We thought that Cyril Ramaphosa’s fantasy state of the nation needed a response. He told us that we have turned a corner. We thought we would show him what the corners, where the majority of people live, actually look and feel like. So we have presented the ‘real’ state of the nation.
The editorial reviews how, over the last 30 years, the ANC (and now the GNU) have not only failed to build the nation -they have torn it apart. As we approach the 50th anniversary of June 16, the youth of that era would have been horrified to see where we are now.
The feature gives details of the social crisis caused by the neoliberal policies of the government. Madoda Cuphe tells us the devastating state of poverty he encountered as he travelled the country and the effect it has had on popular movements. We interview ‘Tendai’, an HIV positive victim of Operation Dudula, about her experience at their hands at the Spartan clinic in Ekurhuleni. Marc Wegerif outlines the hunger and malnutrition that is spreading through communities, its causes, and the steps that must be taken to end it. Nqobile Ndima tells us the shocking story of how a community of 17,000 households was deliberately deprived of water. Jaco Oelofsen explains the underlying economic policies of the last 30 years that have led to this social crisis. We interviewed Thapelo Mohapi, General Secretary of Abahlali baseMjondolo about the continuing political assassinations and what causes them. And Lauren Paremoer writes about the dire state of the care economy in South Africa and what needs to be done.
On Energy, Sinawo Thambi, Spokesperson for the EFF, explains how load shedding continues for the poor — only its name has changed to load reduction. In the Politics section, Vuyisile Oliphant ka Maki explains the SACP’s fundamental error in transforming its pre-1994 tactical alliance into a strategic alliance that makes them co-responsible for the ANC’s anti-working class programme.
We have restored the What Do We Mean By section, with Andile Zulu explaining that the state under capitalism cannot be any kind of class-neutral entity. In the Economy section, Dick Forslund explains the effects of the Iran war and the economic steps the government should take to protect us from its effects. In the Labour section, Reabetjwe Maputla describes the dire effects of poverty amongst South Africa’s students and graduates.
The International section starts with an article which explains that the energy crisis from the Iran war was inevitable while the ownership and supply of the main sources of energy remain in private hands. Damaris Astete Marchant explains Chile’s rapid move to the right. And Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, fresh from their CEC, reveals the shenanigans in the UK’s new ‘Your Party’.
In the Culture section, Zolani Balekwa gives us an extended poem about the coexistence of the two cities of Ikapa and Cape Town. Then Rehad Desai gives us a personal obituary to activist and journalist Terry Bell.
And finally, in the Reluctant President, Cyril Ramaphosa undergoes a grilling from his wife on the disappearing National Dialogue.
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