Category Archives: Election 2014

Pambazuka: Ideas have legs

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/91749

Thapelo Tselapedi

Abahlali BaseMjondolo (AbM), the acclaimed, leftist shack dwellers’ movement which erupted onto the public arena in 2005, recently decided to give its electoral support to the opposition, centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) in South Africa’s 2014 National and Provincial Elections.

A ruckus has since coalesced around this decision. While some have called for respect for the movement’s political agency, alongside a wait and see approach, others have outright condemned the decision.

Writing in the Daily Maverick, Julian Brown reminds us that ‘almost no one seems to be interested in Abahlali’s own explanation – that they are the target of violent repression, and that they have taken a pragmatic decision to oppose the power behind it’.

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M&G: Left wing dips into ocean of irrelevance

http://mg.co.za/article/2014-05-15-left-wing-dips-into-ocean-of-irrelevance

Imraan Buccus

This election has been a resounding victory for the ANC. Despite the critique of a failed Jacob Zuma presidency, the masses voted ANC. This “liberation dividend” will continue for some time; it is likely to begin wearing out as more young people enter the electorate. The aura of liberation matters less to this group, and research shows they are more likely to vote for opposition parties.

At the same time, a large proportion of people are losing confidence in electoral politics. Some calculations indicate that soon the number of people who don’t register or don’t vote will outnumber those who vote ANC. Two-thirds of young people (18 to 19 years old) did not bother to register.

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The Mercury: Walk a mile in shack dweller’s shoes

http://www.iol.co.za/mercury/walk-a-mile-in-shack-dweller-s-shoes-1.1689584#.U3xjHNKSxps

by Jared Sacks

“The anger of the poor can go in many directions,” said S’bu Zikode, the president of Abahlali baseMjondolo

Years ago I began to support a unique and influential social movement called Abahlali baseMjondolo, the shack dwellers’ movement. At the time, the movement had just refused to work with an influential leftist NGO called the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Supported by the militant Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, Abahlali baseMjondolo had protested against the takeover of the Social Movement Indaba by NGOs such as the Centre for Civil Society. As grassroots activists, they understood that their voice was being managed and also often silenced by those on the Left coming from more privileged backgrounds, who sought to control the politics of the social movements.

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The Star: In Durban, the struggle continues

http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/in-durban-the-struggle-continues-1.1688158#.U3xcsdKSxps

Richard Pithouse

Durban, the city where Jacob Zuma has his firmest urban base, is a hard place to do politics. A good number of the people who have attained political power in this city after apartheid learnt their politics during the civil war in the 1980s.

Threats of violence are common from the top to the bottom of the ANC’s local hierarchy and violence, including murder, is often used as a mechanism of social control. David Bruce estimates that there have been about 450 political murders in KwaZulu-Natal since 1994.

In some parts of Durban it is common for local councillors to move around with men bristling with guns and menace.

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