Write for Umsebenzi: the voice of the South African Communist Party With and For the Workers and the Poor

18 April 2004

• What is Umsebenzi?
• Write for the May 2004 edition
• Guidelines for articles
• Economic Indicators With and For the Workers and the Poor
• Deadlines for articles for other 2004 monthly editions
• Subscribe to and Advertise in Umsebenzi

1. What is Umsebenzi?

Umsebenzi is the monthly newspaper of the South African Communist Party (SACP).

Umsebenzi seeks to present progressive views excluded by dominant capitalist media institutions. Umsebenzi seeks to be the leading source and credible African communist newspaper which offers its readers communist and progressive perspectives, news, analysis, discussion and debate of politics, the economy, sports, arts and culture, religion, education, social transformation, etc. from a consistently communist standpoint.

As the voice and organ of the Communist Party, Umsebenzi is aimed at:

• building the Party and arming Party members and working class activists with the tools of analysis they need to understand and change society
• deepening the socialist outlook, consciousness and strategy of the working class as a whole
• actively advancing communist perspectives on society as it is today
• providing a progressive space for networking by working class activists, making it possible for comrades to share views and test their ideas; linking issues, campaigns and activists; helping to build the communist consciousness of students, youth, women, environmental, and other activists in how they can join together and with others to take forward the anti-capitalist struggle

2. Write for the 2004 May edition

The 2004 May edition of Umsebenzi will be on sale from May Day. It will focus on the themes of May Day, assessment of the 14 April elections, 10th anniversary of freedom and democracy and Africa Day.

We are looking for articles and news stories to cover the following:

• Politics and national developments
• Community issues/struggles and developmental stories
• Struggles of organised/employed workers
• The life of the Party
• Analytical and opinion pieces specifically focusing on the KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape election results
• The two economies debate and the economics of the ANC Manifesto - African and international news and analysis
• The Red Commissar column (our own ""Hogarth/Krisjan Lemmer/Red Eye" column)
• Columns (Gender, People's History, Umrabulo, Readers' speak through letters)
• People's Culture - poetry, music, literature, cartoons and games
• People's Sports - not just results but communist analysis of the political economy of sport, exposure of traditional sports and the transformation of sport

The deadline for articles for the May 2004 edition is 22 April.

3. Guidelines for articles

• News stories - between 300 and 600 words
• Opinion/analysis pieces - between 700 and 1,200 words
• Jargon is not preferred. Umsebenzi articles must be accessible to workers.
• Information must be backed up (e.g. it is not sufficient to say "union membership has dropped" without statistics)
• Comradely debate and contributions
• Workers are encouraged to write for Umsebenzi and to form Umsebenzi study circles

4. Economic Indicators With and For the Workers and the Poor

What the heck is the JSE index?

"The rand has weakened against the dollar"
"JSE stocks have gone up"
"The gold market is on the bull-run"
"The NASDAQ index has gone down by 1000 points".

Every night, we hear these sentences when SABC and E-TV news and radio report on the economy. But who are they speaking to? To the bosses? Or the workers and the poor? Yes, we need indicators which tell us what is happening in the economy. But mainstream media just rams down our throats information which is understood by, and serves the bosses.

It is about time that we challenge the media to tell us about how many people live in poverty, about retrenchments, about how developments in the JSE, etc. actually affect the workers and the poor, about development indicators which make economic sense to, and empower the workers and the poor with relevant economic information as a basis for anti-capitalist action.

Umsebenzi calls on is readers, progressive economists and anyone who can help to develop Economic Indicators With and For the Workers and the Poor which Umsebenzi can start to publish and also use as a basis for challenging the rest of the media. Please submit ideas and suggestions to mazibuko@sacp.org.za, Fax - 011 339 4244/6880, P.O. Box 1027, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.

The economy is too important to leave to the bosses!

5. Deadlines for articles for other 2004 monthly editions

• June edition - 25 May
• July edition - 25 June
• August edition - 25 July
• September edition - 27 August
• October edition - 28 September
• November edition - 25 October
• December edition - 27 November

6. Subscribe to and Advertise in Umsebenzi

For local South African subscribers, the cost of subscription for 12 issues of Umsebenzi is R84.00 including postage. To subscribe or place adverts in Umsebenzi, please contact Lucky Lukhele on inkululeko@sacp.org.za, Cell -073 382 2164, Tel - 011 339 3621 and P.O. Box 1027, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.

ISSUED BY:

Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Head of the Office of the General Secretary
South African Communist Party
Tel - + 27 11 339 3621,
Fax - +27 11 339 4244/6880
Cell - +83 651 0271
Email - mazibuko@sacp.org.za