SACP Broadens and Escalates the Banks Campaign

02 May 2001

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has decided to escalate and increase the momentum of the Campaign for the Transformation and Diversification of the Financial Sector under the slogan Make Banks Serve the People.

Key in this escalation of the Campaign is a Consultative Meeting on the Campaign to be held on Tuesday, 16 May as detailed below.

• DATE : Tuesday, 16 May 2001
• TIME : 08h30 - 17h00
• VENUE : Parktonian Hotel, De Korte Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg

The SACP has invited a wide range of organisations and interests, including the ANC, COSATU, NAFCOC, SANCO, Co-operative Organisations, and the SA Council of Churches, to this Consultative Meeting. The SACP will propose the formation of a Broad Popular Campaign Front to this Consultative Meeting. This meeting will also look into the restructuring of Postbank and preparations for the NEDLAC Summit on the Financial Sector.

This meeting is also open to a limited number of journalists.

This is a popular Campaign which speaks to all sections of South African society. With this in mind and given that preparations for the NEDLAC Summit on the Financial Sector are at an advanced stage, the SACP now seeks to escalate and broaden the Campaign through a Broad Popular Campaign Front and an ongoing Programme of Action , said Blade Nzimande, SACP General Secretary.

Since the SACP launched the Campaign in October last year, the last three months have marked a turning point with wider and increasing sections of South African society calling for banks which serve the people. These include:

• The Black Economic Empowerment Report of the Black Economic Empowerment Commission which calls for fundamental transformation of the financial sector
• Co-operative bank and access to credit initiatives by the Diakonia Council of Churches, rural women in the Eastern Cape and North West Provinces and the SA Municipal Worker's Union
• SACP meetings with a wide range of organisations including the ANC, COSATU, NAFCOC, the National Co-operative Association of South Africa, the National Stokvels Association of South Africa, the Million Women's Savings Movement and many more
• Hundreds of public meetings convened by SACP branches in local areas in order to popularise the campaign and collect demands from our people
• With the above developments and the formation of the proposed Broad Popular Campaign Front, the banks now have nowhere to hide. They have to respond to these growing calls and pressure from the mass of our people, concluded Nzimande.

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