Workers are constantly told that South Africa’s crisis is about personalities, factions, or “bad implementation.” This narrative is designed to confuse, divide, and depoliticise the working class. In reality, what we face is the outcome of a 30-year class project — a deliberate shift away from the Freedom Charter and towards neoliberal capitalism. To build real power, workers must understand when, how, and why this shift happened — and whose interests it served.
- The First Turning Point: 1995 and Privatisation
In November 1995, the African National Congress, under Nelson Mandela, adopted privatisation as “a fundamental policy of the ANC.”
This decision:
- Had no democratic mandate
- Was taken without consultation in the Tripartite Alliance
- Directly contradicted the spirit of the liberation struggle
This was not a technical adjustment — it was a class decision, signalling that capital, not workers, would shape the new economy.
- The Burial of the RDP: Abandoning Redistribution
The Reconstruction and Development Programme was the programme that won the 1994 election. It promised:
- Housing
- Jobs
- Services
- Redistribution
Yet by 1996, it was shut down and absorbed into Treasury. Development was replaced by fiscal discipline, and social need by “market confidence.” This marked a decisive shift away from the working class.
- GEAR: Neoliberalism Without Consent
Later in 1996, the government imposed Growth, Employment and Redistribution — a policy never debated or voted on by the ANC or its allies.
GEAR entrenched:
- Austerity
- Privatisation
- Labour “flexibility”
- Trade liberalisation
Workers, unions, and left economists opposed it from day one. This resistance did not begin in 2012 — it started in 1996.
- Monetary Policy and Capital Flight: Draining the Economy
Alongside GEAR came destructive financial decisions:
- Exchange controls were dismantled
- Corporations were allowed to externalise capital
- Companies could list primarily overseas
Billions of rands that should have built factories, infrastructure, and jobs were moved offshore. This weakened the economy and strengthened capital’s power over workers.
- Illicit Financial Flows: Legalised Looting
These policies opened the door to:
- Transfer pricing
- Trade misinvoicing
- Base erosion
The African Union and the World Bank have shown that Africa loses tens of billions of dollars each year through illicit financial flows — with South Africa a major contributor. This is not accidental corruption. It is policy-enabled extraction.
- Deindustrialisation: How Jobs Were Destroyed
At the dawn of democracy in 1994, manufacturing contributed about 22% of GDP. Today it contributes about 12%, and only 9% of total employment.
Why?
- Tariffs were removed faster than required
- Cheap goods were dumped, especially from China
- Border management collapsed under corruption and under-invoicing
Entire sectors were destroyed:
- Clothing and textiles
- Footwear and shoewear
- Light manufacturing (kettles, fridges, appliances)
All these jobs are gone.
- Idle Factories, Idle Workers
According to Statistics South Africa, large parts of industry operate with significant unused capacity:
- Machines standing idle
- Factories under-utilised
- Workers retrenched
This proves unemployment is not caused by lack of skills or effort, but by policy choices that favour imports, finance, and profit over production.
- From the Freedom Charter to Elite BEE
The Freedom Charter declared: “The wealth of the country shall be shared among those who work it.”
Instead, post-apartheid policy introduced BEE, which:
- Created a small black elite
- Left ownership and control intact
- Failed to transform the economy
This was elite substitution, not economic liberation.
- Inequality and the Myth of Progress
After 31 years of democracy, black people remain the face of:
- Poverty
- Unemployment
- Inequality
Former Statistician-General Dr Phali Lehohla has demonstrated that inequality among black South Africans has deepened, with a tiny elite racing ahead while the majority fall behind.
This exposes the class character of the post-apartheid economy.
- Continuity of the Neoliberal Project
From GEAR, through the National Development Plan (NDP), to GAIN and Operation Vulindlela, the same logic persists:
- Capital mobility over development
- A weak developmental state
- Privatisation by stealth
- Wage suppression
The names change, but the class project does not.
Conclusion: Building Class Consciousness
This history teaches a vital lesson:
South Africa’s crisis is not about individuals or emotions. It is about class power.
Workers must:
- Reject false narratives of “bad implementation”
- Understand neoliberalism as a class weapon
- Rebuild independent, militant organisation
- Reassert the Freedom Charter’s demand for shared wealth
Only a class-conscious working class can reclaim the promise of liberation. Without class analysis, workers are disarmed. With class consciousness, workers become a force for change. Lastly – love your class more than your political party.
Zwelinzima is the General Secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions
