New socialist workers’ party to challenge ruling alliance

A socialist party that claims it is aiming to seize power on behalf of the working class in a similar fashion to the former Soviet Union’s October Revolution is to be launched in South Africa.

Preparations are under way to launch the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) in time to contest next year’s general elections, and some see it as a potential challenge to the ruling ANC, South African Communist Party (SACP) and Cosatu (Congress of South African Trade Unions) alliance.

Organisers have called the first pre-launch conference, advertised as a “gathering of socialists”, to be held at Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg today and tomorrow.

Behind the new party are senior members of the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa).

Acting spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi stressed that this did not mean the party was a Numsa party, but was a party of the working class and the workers.

“Our goal is to establish socialism … this means we will do everything in our power to destroy capitalism.”

She said the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) had confirmed the party’s registration a few weeks ago.

Hlubi said it had become clear that there is a strong desire for a working-class party and that the party’s goal must be to seize power on behalf of the working class.

“Our members would make a decision, probably at the launching congress, as to whether indeed we would contest the elections in 2019 and how we would do that, whose names would be put forward to contest those elections,” Hlubi said.

Meanwhile, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) yesterday announced its plan for a rolling mass action in 2019 that would focus on what it termed “human calamity” in the form of poverty and unemployment.

General-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the countrywide action would include holding demonstrations outside parliament on budget day in February. Saftu intends cities to be occupied by the unemployed, homeless and landless.

The action would culminate in a total shutdown strike on March 26 and 27 and a year-long celebration of May Day, starting from May 1.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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