Organization: structure and approach
This year has been one of considerable reflection on strategy, tactics and
programme of action at national as well as at provincial levels.
Momentum was carried in the process by having a number of national
level meetings where all provinces were together, including two national
councils, two strategic planning conferences and two reparations
conferences.
At the very least we have found a basic consensus about working in a
multi-tier structure, with a National Executive Committee replicating itself
with Provincial Executives and finally regional and local committees. An
adjusted constitution has been agreed upon that will need to be ratified at
the next National Conference.
Given the stalls and needed consultations to by trial and error get to
an even keel after rolling into some turbulence regarding the National
Executive Committee's going nearly defunct with withering away of members,
staff problems as well as coalition problems, the current NEC will have run
a year beyond its mandated term of office by the time of the planned
National Conference in March next year.
From the viewpoint of the Eastern Cape, reflected in our submissions at
National Councils, sticking rigidly to constitutional mandates and allowing
for flexibility for the existing leadership to make interventions which
formally speaking could be questionable, was not in the interests of
allowing space and time for bringing the overall organization and programme
of action to where we are.
Indeed from the Eastern Cape we have argued for common sense and
flexible organization to prevail over inflexible and a rigid style of
organization. After all, a number of very basic issues arose during the year
concerning type of organization, organizational methodology and approach to
programme of action that emphasizes "from below" local realities. Besides
the need to make interventions with the strategic planning and reparations
conferences causing cash flow problems, what above all time flow was more of
the essence. We needed time and space that actually went beyond the budget
and term of office mandate as stipulated from the last National Conference.
Developments in the Eastern Cape
Having established eight regional branches coinciding more or less with
the demarcations in the province by our partner organizations, the ECPCC and
the ECNGOC, structured as a Provincial Executive that flowed from the
regional committees was found to be unworkable. The province is large, and
depending on the piggy-back networking approach among our main two partners,
lost its original momentum. What we have found is that placing branches with
members who were mostly not dedicated to the anti debt and reparations
campaign as one's of primary interest, found that the hierarchical structure
of a provincial executive committee being representative in leadership of
the regional and local structures degenerated as only the few eventually
remained who did consider themselves fully committed to Jubilee.
Ofcourse resource and technical problems of maintaining communications
and an even push in a uniform programme of action played a role as well.
Also where committed members remained they tended to be in close touch with
one another and able to get at least the flag flying when needed in small
rallies, and provincial indabas.
Thus the best practice approach developed an own path in which quality
of time commitment of activists became more important than setting up
branches of members that were not sustainable in any uniform way. Jubilee
members then concentrated in building networks among progressive
organizations in their own localities. These then were conceived as "Jubilee
clusters. At the same time, to add another dimension in organization,
alongside these local clusters we focused on developing theme groups along
the lines established at our national indabas as provincial priorities.
Local network clusters
We thus have Jubilee clusters operating in East London (with core
membership in the Quigney), Mdantsane (Thabang's domain), Newlands and
Amalinda Forest (Ntombentsha), and Duncan Village (Wonga Manga). These three
clusters are in close proximity and there is regular communication between
the cluster coordinators. The cluster that was existing in Umtata withered
out of the picture mainly because of communication problems. Port Elizabeth
is Sikhumbuzo's terrain and a steady group of members are involved that
still functions as a branch. Grahamstown has fallen below the radar.
The theme groups received less attention with the emphasis on building
local network clusters. A roster for monthly meetings facilitated by a local
Jubilee coordinator did not pan out that well. These meetings were irregular
and little gearing effected in getting local issues drawn in and mobilized
around the common theme of debt and reparations.
Also what we find is that these local networks tend to become
overwhelmed by local issues with splits and other organizations befuddling
the picture. A breakdown and brief story for each shows some of the positive
as well as negative achievements.
In the Quigney there is a strong network of comrades who have many caps
and meet one another at least twice but mostly more times per week in other
structures where they rub shoulders. The positive spin of this that for
events the cluster makes a strong showing, like for example our sizable
numbers that participated in the pickets against the Bush visit. Most are
connected with one another on the internet. The cluster functions as it
should be infusing and influence the work in a range of other structures
such as local SACP and ANC branches, good chain of communications with
COSATU members, and also a strong convergence in community policing work.
The membership of Jubilee is implicit and taken for granted as a strong
core functioning in related organizations with good catalyst impact overall.
Because of the many hats worn it is not easy to develop a distinct Jubilee
group as such, nor is this really going to be constructive. Where the real
advantage lies is indeed in theming our work and streaming this through the
other organizations. The merits of the theming aspect will be discussed
later. Apart from each member being active in at least two organizations,
the time has added constraint as most hold down jobs and have to prioritize
their efforts.
