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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Trial Date Set for the Ridge View Twelve

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

 

Trial Date Set for the Ridge View Twelve

 

Today members from the Ridge View Abahlali baseMjondolo branch had to return to the Durban Magistrate’s court following the arrest of 12 comrades after the occupation of the Ridge View flats on the 31 December 2014.

It would be remembered that many of them were displaced in 2013 during a mass eviction, at gun point, of more than three hundred families. The twelve who were arrested during the occupation were charged with trespasses, malicious damage to property and contravening a court order. They have since been going in and out courts. Today the matter was adjourned for trial on the 30 and 31 July 2014.

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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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SERI: Abahlali files heads of argument in Philippi land occupation case (16 May 2014)

http://www.seri-sa.org/index.php/38-latest-news/244-litigation-update-abahlali-basemjondolo-admitted-as-amicus-curiae-in-philippi-land-occupation-appeal-24-april-2014

Abahlali baseMjondolo has filed its heads of argument as amicus curiae in the Marikana land occupation appeal. The appeal will be heard on 27 May 2014 in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The occupiers are represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), while SERI represents Abahlali as amicus in the appeal.

The case involves the occupation of a piece of privately-owned land, dubbed "Marikana", located in Philippi, Cape Town. The property owner and the City of Cape Town are appealing an order handed down by the Western Cape High Court in March 2014, which found that the City's Anti-Land Invasion Unit had unlawfully demolished informal structures on the land. The City was ordered to rebuild the shacks. The court rejected the City's argument that it was entitled to demolish structures without a court order if it deemed the structures were unoccupied.

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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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Abahlali baseMjondolo launches a New Branch in Ekuphumeleleni

Sunday, 18 May 2014

Abahlali base Mjondolo Press Statement

 

Abahlali baseMjondolo launches a New Branch in Ekuphumeleleni

Abahlali branches have to renew their membership annually and thus relaunch in order to ensure that their membership remains active. By launching a branch the community renews its mandate to its local Abahlali leadership and it renews its mandate to Abahlali as a whole. Before the launch takes place the movement leadership would have come to do our political education in which we explain the history and politic of the movement so that communities are clear about our mission and vision. This is also a political education for the movement leadership as we learn about the history and struggles of each community. Today we are launching a new branch in Ekuphumeleleni.

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