10 October 2002
The South African Communist Party (SACP) generally welcomes the modest measures to address high food prices announced by cabinet today. However, we believe that we require stronger and decisive action.
The increase of welfare grants and the provision of maize at a lower price will go a long way to ensure that the poor have access to basic food supplies. The SACP specifically welcomes the investigation of a Strategic Grain Reserve which would act as a buffer in times of food crises. Given that the increase in welfare grants is between 3% and 7%, the SACP is concerned that this increase is subordinated to the inflation target and is not sufficiently redistributive.
The SACP calls for attention by government and all South Africans to ensure a basic minimum level of household security through the revival of the school feeding programme and the redirection of Integrated Development Plans at a local government level.
The SACP is concerned that the long term measures announced by cabinet fall short of achieving a greater degree of subordination of profit maximisation by private capital involved in the food chain to the social imperatives of guaranteeing sufficient affordable food to the poor.
The SACP is concerned that major retail chains have increased their profits in the same period that food prices have soared. Earlier this week, media reports indicated windfall profits for the shareholders of Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite. This is a case of unwarranted profiteering in the midst of poverty. The SACP calls on government to act on this including effective early warning mechanisms and progressive taxation on such profiteering.
From the stand point of working people and the poor, what we are confronting is a serious “market failure” – or more precisely a systemic inability on the part of capitalism to guarantee sufficient affordable food to the poor. Rising food prices are manifestly not a result of any “excess” demand by or credit in the hands of the poor.
What we need, as a country, is a combination of immediate, short-term relief measures and the development of longer term interventions to deal with structural and systemic issues in line with a state-led economic growth and development strategy.
The current food price crisis clearly reinforces the case for an early major extension of the social security system, as well as of public works and other programmes to deal with unemployment and respond to income poverty. Adjustment in the levels of wages and social security benefits to take account of the greater proportional impact of food price crises on the living standards of the poor are also warranted.
In our view, part of the long term measures must include a focus on agriculture and food processing as priority sectors that both have potential for income creation and employment and which must become guarantors of food security for the poor. We call on government to ensure that community and cooperative food production are actively encouraged, supported and receive a higher priority. All of this must be complemented by an acceleration of land reform, with particular emphasis on ensuring access for poor communities and collective ventures.
The SACP also believes that we need to develop and refine an arsenal of defensive measures against speculative activity – both in currency markets, such as that underpinning the devaluation of our currency at the end of last year, and in commodity markets, which many believe to be a factor behind the current food price crisis.
CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party (SACP)
Tel - 011 3393621 Fax - 011 3394244 Cell – 083 651 0271
Email – mazibuko@sacp.org.za