The struggle against apartheid in Natal province-two recent examples
SOUTH AFRICA WE PUBLISH below two articles about events in Natal province. Both were originally published in the South African review Work in Progress, No 39, October 1985.
Work in Progress is one of several independent reviews produced in South Africa which attempts to analyse workers' and popular struggles in the country. Among other things it publishes a list of the different strikes occuring in any one month and attempts to explain the causes and results.
The first article published below concerns the organisation of a boycott of white businesses organised in the towns of Howick and Pietermaritzburg in connection with the important BTR SARMCOL strike. The strike started when BTR SARMCOL, a firm sponsored by British capital, made 950 workers redundant.
The consumer boycott became an important method of struggle during 1985 in most parts of the country. The target of such movements in general was the military presence in the townships and the state of emergency, the idea being to put pressure on the white traders who would in turn put pressure on the government. But this type of action proved to be very difficult to organise. One of the problems which came up was that of the sometimes tenuous link between the community organisations who initiated the boycott and the independent trade unions.
The case taken up below is important because the boycott was organised around workers industrial action. The industrial working class were at the centre of this united and broad-based action. This is still something which occurs only too infrequently for it not to be underlined. Although it is no absolute guarantee, this experience does prove that a worker and trade-union presence in the movement is an important precondition for successful organisation. 12
The second article deals with the violence of the Inkatha party against, in particular, activists in the United Democratic Front (UDF). The recognised leader of Inkatha is Buthelezi, the chief of the KwaZulu bantustan. This party is simply an instrument of control and intimidation of the Black population in the Durban area. Leaders of the UDF and trade-union leaders are under constant threat from Inkatha gangs.
A Black lawyer who took up cases of UDF members in particular, Victoria Mxenge, was assassinated in August 1985 and Buthelezi's men are under strong suspicion.
Buthelezi cultivates a deliberately ambiguous stance. In contrast to other bantustan chiefs he declares himself violently opposed to the apartheid system and aligns himself with the liberals in putting forward solutions aimed at
On the other hand he and his party constitute one of the strongest cards that the regime has against the African National Congress (ANC) and against the mass movement whether in the name of the 'national Zulu identity' or pure anti-communism. Inkatha tries to act like the single ruling parties in other African states but in reality it can never operate outside of the watchful control of the racist regime. It has helped the emergence of a layer of Zulu capitalist businessmen who are attempting to integrate themselves into economic life in Natal.
At present Inkatha constitutes a grave danger for the mass movement in this region. It has a not unimportant base amongst a section of the Zulu population and this situation places an increased burden on the different organisations, and in particular, as the article points out, on the UDF, for a special vigilance and structuring of their organisation.
As in every region in South Africa, Natal has a particular history and situation of its own. The laws of the apartheid system have dictated that the Durban area (the capital) is a preferential one of the employment of Indians. Consequently there exists here a strong Indian proletariat alongside of the African working class which consists in large majority of Zulus and Xhosas. The latter come from the Transkei and Ciskei bantustans. Natal is thus an area where the question of unity between the different ethnic groups is most difficult and most essential.
In August 1985, there were a series of skirmishes between Zulus and Indians and on December 25 of last year a real battle broke out between Zulus and the Xhosa people. KwaZulu is made up of pockets of territory surrounding Durban and this favours the control of the Zulu townships by the Buthelezi regime. Durban itself is made up of a large petty bourgeoisie and a section of Indian small employers. Apart from this the main large industry in the regions is concentrated in chemicals and textiles. In 1973 a massive strike movement exploded in Durban and marked a new era for Black trade-unionism and workers struggles.
Twelve years on it was in Durban that the November 30, 1985, founding congress of COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) was held. As well as showing the particular situation in Natal all this also demonstrates its importance for the revolutionary struggle in the whole of South Africa.
International Viewpoint 13 January 1986