Two prominent Grahamstown social activists are at the forefront of a new political movement that could change the political landscape of Makana.
Two prominent Grahamstown social activists are at the forefront of a new political movement that could change the political landscape of Makana.
Leaders describe the Democratic Left Front (DLF) as a progressive left force providing an alternative to the ANC-led alliance. Many disappointed former members of the liberation movement chose it as their political home when it launched in Johannesburg last year.
The organisation has a local branch based at Rhodes University headed by Ayanda Kota, of the Unemployment People's Movement (UPM) and Rhodes Journalism lecturer Jane Duncan who was previously of the Freedom of Expression Institute, and who writes for The South African Civil Society Information Service.
Kota and Duncan are members of the national committee organisation, which is made up of former members of the ANC, SACP, Cosatu, independent trade unions, social movements, individual activists and non-government organisations.
At a meeting chaired by Pedro Tabenski, the Unemployment Peoples Movement and Students for Social Justice (SSJ) organisations were present. The Rural People's Movement apologised for their absence due to transport problems.
The community organisations agreed to join the movement on the basis that they maintain independent identities, while SSJ said their organisation was considering joining, but still had to consult its constituency.
Kota said the Unemployed People's Movement would intensify their struggle against lack of service delivery and "other challenges faced by the poor”.
Vishwas Satgar, the former Gauteng provincial secretary of South African Communist Party (SACP), who is also on the Front's National Committee, said the movement had emerged after what he termed the “crisis of the national liberation project”.
Satgar said the working class continued to be under consistent attack from the neo-liberal policies of the ANC-led government.
“Our emergence was greatly influenced by SACP’s failure to play its historical role as the vanguard of the poor and the working class. It is absorbed in the state and the social movements which are fragmented, divided and weak. Given this existing political vacuum, we saw the need to regroup and find a voice for the Left in South Africa.” Satgar mentions.
Satgar announced that his movement is willing to build a progressive force that would be an alternative to the ANC-led alliance. He mentions that they don’t have answers to all the problems, but that “they are an open-minded organisation that allows robust debate to shape the future.”
Former SACP spokesperson, Mazibuko Jara, also a member of the Front's national committee, says their “movement does not focus on elections, but is concerned with building a grassroots political movement.”
He said they will support independent candidates who are supported by their communities and subscribed to the political ideals and perspectives of the Front.
