SACP attacks bosses' investment strike

On April 19, the SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande, addressed the 
COSATU march against job losses in Durban.

Cde Nzimande attacked those who criticised workers for taking part in the 
marches.

"We say to them `go to KwaMashu, go to Nkandla, go to Dambuza' and all 
other places where working class communities and the poor are, to see the 
devastation and pain caused by job losses and unemployment.

The SACP, he said, fully supports this action by South African workers.

"As the prime political party of the working class in our country, we 
cannot stand on the sidelines and watch this job loss bloodbath taking 
place as if nothing is happening.

"As the SACP we will stand side by side with South Africa's working class 
and turn this struggle into a struggle against capitalism itself.

Cde Nzimande accused bosses in South Africa of refusing to invest in the 
economy. Instead, he said, some of them, have exploited South Africa's 
working class and then "taken their profits and gone outside to invest and 
list in the London and New York Stock Exchanges.

"This essentially means that there is an investment strike by private 
capital in this country.

The SACP, he said, therefore advanced the slogan: "Attack the bosses' 
investment strike not the workers' action.

The SACP is calling for urgent convening of sectoral summits to seek joint 
solutions to halt job losses and turn those sectors into job-creating 
sectors of the country's economy.

The SACP is also calling for a fresh look at how domestic public and 
private capital is mobilised and channelled towards growing the economy and 
a foundation for sustainable job creation.

The Party maintains that publicly owned enterprises and utilities must 
remain in the hands of the state so that these resources are channelled by 
the state in accordance with its developmental path and priorities.

"Privatisation of our assets as a goal in itself will only aggravate the 
already very grave situation, he said.

Nzimande said the SACP rejected the insinuation that workers' struggles 
against job losses were selfish and shortsighted.

"Workers are being asked to do the impossible, he said. "To watch their 
jobs being destroyed so that they will then get credit for not being 
selfish.

"Who in his or her right mind will allow himself/herself to be thrown into 
poverty so that they are given credit as patriotic?