Category Archives: Anti Privatisation Forum

APF: Shut Down Lindela! South Africa’s Symbol of Shame

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ANTI PRIVATISATION FORUM

22 November 2008

SHUT DOWN LINDELA! SOUTH AFRICA’S SYMBOL OF SHAME!
Privatised ‘nationalism’ and xenophobia continues in South Africa today

The Anti Privatisation Forum joined with the Coalition Against Xenophobia at the ‘Lindela Repatriation Centre’ in Krugerdorp yesterday/today for a 24 hour picket calling for Lindela to be shut down. Our struggle knows no borders and we extend our solidarity to our African brothers and sisters who are being grabbed on the street, chased out of their homes and abducted to the deportation camp. The existence of the camp is a long-standing shame of democratic South Africa. Whether the ‘Congress of the People’ rightfully belongs to anyone in South Africa is a question void of any meaning when there is a complete unwillingness to confront the glaring racism, Afrophobia and violence that is Lindela. If South Africa ‘belongs to all those who live in it’, the principals on the throne of the Freedom Charter would be joining the Coalition to demand its closure.

Lindela is a deportation centre (euphemistically renamed a ‘repatriation centre’) at the bottom end of a system primed to filter out poor Zimbabweans and Mozambiquans as well as all other ‘illegal’ immigrants (mostly all from the African continent). The police arrest anyone who they suspect of being an immigrant, using the stereotyped markers of a darker-than-South African complexion, language proficiency or simply self-referential ‘identification’ – Verstaan jy! Many ID-card carrying South African citizens are of course also detained. Like the dompas before it, the ID book must be done away with, or apartheid continues to be real.

Besides the complete lack of political will to adopt a open and solidaristic immigration policy, another main reason that (immigrant) influx control persists from apartheid to today is that it is profitable for corrupt police, Home Affairs officials and the owners of Lindela. Corruption is so routine amongst the police that they refer to immigrants as ‘ATMs’. Gaining access to basic amenities, phones and visitors in Lindela depends on the payment of bribes. The biggest takings go to Dyambu Trust, which owns the private company that runs Lindela – Bosasa. The Home Affairs Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, is a founding member of Dyambu together with other senior ANC Women’s League members. Though she called an internal report on conditions in Lindela as “a real indictment on our work as a department,” this did not stop her from rehiring Dyambu Trust to run Lindela. She was indeed passing the buck: Dyambu receives over R40-million a year in terms of their contract with the Department of Home Affairs, and R59 per detainee per day (in 2005).

What we have here is a disgusting example of a politically-connected private company earning big profits from the oppression, mistreatment and misery of fellow Africans. It is supremely ironic that this kind of ‘policy’ and behaviour is reminiscent of the privatised ‘nationalism’ of the colonial days. Meanwhile of course, wealthy ‘non-South Africans’ are welcomed and provided with all the services and dignity/respect that can be mustered by our government – simply because they have money. Large scale foreign corporations are given the red carpet treatment but those who flee their own countries precisely because of the inhumane and profit-hungry activities of these same corporations – in conjunction with corrupt and undemocratic governments – are seen as ‘undesirables’ and ‘illegals’ and shown the back door – simply because they are poor. Lindela – hidden away on the edges of Johannesburg behind high walls and guard towers, where no-one can see what is going on, is South Africa’s symbol of shame.

It is not for a more humane deportation of our African brothers and sisters that the Anti Privatisation Forum is demonstrating its support. The extortion, sexual harassment, degrading treatment and sometimes beatings/torture of detainees are the signs of an underlying injustice that stems from a deep-seated xenophobia and sense of national, social and economic superiority amongst many ‘South Africans, not least of which is our own government and the political leadership therein. The continued operation of Lindela is an affront to human dignity, solidarity and equality and to the professed ideals/principles of South Africans own struggle for liberation as well the South African Constitution. As long as it continues to operate, Lindela will stand out as the main symbol of South Africa’s denial of its own struggle heritage and an arrogant and misplaced nationalism that divides African people and feeds an underlying xenophobia amongst ‘superior’ South Africans’.

Lindela must be shut down immediately. The South African government must begin a process of adopting an open immigration policy in which all African peoples are treated with dignity, respect and welcomed as a positive addition to the social, economic and cultural building of our country. South African authorities must stop the business of policing who is, and is not, ‘South African’. At its core, and especially given the divisive and oppressive history of colonialism on our continent, nationalism is a constructed political and social disease that continues to hold back the united development of peoples of our region and continent.

Lindela is racist!
Lindela is inhumane!
Lindela must be shutdown!

