1 October 2014, Braamfontein Recreation Centre, Johannesburg
Comrade Chairperson,
Thank you for the opportunity to address this Consultative Forum on the transformation of the financial sector.
To our invited guests, compatriots and comrades in the struggle for transformation of the financial sector, please allow me to express our warm and revolutionary greetings from the esteemed Central Committee leadership of the SACP. You are all most welcome.
This Consultative Forum takes place at the most crucial period when our economy is reaping the intransigence to transformation and adherents to neo-liberal prescripts. It remains un-equal in gender, class and national form and content. It remains lily white, racist and predominantly male. It is both patriarchal and also patriarchal-racist. It is untransformed, dragging behind the pace of transformation of our society and its democracy. We have invited you here today share ideas on how to transform this economy, which is financialising in every respect.
We have convened a broad range of social and economic forces with common interests to diversify and transform the financial sector and build an inclusive sustainable economy for all the people. This rich economy can sustain us all - we need to cut the greed of the market and share more with all I need.
This Consultative Forum also serves as part of our preparation for the Red October Campaign 2014-2015 programme, which we are launching this weekend on Sunday 5 October at Hammarsdale Sport Field, Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal. You are all invited to the launch.
Red October Campaign 2014-2015
Through the Red October Campaign 2014-2015 we celebrate the 97th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution that took place in Russia in 1917. We are now just three years away from the Centenary of this wold`s first socialist revolution and state established by the working class and peasantry, hence the unity of the hammer and sickle as the logo of the World Communist Movement. The strategy and tactics used by V.I Lenin, the leader of this first greatest milestone in human history in the struggle for universal emancipation, were built on the theoretical foundation laid down by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.
The success of the revolution in Russia heralded the establishment of Communist Parties through the establishment of the Communist International, or the Comintern, in 1919. In 1921 through the leadership of David Ivon Jones, Bill Andrews and S.P Bunting, our own Communist Party of South Africa was established following a directive from Comintern to various small Marxist organisations in South Africa which wanted to affiliate to it. The Communist Party played a major role in our liberation struggle, and the Soviet Union assisted greatly.
In the introduction to the ‘Report of the Commission on the National and Colonial Questions`, presented at the 2nd Congress of the Comintern in 1920, Lenin underlined the importance of Communist Parties conducting revolutionary work and offering assistance to the exploited and colonially dependent nations in their revolt against the oppressor nations. The oppressor nations not only colonised the oppressed nations, but exploited their basic wealth, resources and labour for capitalist profit and imperialist super-profit.
The oppressor nations developed themselves by under-developing the oppressed nations. This produced the developed-underdeveloped countries dichotomy which the global financial sector perpetuates to this day. The oppressor nations exported less amounts of capital to the oppressed nations in order to exploit them, in return for massive waves of surplus value expatriated. This is how modern day capitalism in South Africa was established by British imperialism which took control of our mineral resources and other raw materials.
Meanwhile, the local capitalist classes in oppressed nations, "supported" the "independence" movement. But they were equally interested in the merciless exploitation of the working class and joining forces with the colonialist-imperialist capitalist classes whenever this was in their interest.
In the past in South Africa, for the dominant local white capitalist class, "independence" from the imperialist centre meant their "freedom" for racist and sexist super-exploitation and the oppression of the black majority and even the exploitation of the white working class - despite the racial privileges which they enjoyed.
In his book The Wretched of the Earth published in 1961, Franz Fanon warned of what he called the "national middle class" which emerges from the ranks of the historically oppressed in post-independent societies. This "national middle class", according to Fanon, had a tendency to deviate from the revolutionary goals of the struggle by seeking to take over the position of or at least by seeking accommodation as the "intermediary" capitalist class with, the capitalist class of the former colonial power in the exploitation of the masses of the people.
In South Africa, given our history of colonialism and the interaction between the internal and external dimensions of Colonialism of a Special Type, this means the "national middle class" referred to by Fanon would seek to take over or accommodation with at least two exploiter positions. Firstly, that of the local white capitalist class; secondly, that of the imperialist capitalist class. In its ‘Strategy and Tactics` adopted in 1969, Morogoro, Tanzania, aware about this, the ANC warned against it:
"…our nationalism must not be confused with chauvinism or narrow nationalism of a previous epoch. It must not be confused with the classical drive by an elitist group among the oppressed people to gain ascendancy so that they can replace the oppressor in the exploitation of the mass".
Indeed, some of the anti-white rhetoric in South Africa that has emerged post-1994, as displayed, but by no means exclusively, by the proto-fascist party led by the most corrupt tenderpreneur, the plunderer of Limpopo who appeared before a Court of Law in Polokwane yesterday, does not represent the aspirations of our people as a whole. Such rhetoric seeks to achieve exactly what the ANC has warned against in Morogoro. This we must decisively tackle in our second, more radical phase of the National Democratic Revolution.
