The Anaconda Schemes, A condition of the “choosen ones”: EPWP and CWP

Sourced: Zoutnet

The ANC government has shown time and again, its class character and has demonstrated that this time with the introduction of the EPWP and CWP in the public sector. The schemes which are just lucrative means by which the few connected can advance their  narrowed interests and for the ANC to strengthen its elite by enriching it. A condition of which monkey do you know at the zoo is created. They are a great blow to the marginalized sect of the society– the poor majority.

Everywhere in the communities of South Africa you will see people with orange over-all garments sweeping in the schools and streets, repairing streams and oblivions and putting away rubbish in the community. This is surely an important job they are making, keeping the environment clean and tidy, but are they really benefiting or paid decently to the level of the duty they are doing? To our knowledge, according to the public works, the EPWP is a short-to-medium term programmes aimed at alleviating and reducing the unemployment. Whilst we welcome this initiative, the fundamental questions to arise are; whether the initiative is to deal with unemployment statistics or unemployment as a problem that underwrites poverty? Because the program seems to yes! reduce unemployment statistics but cannot deal with the fundamental consequences of unemployment– which is poverty.

In the recent nation’s states of addresses, on both national and provincial levels, the program is reflected as being the major  job creator in the public sector, with stats going as high as millions in each province every year. The reflection of people working under this project is with no doubt immense. However, the situation facing these workers, both youth and adult, include indecent wages which cannot contain their livelihoods. Their salaries range from R500pm in varying places and provinces to R1800 or above so in rare cases. Having to compare this with the swelling economic crisis which have most precisely hit hard on the poor, the wages are beyond reasonable doubts slave wages. On top of that, those who are supposed to be beneficiaries are left crumbling for the leftovers after pathetic labour-broking agencies had divided the big prices among themselves.

This happens whilst pathetic boards of implementers are looting the projects’ funding, and at every acute turn are erecting foundations for mansions and buying fancy cars. This is an example of both the poor implementation of these projects and the attempt by the ANC to mould its elite and other capitalists through tenderpreneurship. But also highlights how few individuals loot over the majority and of that which was supposed to benefit the majority.

Workers in these projects are super-exploited. Besides ill working conditions, the workers’ slave wages go as far beyond two months without being paid. This means nothing on the table for the poor families relying on that meagre income. On top of that, they are suppressed from raising their concerns. The contract basis employment system is the employment structures which perpetuates and allow workers to be victimized and to easily succumb to the nonsense by the implementers. We feel that, it is the main means by which real jobs are stolen from them and  thus can easily be manipulated and controlled.

These Anaconda projects are succeeding in eliminating the unemployment only on papers, but cannot curb the worsening conditions of those workers employed in them, to such an extend of even being unable to buy oneself a lunch meal at work, let alone that of their children at school. The conditions of people are worsening while the president and his ministers are fantasizing over employment statistics.

The schemes are a demonstration of the character of the ANC led government, that it’s not a pro-poor and working class bias. Therefore most, if not all, of its attempts to grow the economy and development, and thus create jobs is not in the interest of improving working class conditions, but only on the basis of exploitation of the workers to enrich the few– the capitalists and petty-bourgeois who feed on tenders.

It is time for poor majority to realize ANC to what it really is. It is time for them to look beyond the African National Congress to a party that represents their interests, and which from its core foundation is composed of their struggles. It is time to build mass workers party on a socialist program to realize a socialist transformation for the benefit of all.

The Socialist Youth Movement calls on EPWP and CWP workers to unite themselves and start rolling a mass action to demand decent wages, decent permanent jobs, getting rid of the pathetic implementers– termination of contracts with labor brokers and the government to employ them directly, Trade union right.