Presidential Speech to POPCRU 6^th Congress

11 June 2007

Members of COSATU CEC, Representatives from our revolutionary alliance, honourable members of parliament, government officials including representatives of the South African Police Service, Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Transport, International guests, members of the Central Executive Committee of POPCRU, members of the National Executive Committee of POPCRU, Congress Delegates, I bring you warm and revolutionary greetings from POPCRU leadership and membership.

 

POLITICAL

This congress occurs against a background of a peaceful and successful national and local government elections held in 2004 and 2006 respectively. These elections were mainly peaceful because of the contribution made by the majority of the delegates present here today and the multitudes that are not present and are directly represented by the esteemed delegates.

 

This congress also takes place during the most exciting times in the political history of our country South Africa. Exciting because of the Policy Conference of the African National Congress later in the month of June, followed immediately by the 12^th National Conference of the South African Communist Party in July and crowned by the 52^nd National Conference of the African National Congress in December this year in Polokwane in Limpopo.

 

These are not just exciting times because of the upcoming major political events but because these will be able to demonstrate how far the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) has positively impacted on the lives of the poor or not. More exciting are the various discussion documents released by the African National Congress for the scheduled Policy Conference.

 

Recently the Federation (COSATU) hosted its successful 9th National Congress in September 2006 and we are grateful for your participation and contribution. We emerged from the congress determined to pursue the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) to its logical conclusion. The organised workers of this country have spoken in their parliament. They demand more radical changes in society, based on the Freedom Charter and the noble goals of our revolution. For them democracy is meaningless if millions remain trapped in poverty and unemployment amidst plenty for a few. They have decided to firmly put the struggle for socialism on the agenda.

 

Without necessarily pre-empting the outcome of our congress, once again, delegates will confirm that the historical strategic perspective of the NDR - that freedom without addressing the social conditions of our people - is hollow. Ours is a revolutionary struggle to change the material basis of colonialism, racism, patriarchy and class exploitation.

 

The 1994 democratic breakthrough should not be construed as the ultimate achievement of the goals of the NDR.   We still have a long way to go.

 

For as long as there are fellow South Africans who go hungry there will be cause to fight for social justice. For as long as there are children who cannot access decent education the struggle will remain relevant. For as long as women suffer under the yoke of gender oppression, racism and capitalist exploitation, there is more reason to pursue the struggle with vigour. For as long as there is a worker without decent job and a living wage we have a struggle to pursue.

 

Clearly as matters stand right now in areas like Khutsong, Moutse and Matatiela amongst others, there is a disconnect between what our people want and what the collective directs.  We are however not convinced that tried and tested collective leadership of the alliance in these cases really exploited their collective capability in both leading our people and resolving the challenges faced by our people.

 

In short comrades, it's not yet uhuru, we still have a long hard road to travel! We can spend an inordinate amount of time in theoretical debate about whether the NDR is capitalist or socialist oriented. The basic truth is that we are far from realising the radical change envisaged by the Freedom Charter and several strategic perspectives of our democratic movement.

 

The challenge of deepening the NDR and its transformation agenda in the context of a capitalist economy has been recognised and debated within the alliance.  There is general consensus that the working class is the motive force (driver) of the NDR, and limited consensus that monopoly capital is the chief enemy of the NDR.

 

The impact of aberrations such as careerism, personal enrichment and corruption on the revolutionary morality and what the ANC youth league refers to as “conspicuous consumption” has been observed over time.  In fact, this is almost becoming a culture in the congress movement.  Its no longer about ‘a Better life for all’ but “a Better life for some”.  If we are not aware, we may be creating our own monster, leading to a popular revolt that shall give rise to a second revolution.  We cant’ claim outstanding economic success yet people are hungry and jobless.  We are caught in a moral dilemma.  How do you preach morality to a hungry person?  The reality is that, the majority of our people are impatient with the slow pace of delivery.

 

Clearly, these are serious ideological contradictions which need content and class perspective.  We cannot dispute the fact that the first decade of our democracy largely benefited business at the expense of the working class.  The culture of discussion and debate is being undermined in the alliance movement.  Any dissenting view is met with labelling and character assassination.  Given the above situation, it cannot be business as usual in the ANC led alliance.  After all, workers have scarified so much to build the ANC to be what it is today.  We are not illegitimate children in the ANC, we are part and parcel of the class forces charged with the responsibility of transforming society.  The working class is challenged to take this problem head on or concede to the status quo.  This Congress is therefore called upon to reflect on these positions and how they impact on the alliance in order to chart a way forward.

