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South Africa: A victory for workers' solidarity with the Zimbabwean people
By Patrick Craven, COSATU
April 22, 2008 -- The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the statement by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman that the China Ocean Shipping Company which owns the An Yue Jiang, has decided to recall the ship because Zimbabwe cannot take delivery of the 77 tonnes of weapons and ammunition onboard.
If true, this is an historic victory for the international trade union movement and civil society, and in particular for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), whose members refused to unload or transport its deadly cargo.
Protest banner being removed from China's Pretoria embassy.
Today's meeting between the COSATU general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi and the secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, confirmed beyond all doubt that the people of Zimbabwe are now facing a massive crisis -- a brutal onslaught from a regime that is determined to cling to power by stealing the elections and imposing its will through violence.
***
[For more background, go to http://links.org.au/node/352 and check the comments at the end of the article.]
***
In COSATU's view the ``government'' of Robert Mugabe is now illegal and illegitimate. Its term of office expired at the end of March when the people voted. Its has refused to release the results of the presidential
election and has illegally organised a recount of votes in 23 constituencies in which the ruling ZANU-PF lost narrowly to the MDC, long after the time limit of 48 hours had expired. It has even been ``recounting'' the presidential votes in those constituencies before they had been announced.
Combined with this blatant vote-rigging, the ruling party has unleashed a systematic campaign of violence against MDC members and supporters, which has already claimed at least ten lives. Thousands have been
displaced from their homes, five hundred injured and hospitalised and these numbers are increasing by the day.
Meanwhile the ``government'' is continuing to rule illegally, with the former ministers restored to their posts,even those who lost their seats in the parliamentary elections. COSATU demands that the governments of Africa refuse to recognise this despot who is desperately hanging on to power, and to stop inviting him to meetings of the Southern African Development Community or the African Union.
COSATU salutes the stand taken by its transport affiliate SATAWU and other unions around the continent, and now calls upon all its affiliates and Southern African trade union partners, to identify, and refuse to handle, any goods destined for Zimbabwe which could be used to assist the illegal government or be used to oppress the people.
The federation will be holding a meeting with civil society, church and NGO groups on Thursday, 24 April, at which plans will be finalised for a huge protest march in South Africa, in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, and to demand the removal of the Mugabe dictatorship and the installation of a government elected by a majority on 29 March 2008.
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017
P.O. Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667
E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za
[Patrick Craven is COSATU's national spokesperson. Visit http://www.cosatu.org.za]
Comments
COSATU to march against repression in Zim and food prices
Civil society mobilisation on Zimbabwe and Food Prices
17 May 2008
COSATU and others have organised marches, to be held on Saturday 17
May in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, on two of the most burning
issues of the day, Zimbabwe and rising food prices.
Zimbabwe
The people of Zimbabwe are facing a massive challenge. Despite high
levels of intimidation, media bias, out of-date voters' rolls and
banning of party rallies, on 29 March they voted for change and
rejected the rule of ZANU-PF. It was a triumph for democracy. The
opposition MDC won the majority of seats in Parliament and are
convinced that they also won the presidential vote.
The result announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission however gave
no candidate a 50%+ vote and now, in the face of even worse violence,
the people face a run-off election between the front-runner Morgan
Tsangvirai and incumbent Robert Mugabe.
If this run-off election is to truly express the will of the people it
will be essential to have a bigger and more effective team of local
and international observers. We shall be urging the South African and
other SADC governments to do everything in their power to ensure that
the election is not stolen thorough violence, intimidation or
vote-rigging.
More then ever the people of Zimbabwe need international support from
democratic forces in Africa and the World. Please join our marches and
show your support for their right to elect a government of their
choice. The will of the majority must be sovereign!
Food prices
The rocketing price of food and other essential goods is devastating
us. The majority of South Africans are considerably worse off than a
year ago and the poorest face hunger and malnutrition.
A new report by reveals that in March alone CPIX inflation rose by
1.6%, with the annual rate increasing to 10.1%. The main reason for
this increase was the cost of food, transport and school fees. A
breakdown of CPIX by income group shows that for very low income
earners inflation is now up at 13.5%! The main reason is that food,
which has been rising fastest, accounts for 51% of their expenditure.
During March, food prices (within CPIX) rose by a massive 1.4% a
month, including increases in milk products and grain products at
around 3% a month.
The situation is even worse as a result of criminal price-fixing,
which has already been proved in the bread and dairy sectors. Greedy
companies, under cover of the global price rises, are getting together
to put up their prices even higher, so they can make even bigger
profits at the expense of their consumers. This theft of the poor by
the rich must be ruthlessly stamped out.
Urgent steps must be taken to cushion the poorest families by raising
social grants and minimum wages of workers covered by sectoral
determinations. All basic foods must be VAT zero-rated. Land reform
must be speeded up to make more land available for food production.
The world trade system must be reformed to end the rampant
profiteering by the big, subsidised farmers and food companies of the
rich Northern countries at the expense of the farmers, workers and
consumers of the rest of the world.
Join the marches on 17 May and let your voices be heard.
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