Newlands has the same networking dynamics with a strong pull to
meetings and workshops banking on a strong network of community marshals.
The active participation of the Ward Councilor who often makes his Ward
Committee accessible for Jubilee inputs and in fact his constituency
mobilized for Jubilee workshops.
The newest cluster formed by Ntombentsha's moving to Amalinda Forest
has shown up another weakness of a cluster being drowned out to a large
extent because of a volatile local political situation that one finds in new
informal settlements. Access to water and land for housing are driving
issues with lots of direction and momentum fed by the Jubilee theme.
Meetings are packed and attract a bigger crowd than the local councilor can,
which in turn sparked off rubs between the councilor and SANCO people. What
we find, however, is raised expectations that Jubilee can deliver on its
message which becomes very problematic. Bringing AGS into the picture
immediately results in a swarm of demands for funding and other resources.
In Mdantsane the clustering of network activity went well initially,
but the conflation between it and Youth For Work seems to have drowned and
downed the visibility and mobilizing effort of Jubilee itself.
Duncan Village has a very strong potential pull as one of the main
bases of the community volunteers. Recently Wonga Monga, a veteran of the
old Unemployed Workers Union (UNEWU), has come into the picture.
Umtata: group focused on land for jobs project.
Port Elizabeth: good cadre, Sikhumbuzo is well connected among
unionists. Uitenhage coming into the picture with a strong group organized
as Uitenhage Victims Support Group".
Theme groups / Task Teams
The cluster model builds on two dimensions, one being the local
network clusters, the other being the theme groups in which ideally meet
regularly with volunteers coming from all the local groups and bolstered by
experienced activists in the specific field.
Over the past year we have too much focus on the one, and not enough on
the other - the clusters at local level are functioning but not as they
should, or could. The model we put forward at a previous National Council
detailed both the local clusters and the various theme task teams.
Problems
The model, which basically concentrates on horizontal relationships
rather than vertical, thus basically a social movement model, ideally should
at some point kick in and spin out with a strengthening overall mass
mobilizing potential. Now that we have tried the model successful at least
in that it is enthusiastically supported and understood, we need to look at
how we can develop densification, direction and momentum in the effort.
The EC model bears with the following:
Coordinators of local clusters should be in regular communication with one
another. This means that they should meet not necessarily formally, but
regularly. The internet is ideal, but seemingly most comrades are either shy
to write and express themselves, or else have difficulty in accessing
internet.
Anti-globalization part of Jubilee, or Jubilee part of anti-globalization?
This distinction is important to understand. Some perceive Jubilee as a sort
of umbrella, coat hanger if you will, for activists addressing various
issues. The other view is that Jubilee essentially is a catalyst group
active within networks that spawns social movements that focus on own
issues, such as AIDS activism, land for jobs, water rights etceteras.
Debating this should lead to much more clarity about what type of
organization Jubilee should be from a mass mobilization point of view.
The nature of the province: we have three distinct components in the Eastern
Cape - the previous Border Region, the previous Transkei, and the previous
East Cape. The Border region "axis" runs from East London through Queenstown
to Aliwal North and includes Grahamstown. The East Cape "axis" is Port
Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Cradock and Graff Reinett. The Transkei center of
gravity probably should be Umtata. This leaves big chunks of the previous
Ciskei out on a limb, including the Middledrift and Whittlesea and
Keiskammahoek. Sterkspruit is also a huge rural area that used to fall in
with the old Transkei. For effective networking and optimizing the catalyst
role of Jubilee each of these areas should be grouped. It may well be that
each needs a different approach for organizing. Rationalizing the areas
means that similarities between various centers in these areas encourages
networking.
