling.
CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity South African Communist Party
Tel - 011 339-3621/2
Fax - 011 339-4244
Cell - 083 651 0271
Email - sacp1@wn.apc.org