 

These historic events come at a time when the alliance movement is facing serious challenges in terms of leadership and erosion of congress traditions.  Key among the issues is the succession debate and how the ANC as the leader of the alliance should relate to other forces in the society.

 

We are being , almost like school children, consistently reminded that we may not speak nor raise any matter under the possible leadership of the ANC for the coming conference and the two centres of power until ‘’we are told to do so.’’ This we are told is because of an established ANC culture and tradition. But a cursory look into the history of the ANC since 1990 tells a different story.

 

The ANC started being in government and a ruling party only in 1994. This is the only time that an ANC as the ruling party and in government may refer to the experience of the two centres of power. It is during 1996 when the then head of state and President of the ANC, publicly announced that the then Deputy President of both the ANC and the country, Thabo Mbeki , was defacto President running the country. This continued to be the situation until the current head of state, Thabo Mbeki, became both the President of the ANC and subsequently that of the country. This public announcement helped both in the smooth change of guard and the debate of the leadership in the ANC.

 

For instance, the Eastern Cape Province, KZN, the ANC Youth League and lately Tokyo Sexwale have been vocal about their preferred candidates for the leadership of the ANC, none of whom have to date been disciplined for breaching party discipline if any.

 

These inconsistencies in providing leadership by the ANC is both contradictory and fertile ground for discouraging any debate on this matter. Our own COSATU and the SACP have also not provided any leadership on this aspect, just to make matters worse. Comrades we must talk about these things without fear or favour.

 

Delegates to this congress are therefore called upon to ensure that members actively participate in these conferences.  We are under no illusion that the ANC is highly contested.   In the same breath, we need to influence the outcome of this conference and dictate on the type of leadership that we want.  We do not want leadership that is non-thinking, unable to analyse society and problems independently and critically.  Let us not shy away from the fact that we now have members of members in the ANC and these are cadres who will not be able to survive on their own.  Let’s bring back the culture of discussion and debate and play our meaningful role as workers in building the alliance.  These events will give us the opportunity to tilt the balance of forces in favour of the working class.

 

BUILDING A UNITED FRONT AGAINST CRIME

It has been encouraging to note that the Resolution on peace and stability commission of the National General Council of 2005 has been carried forward, consistent with our standing resolutions as POPCRU.  Discussion documents point to the realisation of the constitutional imperative [Sec 207 (1)} of a single policing authority.  The proposal from the peace and stability commission called for the enhancement of a programme on a single police service which will be headed by the National Police Commissioner at all three levels of government in the country.  This has been our call as POPCRU looking at the disparities and inequalities that the current fragmentation is perpetuating. 

 

POPCRU shall support the government in its efforts to reducing crime, building capacity across the criminal justice system, and involving the community in the fight against crime.

 

Presenting the January 8th Statement in Emalahleni earlier this year, President Thabo Mbeki said: "As we have consistently said, our response to crime must be based on a clear understanding of the causes of crime and the various forms that it takes across society. Our response needs to be well-considered, effectively coordinated and comprehensive... During the course of 2007, we need to make every possible effort decisively to tackle this challenge, drawing on the resources and capacity of all sectors of society in a united front against crime."

 

The impulsive response to crime is a problem.  We need to study the crime patterns and trends so that our response is decisive and effective.  We do not support the move by the Ministry of Safety and Security of enlisting the support of private security in the fight against crime.  After all, the private security industry still needs to be regulated.  We are not saying these things because we want to be different, it’s because we love our country more.  You cant’ place the security of the country in the hands of private armies.  Policing is policing and it cannot be diluted.  The proliferation of private security is now creating a problem for the state.  Some of these company owners are from the police and defence.  When they left, they also took along the resources including both human and material resources. 

 

Let us not deal with crime haphazardly.  As a point of departure, the criminal justice cluster needs to be transformed such that the coordination is not only on top with ministers; it also filters down to the magistrates, constable and warder on the ground.  The community participation in the cluster is minimal if its there at all.  We also need to enhance the witness protection programme.  Our communities do not have confidence that they would be protected I they come forward with the information.  It’s important to beef up this important component such that the integrated effort of fighting crime becomes a reality.

