[PEN-L:11588] Nzimande on capital and transformation of the state.

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Closing Speech to Special Strategy Conference 5 Sept 1999
SACP G.S Blade Nzimande

Extract:


In relation to the transformation of the state it is clear that achieving
the objective of building a national democratic state is a priority for us
as a building block for socialism. We as Communists will have to focus on
mobilising the people, especially in relation to local government, to
strengthen the ANC and the governments program to transform the Apartheid
State we have inherited. Clearly, we will have to do more work on such
matters as partnerships between government on the one hand and the people
and private interests on the other. Our reservations are not because we
don?t want to see progress, but we want to
ensure that in the development path we choose we do not end up
strengthening monopoly capital. Our developmental path must strengthen the
working class and prioritise the interests of the poor, not as passive
recipients of services, but as active participants in the development
process.

The commission on socialisation has identified, as one of our priorities,
the need to find a strategy to engage with monopoly capital. This is not
because, as we have already said, we seek to strengthen this powerful
interest. We need to engage monopoly capital precisely because we need to
limit it, and direct it, to create the space for socialisation to take
place. This does not mean we have given up on socialising monopoly capital
itself. What we have to do is ensure that the liberation movement builds
alternative capitals to tilt the balance of forces away from monopoly
capital. Some of the conceptions we have of forms of capital, such as
social capital, need to be problematised.

Similarly, the relationship between public and private capital, such as in
the case of PPPs, is not without contradictions for the Party. But we
cannot as the SACP bury our head in the sand in relation to these issues.
If we are serious about our goal of socialisation, let us take up the
challenge to define the correct relationship between the state and capital
and ensure that we defend the interests of the people. The most important
task we have as the SACP is to ensure that we achieve our goal of
socialisation, and that it is built our organisational strength. In this
respect the formation of industrial units needs our attention.