Network environment: Each of the proposed demarcated areas have their own
environments. For example, the Border Region is heavy ANC territory, with a
lot of old SANCO influence as well. And in as far as it is ANC, the
perception also is that it's a "left" leaning area. The perception is
illusive in this sense that the mass-base is not always pliable to "top
down" pressures. This has more to do with the nature of branches that are
formally functional but actually near dead. The last round list nominations
process saw only 22 branches out of a total of 360 that had mandates to
nominate candidates for the 2004 elections because branch nomination
meetings did not quorate. When branches address critical issues, such the
debt, life kicks back into them. Notable is that at a provincial general
council held in 2001 resolutions were passed for the province to take
Jubilee on board. This as a result of our first mobilization of Jubilee in
the province prior to our launch in November 2000. In our experience we find
that in the Quigney there are vibrant ANC and SACP sub-branches purely
because of the vibrancy around addressing the globalization issue and
participation in Jubilee. In Newlands we have a virtual alliance with the
local councilor. In Mdantsane ANC members have turned out to overwhelm and
challenge Jubilee. In Amalinda Forest Jubilee's bringing out large numbers
sprawled into a SANCO vs. ANC dogfight. In Umtata the same happens but the
contention comes from the UDM and ACDP who vie for a share of the cake and
speaking opportunities at Jubilee meetings. These factors mean that we need
to determine a posture for Jubilee suited to the environment. Our posture
defined as a social movement rather than a contesting political party is an
important element to consider. If we set formal branches we land in trouble
with structures that themselves become contested from within. Working
informally as a network among networks, including political parties, such
contest is avoided.
Setting up theme groups: Most of the more important social movement
formations in the Eastern Cape, such as the LPM and TAC, have very weak
structures. Some issues, like fighting water cutoffs, is a terrain that is
captured and at the same time smothered by SANCO. (Repressive tolerance!).
The ideal would be to utilize the catalyst role of Jubilee and spawn social
movement formations. A more effective approach is to set up the theme groups
more at the research and academic level and work the message through the
media as Jubilee. If we have partner organizations participating theme
workshops have to make accommodations. For example, our intended addressing
of the "Theology of Jubilee" in a seminar should be done not as Jubilee per
se, but also through the structures of the participating structure. Same
with the privatization matter which should be networked through COSATU
structures. There is quite a spin on our AIDS work but we are finding that
this does not remain under the Jubilee umbrella, let alone a sub-structure
of Jubilee, but these groups go their own way.
One area of our thinking in Jubilee about "taking the message to the
masses" implies a comprehensive worldview with socialism as destination of
human society, or, given its theological nature, its equivalent of the final
outcome of the Christian era namely the coming of God's Reign. The idea
that by taking Jubilee to the masses as a single issue campaign model is
another view hanging in there, but clearly the "product" in itself is not as
simple as that. There are of course a few sweetly simple lines that speaks
to a populist audience like "why do we have to pay for apartheid twice".
With such lines we assume that ordinary people will be able to expand their
knowledge about their own social situations, dependent upon their following
and developing the rational analysis of the debt issue, neo-liberalism
etcetera.
The reality is that we need another context within which this approach
can be carried, like for example that class conscious workers understand
more about capitalism in the context of labour/capitalist relations. Or that
people who understand the bible follow the Jubilee principle as one implying
social transformation towards a social system of justice and equality.
It is our experience in the Eastern Cape that building branches on par
with other social movements such as the trade union movement or political
parties requires more than simply a Single issue campaign approach. We may
assume that unpacking the a b c's of the debt in related issues is enough by
itself but this rarely works. On the one hand we get the Amalinda Forest
syndrome where an infusion of the Jubilee message brings hope and at the
same time unrealizable expectations. Because this has no clear ideological
or theological message to contain the message in a campaign trajectory it
explodes as it were and the enthusiasm hijacked by local political
characters or sometimes buffoons who will then see in Jubilee a good place
to posture for power and influence.
The long and short of the experience is that we need either an ideology
or a theology if we are to speak of Jubilee being a social movement in its
own right and more than simply a single issue campaign requiring the masses
to muster for pickets, rallies or marches.
In summary: Jubilee is about debt slavery. But while it may appear to
have the potential of a mass movement, the question of national debt withers
as quick as it gathers around facts and figures about national budgets and
all that. People with AIDS know what the immediate need is - ARV and this
sticks firmly and provides a campaigning model that snowballs into a mass
movement. Or the land issue where the same is achieved, things of course
where we can hitch our wagon as well. But the question always remains about
placing the wagon before the horse, namely whether we are the horse of the
wagon or just a group of activists chauvinistically imposing on issues that
are better addressed by other movements.
Two routes to follow to give a comprehensive jacket and dressing up of
our campaign model are developing the theology of Jubilee and mobilizing the
message by building community policing structures.
Theology of Jubilee
Unpacking the theology of Jubilee on ethical lines of social justice
and equality is straight forward and could fill the present day void left by
the demise of liberation theology. Taking the Old Testament idea of their
being a once per generation scrapping of debt, restoration of land and
nature carries through the spirit of the resultant social revolution to the
New Testament understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. This is
teaching of the social gospel with the proof being the early Christian
society that Marx and Rosa Luxemburg regarded as a form of communism. Social
redemption was attractive to slaves, but the ethical redemption that came
with the reification of God ofcourse saw the building of new hierarchies,
land accumulation in religious establishment, in any case the social gospel
manifesting in a human society was only of a few centuries duration.