 

The impact of globalization also has a bearing on crime.  As economies globalize, so does crime.  We now experience different and new patterns of crime which we are still finding difficult to grapple with.  Violent crime has become a dominant feature, even where there is no apparent indication of resistance.  We should be asking ourselves as to what leads to this state of affairs.  Why is it difficult to solve such crimes?  Surely there is an invisible hand….

 

But out of all these issues which we are raising, there is a moral dilemma.  You may have a highly trained, technological advanced, and numerically bolsted police service, if there are still hungry people out there, the fight against crime becomes futile. 

 

In the same breath, we cannot win this war where corruption is so rive in the public service in general and in the police, justice and corrections in particular.  We condemn such actions by those who collude with the criminal world in all strongest sense.  Those amongst us who are part of this criminal society will be exposed and crushed.  Our members are law abiding citizens and we do not want to be diluted.  Today you have a choice, it’s either you are with us or with them.

 

We must also acknowledge that our embracing of the human rights culture also has an impact in the fight against crime.  You may want to blame the police on everything, but more often than not, their hands are tight.  Today, when it does not rain, you blame the police, when it rains, you blame the police, when it is too hot you blame the police, we blame the police for just everything.  I think we need to talk about these things.   Criminals in this country just have too much rights and until such time we deal decisively with this, we shall not register any progress in the fight against crime.

 

Having said that, we have witnessed steps taken to improve policing, including the provision of better resources to various police stations, the establishment of operational control centres across the country, the deployment of additional capital equipment, and the improvement of arrests, investigation and prosecution capabilities.  To this we commend the leadership of the police under the command of Cde Commissioner Selebi.

 

REHABILITATION AS THE CENTRE OF DCS MANDATE

With the new leadership in the correctional services, we hope that relations will improve with organized labour.  Over the years, this department has been led through courts and commissions.  To point but a few, the Jali Commission.  Notwithstanding its noble intention, this was but a waist of the taxpayers money.  The correctional services management must come to the party.  Instead of positioning themselves in fighting organized labour, they should be giving effect to the white paper on corrections provision of putting rehabilitation at the centre of corrections.

 

We want to report to the Congress that we are coming from an ugly confrontation with the department of correctional services where more than 630 of our members were dismissed.  Whilst some of the members went back to work, the same cannot be said about those who have since passed in the process.  To these gallant workers, we want to salute their bravery and commitment to the cause of emancipating the working class struggles to the bitter end.

 

The union waged a victorious battle on the issues which the members felt strong about, such as overcrowding, security in prisons, understaffing and rank insignia.  We want to thank our members for holding the fort under stringent conditions; otherwise the DCS was in a verge of collapse.

 

Those who said they were deployed to deal with POPCRU are no longer with the department and we are here.  POPCRU is a giant, it has been tried and tested, and it cannot just be wiped out as easy as that. We should not forget that apartheid generals also made attempts to destroy this organization but failed dismally.

 

In our last conference we had raised sharply the inability of the then National Commissioner, Linda Mti to both lead and supervise the general operations of correctional services.  Today we are gathered here again and the same person has left the correctional services rightly so.  At the time we called for his departure, we were called names, amongst others reactionary, lunatics so on and so forth. Today we stand here vindicated that POPCRU was spot-on in its analysis of the situation then for which our detractors have failed to congratulate us.  We are however disappointed that the appointment of Linda Mti as the Head of Security for 2010 sends a grossly incorrect message, that gross incompetence is rewarded is South Africa.

 

We can see that the department of correctional services is embracing a new era and we want to open our arms to the new leadership.  We have all learnt that confrontation does not take us anywhere; you should have learnt your lesson as well.  Whilst we report progress about other departments, the same cannot be said about the DCS. We also note that some of the managers are still maintaining a hard stance against the union.  To them we say, you still have a chance to contribute in the building of the corrections environment, where all the role-players will not be isolated because of taste or distaste. 

 

The white paper on corrections clearly states that rehabilitation should be at the centre of our corrections mandate.  Rehabilitation in the colloquial language is the transformation of offenders over a period of time such that they are integrated back into the society without lapsing back into crime.  Such a programme needs support and commitment.  Our assessment tells us that there is no meaningful rehabilitation taking place in our prisons currently owing to understaffing, overcrowding and limited material resources.  Our so called rehabilitation centres have become universities of crime.  The product that comes out of the current operations is a graduate of more sophisticated criminal activities. 

