Trevor Manuel responds to ‘the rubbish’ spoken by the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers, Irvin Jim

The ANC, throughout its 96-year history, has been a movement that has sought to invite in and embrace those who sought to make a contribution. It is also a movement that persuades its members of the correctness of its views and assists them when they stumble. It is quite out of character for the ANC to spurn its members and to chase them to other organisations. So, understanding the ANC as I do, I have to query the authority by which you seek to drive me towards another political formation — unless you moonlight as an organiser for such an organisation.

My understanding about the ANC is not merely based on some founding documents or an unwritten code that applied when the organisation was banned. My ideas are current; I am conscious of every decision taken at the 52nd national conference held in Polokwane last year. I am not sure whether you attended that conference, so let me share some of the important decisions with you.

Firstly, the ANC constitution, as amended, sets out a number of important principles:

• The ANC is a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic liberation movement;
• Its policies are determined by the membership and its leadership is accountable to them in terms of the procedures laid down in its constitution;
• The ANC contests elections as a registered political party, drawing its electoral support from all sections of South African society;
• The ANC shall, in its composition and functioning, be democratic, non- racial and non-sexist and against any form of racial, tribal or ethnic exclusivity or chauvinism;
• While striving for the maximum unity of purpose and functioning, the ANC will respect the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity of its members;
• The ANC will support the emancipation of women, combat sexism and ensure that women’s voices are fully heard in the organisation and that they are properly represented at all levels;
• The principles of freedom of speech and free circulation of ideas and information will operate within the ANC;
• Membership of all bodies of the ANC will be open to all men and women in the organisation without regard to race, colour or creed; and
• The ANC co-operates closely with religious bodies in the country and provides, on an inter-faith basis, for the recognition of the spiritual needs of its many members who are believers. Secondly, the ANC constitution sets out a declaration of membership as follows:

  “I, (name), solemnly declare that I will abide by the aims and objectives of the African National Congress as set out in the constitution, the Freedom Charter and other duly adopted policy positions; that I am joining the organisation voluntarily and without motives of material advantage or personal gain; that I agree to respect the constitution and the structures and to work as a loyal member of the organisation; that I will place my energies and skills at the disposal of the organisation and carry out tasks given to me; that I will work towards making the ANC an even more effective instrument of liberation in the hands of the people; and that I will defend the unity and integrity of the organisation and its principles and combat any tendency towards disruption and factionalism.”

  Thirdly, we adopted the ANC Strategy and Tactics policy document in Polokwane. Among other things, this tells us that, as a multiclass mass movement, the ANC is required to master the science and art of crafting long- and short-term common platforms to ensure that all the motive forces pull in the same direction. We do acknowledge that, at times, the narrow self-interest of a particular class or stratum or group may not necessarily coincide with that of other motive forces. In some cases, such as the working class and the bourgeoisie, these interests may be contradictory.

  I draw attention to all these issues to illustrate to you that I have as much right to membership as you. It also shows that, if in your understanding there is no difference between the policies of the ANC and those of the SACP, such a view is not supported by the decisions of the 52nd national conference.

  The policies I implement are unashamedly those of the ANC, and I challenge you to demonstrate in what way I may have veered from them. If you have a source of information other than the publicly adopted positions, I would invite you to openly declare your information.

  You are the newly elected general secretary of Numsa. You would know that you organise workers in an industry that is perhaps the most globally integrated of any. So, when consumers in the US stop buying cars, the three car manufacturers in Detroit find themselves in trouble and, as a consequence, your members at plants that manufacture catalytic converters may find themselves on short time too.

  Similarly, if the global demand for steel drops, as is the case at present, your members at plants in Pretoria, Vanderbijlpark, Middelburg and Saldanha will be affected, regardless of how many additional coils of hot rolled steel they may be inclined to produce.

  You would also know from the auto sector that your members in plants in East London and Rosslyn, Pretoria, produce cars that are driven in places as geographically diverse as the US and Australia. At the same time, in South Africa, we drive cars that may be built in places such as Mexico or Germany.

  There is absolutely no prospect that a metals industry, whose sources of inputs and whose market are confined to a single country, will have any hope of survival. I cannot imagine you, as the Numsa general secretary, standing before a shop stewards’ council, chanting “phantsi nge (away with) globalisation” and demanding that shop stewards assist in shutting the plants where they are employed. Nor can I imagine you writing to the large steel producers who operate in South Africa and asking them to leave the country because your members are tired of all of this globalisation stuff.

  We both know that it would be suicidal for you to act in such a manner. I also know that when you do not make such perverse statements it is not because you are a tool of the International Monetary Fund or a “running dog of imperialism”, but because you value your members and have a mandate to improve their living standards.

  In the same vein, it is ridiculous for you to claim that inflation does not matter. Perhaps it does not matter to the wealthy who can hedge against inflation, but it matters to workers and others on fixed incomes. If you don’t wish to take my word for it, ask workers in Zimbabwe, Brazil or in any country that battled against high inflation.

  This argument of allowing inflation at 30% means your members will have the purchasing power of their wages eroded by roughly a third each year, and you would probably have to target it at that level because high inflation tends to accelerate and cannot be stopped — 30% soon becomes 300%, then 3000000%.

  I also want to invite you to explain what the source would be of all of this money you suggest we spend. There are, to the best of my knowledge, only three sources of finance for a government — taxation, borrowing or printing. Which would comply with all the policies adopted at Polokwane? These policies bear clear references to macroeconomic balances in both the resolution and the Strategy and Tactics document.

  No, Mr Jim, I have a sense that you shot your mouth off without first checking the facts. There are four things I hope you will do now. Firstly, you can respond to this open letter and show me how I fail to understand the policies and traditions of the ANC.

  Secondly, in the event that you choose not to engage me thus, I would recommend that you convene another press conference to demonstrate how a general secretary of a significant trade union will wash out his mouth with soap (check with your comrades in the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union which soaps will work best) and then eat the hottest chillies you could find, although you may have to globalise and visit Mozambique or Rwanda for that.

  Thirdly, you should enroll for umrabulo (political) classes — check which branches are offering courses on the documents of the ANC. It really is necessary that a person in your position understands the character of the ANC and is able to distinguish between its policies and those of its alliance partners.

  Fourthly, save as much money as you can very quickly. You will need this to purchase a small herd of goats for Tito Mboweni and me. You should do this because in our tradition you must express contrition by purchasing a goat for the aggrieved party. After all the rubbish you spoke, only a herd will do.

  I have taken the trouble to write to you to tell you that I care deeply about the ANC. I believe that, as a general member but especially as a national executive committee member, I have to defend this movement, its constitution, its 96 years of tradition and its policies against those who may wish to factionalise it.

  I write to you because I am a servant of the ANC, accountable to it and must resist any notion held by you or anybody else that you can drive me from this organisation.

  Greetings, Trevor A Manuel, MP