For some reason interesting to understand the concept of the social
gospel on the Jubilee principle did not tick along with the expedient use of
the term to justify a one-off eradication of poor world debt with the
opening of the new millennium. However if we look back in history we see the
principle carrying waves of social transformation, for example in the
peasant revolts of the fifteenth century. The social turmoil at the time saw
the rise of a counter revolution which quelled the Hessian idea of land
restoration with the Luther Reformation which some see as a pretext for
capitalist ideology. In the nineteenth century the idea of Jubilee related
to land restoration again was raised by Georgism in which land was central
in a social transformation approach based on taxes on land negating any idea
that it was in the domain of public ownership. But this drift did not carry
through although there is a Henry George Institute continuing the
proselytizing of this idea today.
In the modern context it seems that the theology of liberation is
softball playing in the arena of religious fundamentalism. It appears that
the "born again" movement is comprehensive and attractive even to George W
Bush. Everything in the Bible has to be taken at literal value excepting,
funnily enough, the Jubilee principle. This is "tough theology" that has no
place for social concern other than the immanent coming of Christ and the
rapture of all believers, leaving the earth to be fought over by
apocalyptical forces. Social redemption is redemption of the soul fit for
another realm, and land restoration is achieved in a millennium of peace
that either comes before or after the apocalypse.
The rightwing alignment of the fundamentalist movements does deal with
land but in a rather ironic twist that Christian Zionism has imposed. The
Jews must get their land back first as precondition for the apocalypse. The
city of Armageddon is seen as the place where this big apocalyptical battle
ensues, and all the right things are apparently happening with the war in
the Middle East in fulfillment of the literalist interpretation of the word
of God.
In order to get away from the softball liberation theology we also need
to go hardball. Eschatology seems to be the dominant hermeneutic and raises
more global, fundamental issues. Neo-liberalism has celebrated itself after
the fall of the Berlin Wall as the "end of history" - there are no longer
any other alternatives. It opens the way to looking at pre-history, a phase
what Marx called "primitive communism" as the beginning of the human saga,
and the communist society as the end product of history. Alienation starts
with history, ends when history ends.
The issue of alienation is central to the new social movement
discourse. In this sense the idea that alienation of labour is the backbone
with all other forms of alienation the ribs is being challenged. Is the
working class the one and only agency of struggle? Are social movements
autonomous areas of liberation that are agencies of revolutionary
development, does the concept of the multitudes replace the concept of the
working class as single and central thrust in the overthrow of capitalism?
These are the sorts of questions we need to answer as new social movement
activists and militants.
Community Policing
The focus on Community Policing as a distinct theme in Jubilee work in
the Border region has had some replication in other provinces, the NW and
NC. Others feel that organizing community policing forums is too
formalistic and more in the terrain of preservation of class rule from a
maintenance of law and order. Others point out a contradiction in that more
often than not we hit police road blocks when social movement activity gets
out of hand, like with the experiences of the Anti Eviction Campaigns, the
beating up of APF members by POPCRU members, or police action in
Johannesburg during the W$$D march. Human rights are progressively at stake,
especially the right to protest and the police are seen to be on the other
side of the fence. Which is all true, of course.
Policing in post-Apartheid South Africa is by any account one of the
main arenas of transformation. We should regard this as contested terrain,
given the liberation movement background. Most national liberation movements
found themselves in situations where social control mechanisms had to be set
up. South Africa has this in abundance. First is the whole idea of
traditional policing which is still the order of the day in the rural,
former Bantustan areas. It largely operates outside of the legal framework
and mostly has a positive, conciliatory nature when and where it is applied
nowadays. The point is the necessity for this as the rural areas are mostly
poorly policed and little access to the criminal justice system. This is
another aspect of the neo-liberal agenda where state resources for policing
are minimized and dependence shifted to private security to those who can
afford it. Clearly then we have a contested terrain and a primary social
issue. Safety and security is one of the fundamental human rights.
If one looks at the liberation movement experience community policing
was not simply a preferred thing to do, but vital. Policing of the black
townships spread from vigilante groups spawned by bantustan authorities not
only tolerated, but fuelled by the Apartheid police. Without policing and
law there is no way any social system can work - policing is central to any
social reconstruction whether good or bad.
Likewise the UDF found itself also forming an counter structure for
social defence and also control as an embryonic form of what policing which
eventually be in a liberated South Africa. The rise of the civic
organizations, especially in the East Cape (In PE, PEPCO etc) and the Border
region therefore saw the development of social structures build on block,
area and street committees.