 

Our intelligence services are also not helpful.  As we face these challenges, we sit with intelligence services that have decided to be deeply rooted in political struggles.  We need an intelligence service that will assist us with information relevant in solving the new crime patterns including their effective utilisation in profiling prisoners.

 

We must also mention that the training offered by our correctional institutions is outdated.  We are now dealing with sophisticated criminals who have resources and influenced in all centres of power whilst in prison.  Our training should therefore be able to respond to such challenges. 

 

Our benchmarking should also not be foreign based.  We must learn from our neighbors in Africa.  With the risk of opening myself to political controversy, look at countries like Botswana and Namibia on how they deal with crime. 

 

The existence of operation of private prisons in South Africa has proven to be disastrous.  The Kutama-Sinthimmule uprising of 2006 is a point in question, where members exposed unfair and inhuman working conditions whilst capital was desperately maximizing the profit margins.  The truth is those who offend society cannot be corrected by private hands because the state and society have an exclusive domain of rehabilitating offenders.

 

The disturbing trend arising on private prisons is the proliferation of private security.  This distorted view is held with the believe that you can ensure the safety and security of the general public in the hands of private security motivated by profit margins.  Given these trends, clearly in the near future, we shall be issued with coupons to have access to security. 

  

RACISM

We acknowledge that this country is trying very hard to extricate itself from the tentacles of the devil called racism.  We are however concerned that there those amongst many South Africans who want to revive and feed the ghost that racism is.  Solidarity the union, through its subsidiary AfriForum have the audacity to mislead the public and accuse this noble organisation POPCRU of ferning “colour genocide”.  It is alleged that we are on a campaign to get rid of white, colour and Indian members in the police service. How dare they make such allegations against us when ours was founded amongst others by Gregory Rockman, Johnny Jansen, Loggenberg and Rhoode. Perpahaps Solidarity needs to go back and consult because the study conducted by the centre for the study of violence and reconciliation (CSVR) reflect that the SAPS is making considerable progress in reconciling various racial groupings, the majority of whom are POPCRU members.  Nowhere in this research are we citied as culprits or perpetrators, instead, diversity training and management in the police service is recommended.

 

GENDER OPPRESSION

Overcoming gender oppression in our society cannot be delayed as if it were a “side issue”.  Nor, as history has taught us, can we make the assumption that the oppression of women will simply wither away under some future progressive dispensation.  Neither the NDR nor socialism can be consolidated unless we simultaneously and self-consciously attack gender oppression.  The resilience of patriarchal institutions and practices has largely, though not exclusively, been reinforced by ideologically projecting women’s oppression and gender inequalities as part of “normal”, “acceptable” and “long standing” cultural traditions. 

 

We need to acknowledge that within the working class and the poor, patriarchal practices are still prevalent and harsh.  Patriarchal attitudes, coupled with the general social distress and dislocation felt by the poor of our country also results in extremely high levels of domestic violence and abuse directed against women and children.  Hence the importance of consciously combating patriarchy as a necessary component of mobilising and strengthening the working class as a whole.

 

HIV and AIDS

Whilst we are celebrating some of these politically victories, we cannot ignore the monster facing this organization and the general South African population.  We cannot deny that HIV and Aids has weakened our society and communities, especially the working class. Our members are hardly affected and infected given the nature of their work and their general living patterns.  Comrades, its not a joke, HIV and Aids kills.  We need to embrace the efforts of the government and our departments in the fight against this scourge; however we also need to be responsible.  Our involvement in the fight against crime should not only end with voluntary counseling and testing, we need to come with practical campaigns that will make an impact.

 

SUCCESSES

In 1996, when we were entrusted with the responsibility to lead this organisation, we were confronted with a bank account of 2 million Rands overdrafts, a collection of bank owned vehicles, a string of legal suits and unaccounted debts. 

 

Today, I have been mandated as the President on behalf of the leadership of POPCRU to hand over to the members and this congress an organization with total assets which are over 90 Million Rands, working capital which is over 36 Million Rands, our own business to the value of just over 200 Million Rands, immovable property and equipment to the value of over 26 Million Rands and net cash of over 35 Million Rands. 

 

Finally, I wish to hand over to the delegates a stable, healthy, aggressively growing numbers and the giant that POPCRU has become.

 

May you enjoy your deliberations at this congress; I now declare the 6^th National congress of POPCRU officially opened, I thank you!!