But this means confronting similar, or other versions, of the same rhetoric within the ranks of our own movement.
Contrary to what some would like to suggest, the second, more radical phase of our transition is NOT about furthering a narrow BEE agenda under the name "radicalism" to continue benefiting a few individuals, while the majority of our people suffer from class, national and gender inequality, unemployment and poverty. This transition is about empowering all the people, the majority of whom are the workers and the poor, by emancipating them from all forms of social inequality, by uplifting their quality of life from unemployment and poverty, and by rescuing them from the dreadful consequences of unemployment and poverty.
The second, more radical phase of our transition must simultaneously confront resistance to transformation on all fronts, including from the historically advantaged capitalist class formed under Colonialism of a Special Type; from the imperialist capitalist class; from those who were privileged under the colonial-apartheid era; and from all other sections seeking to be privileged above the majority of society. Simply put, the financial sector must transform - we all survive - otherwise greedy profits for a few will sink us to our deaths in these turbulent sea of economic turmoil and uncertainty. The time for narrow sectoral interest is over - we are together or we all perish.
This struggle must involve decisiveness towards the conservative-liberal party of white privilege, the DA; all other parties in its right-wing, pro-imperialist, reactionary parliamentary alliance which is also supported by aspirant black capitalists who see their interests best served by accommodation with white privilege, hence their association with the DA in various ways.
This is the context within which we will be implementing the theme of our Red October Campaign 2014-2015:
Mobilise People`s Power to Transform the Financial Sector and Build a People`s Economy!
Inspired by the World Communist Movement which contributed enormously in national liberation struggles throughout the world, with the Global South, including our own struggle, benefitting immensely from the Great October Socialist Revolution, we are forging ahead! The task properly summed up by Lenin is more important than ever before.
The SACP will use the Red October Campaign 2014-2015 as an opportunity to re-launch the Financial Sector Campaign together with our comrades, colleagues and partners in the Financial Sector Campaign Coalition. Together we have scored important achievement since the launch of the Financial Sector Campaign in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We must deepen these achievements, expand and build on them, and take our revolution forward through the second, more radical phase of our transition. The Financial Sector Campaign is central in this regard. We must intensify our mobilisation of broader sections of society behind our call for the transformation of the financial sector to serve the people.
The financial sector has become the epicentre of the capitalist system, and thus plays the central role in sustaining and consolidating capitalism with all its ills, exploitation and monopoly characteristics. It is therefore crucial for revolutionaries to take this sector head-on. This is critical if we are to ever wage a successful social revolution and achieve universal emancipation encompassing an end to economic exploitation and political domination by a minority class over the immense majority.
The persistent crisis of inequality, unemployment and poverty is a direct result of this capitalist and imperialist exploitation which is enhanced by the predatory nature of finance capital. This has entrenched and dominates almost all aspects of our everyday life, more so since the rise of neoliberal domination in the 1970s and the development of financialisation.
Finance capital has become dominant in economic activity and social life "thanks" to the technical movements performed by money in the circulation of capital, exchange and neoliberal economic restructuring. Finance capital is now the dominant section of the global ruling class and dominates in many economies with increasing control over productive capital, states and even society.
It is due to finance capital and financialisation that in many economies, ours included, investment has shifted from the productive sector and development, towards financial markets and products. These are seen to be lucrative, flexible to short-term capital accumulation interests as well as to frequent market fluctuations - a consequent of the very same accumulation regime.
Financialisation has often been accompanied by, if not resulting in, de-industrialisation which occurs in varying degrees, depending on a country`s position in the international division of labour.
In the retail sector, as they buy above their income and thus commit or spend their future earnings before these are earned, and therefore as they sink into debt, more and more consumers not only buy the traditional or conventional commodities - the actual products and services that are on sale. They are channelled to buy finance (money), on interest, to facilitate the sale through credit or loans. In this and other ways, money has been converted from being a measure of value and medium of exchange into a commodity on its own. It has also increasingly become divorced from the production of goods and services in the same way as its price, that is interest, is irrationally underpinned by nothing in production.
Unlike many commodities, the sale of money is accompanied by other costs to consumers, such as "administration" fees from which additional profit is made by our current day Mr/s Moneybags. The sale of money has become more significant as a source of capital accumulation in an increasingly overwhelming number of transactions than the underlying products and services being sold, such as food, clothing, the means of communication and transport, and housing.
In housing where money is sold on compounded interest and with other charges taken into consideration, the total cost to consumers can buy an additional house if more. If a consumer buys a car at the same price it takes about 3 to 6 years to pay off while it takes 20 years for the house. Worse, on the 19th year when the consumer loses a job that house is repossessed and the consumer is evicted. This is unjust and inhuman and must not be tolerated - it must come to an end.