Like with other things that did not pan out as intended along the lines
of the Freedom Charter, a totally transformed community-based policing did
not reflect in the ANC's neo-liberal drifting. But that does not mean that
we should regard this as a gone forever project - a transformed community
policing is still a vital component of the revolutionary agenda. If police
and law enforcement is the most fundamental fact of life in a liberal
democracy, then that does not mean that a post capitalist society has not
policing needs. It continues to be a fundamental need that should be
addressed as part and parcel of the new social movement transformation of
governance from below.
What we can say is that working on the community policing front is also
embryonic, a fundamental building block in a social movement strategy. In
our experience in the border region the very reason why it is so important
is that community policing allows intervention not only to develop the
ideology of community policing with the progressive elements of POPCRU as
main partner, but also to start mapping out activities that link in all
other aspects of social movement activity as well.
Globalization and community policing
The issue of public security is one of the most under researched and
least visible aspects of struggle in the complexity of the new social
movements. In the case of Brazil, for example, no real thought was given to
transforming policing after the fall of the dictatorship. Police remains to
this day military-style with no social movement counter backup. On the other
hand policing does remain a vital concern in any society and authoritarian
policing systems under attack in developed liberal democracies.
There are a whole range of interconnects between policing challenges in
the context of globalization. First we have privatization schemes to replace
state policing. Second, like with education and public health, state
spending on policing is constrained. The combined effect of this as we
experience it in South Africa is class privilege for policing in the rich
areas able to back up with private security, and lack of state criminal
justice systems in the poor, townships and especially the rural area.
Evidently then a major area of social concern and ideological struggle.
Unlike in the situation of Brazil, the philosophy of community policing
adopted in South Africa does make some connection with informal policing
systems developed on the ground by communities fighting Apartheid. In the
Border region the broadest and most solid network of activists that came
into Jubilee still have their hands full with continuing this area of
struggle.
Furthermore, how important the issue is can also be looked at from the
point of view of a "negative disconnect" between the struggle period and
now. The rise of dangerous vigilante movements experienced during the height
of the struggle years have taken on a new form and operate today as well.
Mostly this is about people both with reactionary and also good backgrounds
who found themselves unemployed and thrown away after 1994. The
proliferation of these groups is well illustrated by the rise of a group
calling itself the "Peninsula Anti Crime Agency" (PEACA) made up of ex
"combatants" who do "crime prevention" by extorting and embezzling recovered
goods and fees. In the East London we found a similar organization that had
to be crushed by community mobilization through the progressive Quigney
Policing Forum.
Crime, punishment and community policing is a revolutionary concept
that needs to counter reactionary ideology and practices on a consistent
basis. Crime can be categorized as 1) property related crime; 2) crime
against the state; and 3) crime against persons. The first two are what most
crime and retributive punishment is all about to maintain the capitalist
system. If one removes these two probably 90% of crime is done away. In
other words, if we base society on socialism, democracy and freedom the 10%
crime against persons dwindles-but there will always be the need for the
most basic of community organization for resolving fights and disputes.
POSTSCRIPT
I have a lot of thinking going on related to the work I am doing with
Jubilee as well as with community policing. The practical involvement with
both did not fall from the sky, or a matter of expedience or accident or
even bad luck outcome of decades of struggle. The community policing
involvement started during the transition period as a dedicated member of
the erstwhile liberation movement, the ANC.
I was privileged to have been given the assignment by the ANC leaders
immediately after the democratic elections of 1994 to take forward the
marshals structure in the Border Region as the central organized thrust of
community volunteers who would drive a popular RDP. This came to naught as
the RDP withered and the neo-liberal era took root. Discovering Jubilee in
1998 was a discovery of reason for why things had gone otherwise and dashing
hope and expectation of thousands of community volunteers with whom I was
involved.
Based on my three years of experience I find the need for an
ideological basis to push forward with the anti debt and reparations
campaign. It makes sense to me especially as I am also on the TRC
reparations list alongside some of my comrades, let alone the many comrades
who offered themselves, their education and came out of the struggle
basically cast aside. Probably the reparations theme is more potent than the
debt theme, the former being broader than the latter. Which at the same time
gives the basis for lots of ideological discourse related to the future
struggle for a just and equitable society globally, and South Africa within
that context.
In my view alienation is central and its practical liberating side is
simply the building of human solidarity. This in itself is an ethical
project that needs to be thought out and presented as a unifying ideology
underpinning the new social movements.
BS
