Red Alert: Respect must apply - Response to Chirwa's innuendos
On September 12, the Mail & Guardian published an opinion piece by National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) president Andrew Chirwa: "SACP is leading the Nkandla cover-up". To substantiate this baseless allegation, Chirwa further alleges that "instead of dealing with principled and substantive issues, our politics have been reduced to innuendo, conspiracy theories and personal insults". If he were principled, Chirwa would realise that he is guilty of what he accuses others of, and that by "our politics", he is actually referring to their politics and not ours. The opinion piece under his name represents this for all to see.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has called for due process on the Nkandla investigative reports, including that of the Public Protector, to be followed to the letter and exhausted. This fundamental principle is aimed at ensuring that substantive issues are addressed, and following credible processes.
Individuals who prevent this from happening have been, but by no means exclusively, pursuing undemocratic, unfair and unprincipled politics, using the matter of Nkandla - as Chirwa did when he became Numsa president - to call on President Jacob Zuma to go. In sharp contrast, the overwhelming majority of our voters in a democratic, free and fair general election, resoundingly rejected the call by voting for the African National Congress (ANC) with President Zuma as the leading presidential candidate. He was further re-elected in terms of our country's Constitution as President of the Republic by our fifth democratically elected parliament.
Having failed, people like Chirwa have now turned on calling for "full implementation of public protector's recommendations" - this, regardless of the fact that she submitted her report which together with other reports on the same matter before Parliament to be duly considered.
For people like Chirwa, calling for due process to be followed to the letter is to be embedded in the state. By the way, ironically, it is such individuals who are part of a declared, co-ordinated project to form a counter-movement and contest elections so that they can be in government - that is IF they ever win. They have no problem with any party and its leaders serving in Parliament and government, except the SACP. This is to be anti-Communist.
What about "insults", "innuendo" and "lies", Chirwa's coalition of conspiracy?
Chirwa should know that liberalism gives the primacy of position to the individual instead to the collective. By "liberal", rather than an insult, it is at least meant those who openly call themselves liberals, or those who, on a specific ground, exhibit one or more tenet or tendency of liberalism. In contrast to liberalism, in a progressive trade union where the principle of worker control has not been overthrown, it is observed and is not being undermined, the union's president is not a subordinate of the general secretary.
As opposed to what Chirwa wants us to believe, as a worker leader in a progressive trade union, the president is the leading office bearer. Unlike under liberalism and bureaucratic dictatorship, progressive trade union statements are not an individual's on behalf of the union; they are the union's on behalf of all individual members and officials, independently of the division of labour amongst them.
Chirwa is actually the one who gives us the impression that he is covering up for a new, and dangerous phenomenon of bureaucratic dictatorship which has taken root in some unions corrosively eroding worker control, instead of being a champion of worker democracy.
Chirwa accuses me of calling his general secretary Irvin Jim a liar. In contrast, in my article (Umsebenzi Online, September 4) I categorically state that I "would hate to call Mr Jim a liar. But without doubt, in addition to distortions, he is being economical with the truth". Likewise, I would hate to call Mr Chirwa a liar.
What about the issue of the enemy?
In address the question in Umsebenzi Online, September 4. From Mr Jim's August 29 statement and previous utterances there can be no doubt that the ANC and SACP - but by no means not excluding Cosatu for so long as it remains part of the Alliance - are being projected as the enemy of our people. This is at the centre of the consistent attacks directed at the Alliance and its independent formations.
What about the other baseless allegations Chirwa levels against the SACP? In his own admission he is sarcastic, as he says in his own word "cynical". Thanks to his own reply to the question - such do not deserve any other response.
Bonakele Majuba is SACP Mpumalanga Provincial Secretary, the edited version of this piece was first published by the Mail & Guardian (19 September 2014).
This version first appeared in an special edition of Umsebenzi Online, the online journal of the SACP.
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