[The 24-hour picket of Lindela started yesterday at 12 noon and ended at 12 noon today. The APF mobilised communities from the East Rand, Soweto, the Vaal, Pretoria and the Free State to support the action and were joined by immigrant communities from Joburg south (Forest Hill, Rosttenville) and the inner city (Hillbrow, Yeoville, the Central Methodist Church)]

For further comment contact: Meshack Tladi on 079 812 4724 or
Sthembiso Nhlapo 078 148 0153

APF: Xenophobic attitudes mar a march for housing in Alex

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ANTI PRIVATISATION FORUM

18 July 2008

Xenophobic attitudes mar an APF march for housing in Alex

A documentary produced by Filmmakers Against Racism on Alexandra and the lead-up to the recent xenophobic attacks there, had its first of more screenings last week in Johannesburg and is scheduled for broadcast on SABC. The Anti Privatisation Forum was given a preview copy of Affectionately known as Alex by the filmmakers so that the APF would be made aware that the documentary follows the march for housing by Alexandra Vukuzenzele Crisis Committee (AVCC) on April 19 this year. This part of the documentary features some APF members making statements against the Mozambiquan and Zimbabwean occupants of houses in Extension 7. Little more than a month later, the pogrom against immigrants burst xenophobia into the open, which may create the impression that the two events are linked.

What the documentary illustrates is how negative perceptions of immigrants have found expression in the legitimate grievances of poor communities. The memorandum of demands submitted to the Alexandra Renewal Project, its contractors and the local ward councillor on April the 19th, however, concerns corruption and the need for transparency in the allocation of housing. No demand for the removal of the occupants of the RDP houses or even mention is made of their nationalities in the memorandum. This unfortunate view emerges in speeches and two placards carried on the march. The perception that immigrants are awarded housing ahead of applicants on the housing waiting list has been fuelled by the frustration of people caught in the interminable wait in this queue and the corruption of housing developments. Regardless of such frustrations however, the APF unreservedly condemns the xenophobic attitudes that emerged in the march.

The APF and Alexandra Vukuzenzele issued a statement condemning the xenophobia immediately after the outbreak of violence in May. The statement is clear that anger against immigrants for taking jobs from South African nationals is misdirected, and that unemployment is a ‘structural problem of the capitalist system’. This strategic orientation informs the activities of organisations in the APF and it is the struggle against the rule of capital and the anti-poor policies that emanate from it, that will overcome the divisions xenophobia has raised within poor communities such as Alex. The APF has, over several years, been consistent in its condemnation of both the politics and policies that have incubated xenophobia and has, since the moment that the xenophobic pogroms erupted, been at the forefront of mobilising communities against xenophobia and providing support to victims.

To confront the scourge of xenophobia in our midst, the APF is calling public meetings on the issue and how it relates to our struggle for another world. How it manifested in an APF march for housing in Alex will be examined together with the AVCC. And together with the AVCC and organisations in the Coalition Against Xenophobia, the APF will be calling a people’s assembly in Alexandra to collectively discuss the origins of the violence and their effect on communities. Xenophobia’s tentacles run deep into the constructed immiseration of the poor and the struggle to eradicate it will be a long one.

For more information or comment, please contact APF Organiser, Silumko Radebe @ 011 333 8334 or on 072 173 7268

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Anti Privatisation Forum
123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi)
6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg
Tel: (011) 333-8334 Fax: (011) 333-8335
Website: www.apf.org.za

APF: The ANC, the Freedom Charter and betrayal in Kliptown

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ANTI PRIVATISATION FORUM and KLIPTOWN CONCERNED RESIDENTS
25 June 2008

The African National Congress (ANC) retraces its roots to the signing of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown on the 26th June 1955 while betraying the people who live there

Empty Promises of the Kliptown People’s Convention

The Freedom Charter (adopted on 26th June, 1955 in Kliptown) says:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA, DECLARE FOR ALL OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD TO KNOW:

that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people; – that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality; – that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities; – that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthrights without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief; And therefore, we the people of South Africa, black and white together – equals, countrymen and brothers – adopt this Freedom Charter. And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes set out here have been won.”

Many of the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) are embarking on a downward mission of visiting the informal settlements of Kliptown to listen to the voices of the poor. This is a political mission to reclaim the confidence of the people of Kliptown as they have failed to deliver services for the people since they took power in 1994. What is important about this visit is that it coincides with the historic signing of the Freedom Charter on the 26th of June 1955 in Kliptown, the day that symbolises the dream and aspirations of a non-racial, free South Africa. This was an historic achievement by the oppressed people of the country under the violent and brutal force that created a system of separate development. Today we see the political leaders of the ANC (Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo and ANC President Jacob Zuma) coming down to the people of Kliptown to repeat what they declared almost 58 years ago. Mayor Masondo, was invited by the community of Kliptown on the 6th February 2008 to a People’s Inspection but he failed to come down to the people, yet he still had the indecency to tell the media that he didn’t receive an invitation. He was also invited on several occasions to receive a community petition on the vote of no confidence in the local ward councilors but he never responded. On the 18th June 2008, to the amazement of the people, he visited Kliptown accompanied by the Greater Kliptown Development Forum (GKDF) in a grand tour around Kliptown.

Crisis of housing

Many of the residents demanded that the mayor fast track the process of the development of houses in the area while making it clear that the people of Kliptown are not willing to be relocated to another area. Some of the residents have been living in the area since the early 1940s when their parents settled there and whose children today face the similar danger of not getting proper houses. One woman indicated in the meeting that her shack burnt down on the previous day and no official responded to her plight. She is now living with her neighbours who have given her and her eight-month old baby girl temporary accommodation.