It is under financialisation that many wallets and purses are full of credit cards and similar cards offered by retail chain stores and financial service providers. Huge numbers of households are distressed in debt through credit from these cards and loans.
The economic, social and health consequences caused by an untransformed financial sector are immeasurable.
The damage being caused by debt is overwhelmingly irreparable.
Casualisation and ‘temporarisation` of employment have entrenched. Reduction in employment benefits and worker income contribute in persistent inequality and poverty. Increasing incidences of strike-related violence are in part a result of an aggressive erosion of hard-won gains by this neoliberal accumulation regime.
As the neoliberal mantra of destructive individualism entrenches, consumer competition is fuelled, resulting conspicuous consumption and the phenomenon of consumerism. More and more people are coerced by the forces of the prevailing ideological domination, its accumulation regime and social conditions that it forges to live above their means. Others take short-cuts, and turn to gambling. There they get finished off when they pump their hard-earned money into the bank accounts of the casino bosses, parting ways with it through its accumulated as absolute surplus value.
Housing repossessions and evictions are increasing. At the South Gauteng High Court repossessions and evictions have become a significant business of the day, linked with corruption and collusion by the corrupters and the corruptible.
Health-wise, there are increasing incidences of stress, anxiety disorders, depression, and household quarrels and conflicts. These often result, in the extreme, in the killing of spouses by spouses if not whole families including children by parents some parents.
In the retail sector, finance capital has assumed control as it has done on other non-financial entities in different sectors. This has become so widespread that the distinction between financial and non-financial transactions and entities has been diminished and is continuing to be diminished further. Who recalls what Pick and Pay store used to be to what it is today? You get more financial services there than groceries. The same with PEP store and many others. This is financialisation of the economy in its worst form.
As regards the state, global financial institutions and financiers impose conditionalities for development and crisis finance and for "investment" which never arrives. This result in the erosion of democracy, and is itself anti-democratic. It denies citizens the right to determine their own development paths and curtails the sovereignty of their states. As governments comply against the will of the people, in the same way as they are scared of downgrading by global rating agencies, dictatorships and political instabilities, including violence, increase. The imposition on our economy of rating agencies is another form of financialisation of the state through coercion by the big, global financial oligarchs.
All of these and other interrelated problems affect large numbers of people in the interest of profits and private capital accumulation by, and for, a tiny minority of accumulators who, have become like vampires - ever thirsty, sucking and sucking out all the blood off the prey until there is nothing left but dried flesh to finish off.
Our struggle for the transformation of the financial sector is therefore a struggle for humanity in general; it is an all-encompassing struggle for complete liberation and social emancipation.
What should our immediate programme entail?
We need to speedily move towards analogue to digital broadcasting migration and ownership of our broadcasting spectrum.
In the broadcasting industry, the SABC has been very unstable in recent years. This in part is due to contending financial interests including tenderpreneurs and big business. Analogue to digital broadcasting migration including the installation of set top boxes (decoders) to households worth billions of Rand is one of the reasons why there is too much jostling for power and control over, and the many problems that are haunting, the entity.
The problems facing the public broadcaster include an axis between some and the exploitative creative art industry which has created multi-millionaires over a period of time through shows such as Generations. Yet the actors, who are the real workers in this instance, have been left to live on meagre wages, without deserved working conditions and benefits.
Private corporations such as Multi-Choice, owners of DSTV and MNET, have been allowed for far too long to dominate the Pay TV market, giving them a monopoly position. This has led to exorbitant charges with the SABC through the 24 hours news channel contributing massively. There must be diversification in this sector, which will see entry into the market of other players and community owned broadcasters. This must open space for a content that should be in line with the developmental imperatives.
We are also facing large sections of South Africa`s working class who fall through the cracks in terms of finances for housing and higher education. This is an indictment primarily on the financial sector. Capitalist are very smart and efficient in creating innovative financial products to exploit and fleece the working class, yet they have not been innovative in creating financial products that will address the social needs of the working class like housing, education and health. The primary reason for this is that the organised working class has not taken up this struggle in earnest. We must address this.
All these struggles must act to catalyse and build a progressive, working class led financial sector transformation and effective activist consumer movement in our country!
The SACP will continue to develop and position itself as the force of the South African working class. As part of our activist programme to take part in the daily struggles of our people, we will push forward the transformation of the financial sector to serve the people.
The main challenge facing our people from the financial sector today is transform or die together with the poor while the rich survive!
We call on all of you to join this campaign, own it and implement it in your own as part of the broader financial sector transformation and a progressive consumer movement. This is your campaign and not exclusively the SACP`s - we are just providing the impetus to the campaign and its implementation.
Let us Mobilise People`s Power to Transform the Financial Sector and Build a People`s Economy!
Issued by the SACP
Contact:
Alex Mashilo - Spokesperson
Mobile: 082 9200 308
Office: 011 339 3621
Twitter: @2SACP