Inqaba ya basebenzi Number 2 April 1981 - DISA

tionary pressure of the masses on
their leaders reached new heights,
SWAPO declared itself a 'vanguard
party* and committed itself to the
aim of a "classless non-exploitative
society". The programme adopted in
August 1976 said SWAPO would
"ensure that all the major means of
production and exchange of the
country are owned by the people"
and called for "giving land to the
tillers".
Unfortunately, in the search for
solutions acceptable to UN diplomacy,
the SWAPO leadership has
retreated from these radical
demands with every round of
negotiations. The 1976 programme
is no longer talked of as the existing
policy of SWAPO.
In 1977 the SWAPO leader, Sam
Nujoma. said: "We are fighting for
the mass of Ihe workers to have
direct control over the means of
production". But in January 1981
he told the Financial Mail that
SWAPO only wanted 'state participation'
in industry.
The breakdown in the Geneva
talks is an opportunity and challenge
to SWAPO to seize the political
initiative.
The leadership has promised to
step up the guerilla struggle and to
campaign for sanctions against
Pretoria.
But the imperialists have shown
they will never implement sanctions
if this will endanger their investments.
Only the workers in the
imperialist countries can" take effective
boycott action on the basis of the
necessary mobilisation and organisation.
Despite huge sacrifices by the
guerillas and peasants, guerilla
struggle alone cannot drive the army
of occupation from the soil of
Namibia once and for all. The defeat
of the SA army which protects the
interest of monopoly capital in
Namibia requires the muoihsation ol
the masses around a fighting
socialist programme.
. IIC task of the SWAPO leadership
is to come forward with such a
programme of action, taking up and
developing the radical demands of
the 1976 programme, to organise
Namibian workers in the mines,
factories, compounds, farms and
towns.
In conjunction with the action ol
guerillas in the countryside. s the
ground can be prepared for a general
strike, and the arming of the
organised workers for self-defence,
particularly in the compounds.
In this direction, with the armed
workers organised around a program
for the complete destruction of
capitalist power and the building of a
democratic workers' state, the road
lies open to genuine self-determination
for the people of Namibia.
But such a struggle cannot be
confined to Namibia alone. Botha's
troops will be defeated only in
common struggle with the powerful
black working class of South Africa
itself. The great task for the leaders
of SWAPO and the ANC together,
and for every activist in struggle in
the two countries, is to build up the
links and put forward the policies,
strategy and tactics by which unity in
action will be achieved.
Such a victory against the SA army
of occupation, would also advance by
leaps and bounds the South African
revolution itself. On this road lies the
solution to all the needs of the
Namibian people, and those of
Southern Africa as a whole.
BOSSES PRESS ATTACKS
Supporters of INQABA and
activists in the liberation struggle
may or may not have seen a hostile
and vicious attack which appeared in
the Rand Daily Mail on 16 February,
1981 under the heading "ANC
whites start splinter worker group".
Essentially it alleged the formation
of a "splinter movement in Britain to
concentrate on workers and trade
unions". It went further to say that
the name of the "new movement" is
the Marxist Workers' Tendency of
the African National Congress, and
added "though the movement uses
this title, the leadership dissociates
itself from the ANC".
We summarise here the major
points of the memorandum that we
have sent to members and fellowworkers
of the Media Workers
Association of South Africa and to
the South African Society of
Journalists.
Against the press monopoly of the
millionaires in South Africa,
INQABA stands for a free press
under workers' democratic control.
This is why we sent our complaint
against the RDM to the trade unions
of the media workers.
INQABA regards with contempt
the attempt at lies, slander and
division by the apartheid bosses'
journalism as clearly reflected by the
RDM article. Contrary to capitalist
naked lies:
• IV£* D * !•. ihe journal of a
definite current of thought within the
ANC. This current is the Marxist
Workers' Tendency of the ANC.
• INQABA calls without apology for
the building of the ANC inside South
Africa, as a mass force above all of
black workers. In this way it
identifies and promotes the actual
basis of organised unity. It fights for
a socialist programme in the mass
movement and stands for the
overthrow of the factory, mine, farm
and bank owners—the road forward
to the liberation of all the oppressed.
• Far from needing any "new
movement", the workers of South
Africa have an existing fighting
movement—a mass movement which
is beginning to place its stamp on
ever>' aspect of life. INQABA fights
for the conscious building and
strengthening of the leading role of
the working class under the banner
of the ANC. The Marxist Workers*
Tendency is part and parcel of the
ANC and will steadfastly remain so.
• INQABA emphasises that our
struggle is international—the lessons
drawn from the struggles of our
brothers and sisters throughout the
world will strengthen our determination
to destroy once and for all
capitalism, the enemy of all the
hopes and desires of our people.
• Finally. INQABA underlines that
only socialism, meaning workers'
democracy, can replace capitalism
and bring an end to national
oppression, exploitation and poverty-
by T. Phiri
Copies of the full memorandum are
available from INQABA YA
BASEBENZI, BM Box 1719,
London WC1 3XX.