The Kliptown residents also told the mayor on his grand tour of Kliptown that they want to be given ownership of the houses that are built on the old Pimville golf course. The mayor’s response was that people who have been on the 1996 housing waiting list would be given priority for occupation. He also reported that the City has budgeted more than R710-million for the development of housing in Kliptown and that the City is committed to service delivery. The mayor indicated that the people should be involved in the Integrated Development Programmed (IDP) at their local level as it outlines the City’s plan in terms of development in the area. The current IDP implementation period is from June 2008 until June 2012 with a housing allocation of R10-million for all the wards in Kliptown. Mayor Amos Masondo could only say what the City is planning to do but he failed to state when the plans will be implemented – just as many other politicians (Premier Sam Shilowa, MEC of Housing Nomvula Mokonyane, MMC of Housing Strike Ralekgoma, MEC of Department Social and Welfare Zola Skweyiya) have done in years past. The community is impatient with the situation of immobility that prevails, and will mobilise for their rights to decent housing and basic services.

Water and sanitation

There was an outbreak of cholera in April but the City of Johannesburg together with Johannesburg Water continue to claim that the drinking water is 100% safe. Yet, Johannesburg Water embarked on a mission to distribute water purifying bleach in the area, advising people to boil their drinking water. They will not admit the water is contaminated because they will then be culpable for the deaths of two residents. Residents have for many years said that there needs to be proper infrastructure for the development of the area. The real situation is that 45,000 families are allocated more or less thirty communal taps in the area. The Mayor of Johannesburg and the Premier of Gauteng have both declared that eradicating the bucket system in the province, and in Kliptown particularly, would be dealt with as a priority. But what has been done so far is the deployment of the very VIP toilets that the community is opposing. We all have to remember that Mayor Amos Masondo opposed the recent High Court ruling on prepaid water meters. Judge M.P. Tsoka ordered that the residents be given freedom of choice about what type of water delivery system they want.

Political games

The main reason that the ANC leaders are coming to Kliptown is that the national elections are around the corner in 2009 and they want to reassure the people that the ANC is a caring organisation. Currently, the City is spending more than 10-million in building basement parking at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication (WSSD) next to the R41-million Soweto Holiday Inn. The speaker of the Johannesburg Council Chamber, Nkele Ntingane, visited Kliptown on the 18th of June 2008 to respond to a memorandum that was sent by the Kliptown branch of the South Africa National Civic Organisation (SANCO). But it is not surprising that Madame Speaker Nkele is the Gauteng national chairperson of SANCO and that SANCO’s memorandum was not as controversial as the one that the residents submitted. On the 14th August 2007, the residents of Kliptown marched to the Region D/G offices in Eldorado Park to deliver their memorandum including a petition that was calling for the resignation of the three local ward councilors (Ward 17- Patience Peterson, Ward 19- Mandla Mtshali and Ward 37- Zodwa Nxumalo). It was delivered to the late Shimi Mogale who then took it to the relevant authorities including the City of Johannesburg Council but there was no answer from that chamber until the Madame speaker Nkele visited Kliptown to resolve the SANCO memorandum, ignoring other memorandums that were sent to her office from Kliptown residents.

Mass Action

It is clear that the visit by African National Congress President Jacob Zuma on the 26th of June 2008 will be another parade of the empty promises by the ANC as his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, had done in his address on the 50th anniversary celebration of the Freedom Charter in 2005. The people of Kliptown remember this celebration very vividly because the government spent millions of rand in bussing people to Kliptown to enjoy the significance of the day. This year there are no big celebrations but there is a political ploy by the ruling party to be seen to be listening to the demands of the residents and committing themselves to addressing the problems.

A world giant, Nelson Mandela, will be celebrating his birthday globally in July and the President of Liberia will be in Kliptown to join the celebration. The people of Kliptown would also want to celebrate with the world the fruits of democracy and the Freedom Charter. But how can the people celebrate when many of them are living in these terrible, inhumane conditions?

The visit by the ANC to Kliptown is an occasion to mobilize the community to stand in solidarity with the eight Kliptown comrades who were arrested on the 3rd of September 2007 for public violence. These are the comrades who were fighting for service delivery in the area and were arrested because of government’s failure to deliver on their empty promises. These are the objectives of the struggle of the Kliptownians, a struggle which the South African government has recognised as legitimate and as deserving international support. The residents will continue with mass action in demanding service delivery in the area and the eradication of the bucket system. It should be a day to pause and pay our respect to all those who have lost their lives in the course of the struggle and those who have been imprisoned, interned or subjected to other restrictions for having opposed the ANC’s neo-liberal policies that have seen the extension of the apartheid regime in further impoverishing the people.

For more comment, please call Silumko Radebe (APF organizer) @ 0721737268 and/or Sipho Jantjie of Kliptown Concerned Residents @ 0738961353

Anti Privatisation Forum
123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi)
6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg
Tel: (011) 333-8334 Fax: (011) 333-8365
Website: http://www.apf.org.za