Southern District Municipality should be renamed as JB Marks District Municipality, urges SACP, North West

30 April 2007

The SACP JB Marks District at its Congress(10-11 February 2007) resolved that the party and its branches should submit the name of comrade JB Marks as a preferred name for the Southern District Municipality( consists of the following Municipalities: Marquassi Hills, Matlosana,Potch,Ventersdorp and Merafong)

The SACP District developed a formal submission and submitted its proposal on 05 March 2007 to the District Municipality.

The District Secretary on submission consulted the ANC Regional Secretary, SANCO Regional Secretary and COSATU Provincial Secretary with the view that these organizations should support the said submission. To our surprise and shock, we now understand that the ANC REC recently resolved that it will engage its branches to support an REC view that the District Municipality be renamed as Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, whilst respecting the right to submit by any organization or individuals- we consider this ANC REC decision as deliberate intension to block and reject the name submitted by the SACP and this decision has a silent message of an ANC REC being anti-communists

The following are brief motivations on the SACP submission:

  1. Comrade John 'Beaver' Marks was born in Ventersdorp, in then Western Transvaal and now North West in the Southern District.
    1. Ventersdorp Municipality as his birth place forms part of the to be renamed Southern District Municipality
    2. Born on 21 March 1903, the District Municipality started the process on the name change co-incidentally on the month when comrade JB Marks was born, this maybe a good 104th Anniversary birthday celebration in memory of this hero.
  1. Comrade JB Marks Political Credentials
    1. 1931, cde JB Marks was officially barred from Teaching as his profession and this allowed him to dedicate more time for the revolutionary cause,
    2. May 1946, elected as the President of the African Mine Workers Union, the Southern District Municipality is one of the Municipalities which Mining is still a highest employment contributor, naming the District after JB Marks will be an honour to the Mineworkers that had contributed to the District Municipality and they are still contributing even today.
    3. He was the Chairman of the SACP and the Treasurer General of the African National Congress, this symbolizes the fact comrades should be able to dedicate their work in all the components of our Revolutionary Alliance.
    4. Successfully led the Historic and heroic Mine workers strike on 12 August 1946, this may serve as good celebration of the 61st Anniversary of the 1946 Mineworkers strike.
  1. African and International Credentials
    1. Comrade JB Marks worked in the African continent as the ANC representative and he suffered severe illness while on duty in the ANC Head Quarters of the ANC External Mission in Tanzania in 1971.
    2. Comrade JB Marks was sent to Lenin School in Russia in 1932 and his understanding of the language spoken in Russia made him a regular visitor on behalf of both the African National Congress and the SACP to Soviet Union (Russia.)
    3. Comrade JB Marks died of fatal Heart attack whilst he was an ANC representative in Russia, he died in Moscow on 01 August 1972 and his remains are still in Moscow where he was buried, this may be the good 35th Commemoration of the death of comrade JB Marks which may also be a call by both the District Municipality and the SACP to government for his body to be exhumed and be reburied in South Africa next to his family graves.

With the above motivation, we call on the communities and revolutionary progressive organizations in the Municipal areas referred above to make submissions in support of the name of comrade JB Marks.

Hope that this request will receive your good and revolutionary consideration.

In memory of comrade JB Marks.

For more information contact Madoda Sambatha, SACP Provincial Secretary- North West 072 360 6861