RADICAL ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION: A BASIC DOCUMEN

Unpacking RET in alignment to the Freedom Charte

By Carl Niehaus

A. The population of South Afric

1. The South African population is now 59.6 million people

2. African people make up 81% of the population, Colored people 9%, Indian people 3%
and white people 8%

3. 51% of the population is female, while 49% is male.

4. About 65% of the population is less than 36 years old, with almost 30% of the population
made up of children (less than 15 years of age)

5. 1.8% of households in South Africa earn income from ownership of capital, 73% of the
population are working people (not necessarily working class), and 10% of the households
survives on pensions, social grants, family allowances and income from other individuals

B. The hardships in South African society: unemployment, poverty and inequalit

6. In the rst quarter of 2020, the unemployment rate in South Africa was 40%

7. However, the unemployment rate of African people was 44%, that of Coloured people
was 31%, that of Indian/Asian people was 19% and that of white people was 10%. Africans
therefore suffer the most from unemployment than the rest of the population

8. The unemployment rate for women was 43% while that of men was 37%. Women suffer
more from unemployment than men

9. The unemployment rate of young people between the ages of 15—24 years is 70% and
for those between the ages of 25—34 years it is 47%. Young people therefore suffer more
from unemployment than the rest of the population

10. In terms of wealth inequality, research shows that the top 10 per cent own 86 per cent
of national wealth and the top 0.1 per cent more than 30% of the national wealth; 3,500
individuals own wealth that is equivalent to 90% of the population

11. In terms of income inequality Africans earn on average about 22% of what whites earn,
Coloured people earned 28% of what whites earn, and Indian/Asian people earn 63% of
what whites earn.  Women earn 77% of what mean earn

12. In terms of poverty, 56% of individuals lived in poverty in the sense that they lived on
less than R1000 a month; 57% of females are living in poverty compared to 54% of males
 

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 13. In racial terms, 64% of African people are living in poverty, 41% of Coloured people are
living in poverty, 6% of Indian/Asian people are living in poverty while 1% of the white
population is living poverty

14. Young people and children suffer the most from the scourge of poverty; 67% of
children live in poverty, 60% of young people aged between 18—24 years of age live in
poverty, 51% of young people between 25—34 years of age live in poverty. This is
compared to about 43% of the rest of the population

C. Who owns, manages and controls South African society

15. The ownership of the South African economy is diverse, but it is dominated by white-
owned and controlled companies. Hence the concept of white monopoly capital, describes
the concrete form in which capitalism nds expression in South Africa

16. Capital in South Africa is majority owned and control by the white population, together
with their European and American allies. An example is SASOL; it is about 30% foreign-
owned largely by Europeans and Americans. The South African ownership is dominated by
a number of white owned and controlled asset managers, with state entities such as the
PIC and IDC owning about 20%

17. A less diversi ed form of ownership is Arcelor Mittal, dominating over 60% of South
African steel production; it is 70% foreign-owned with the state owning about 10% of the
shares through the IDC and the PIC

18. Another diversi ed ownership structure is Anglo-American plc, which owns 78% mining
company Anglo Platinum among others. The South African state ownership through the
PIC is 8%, the rest of the shares are distributed among white-owned and controlled and
foreign asset management rms

19. Yet another structure is the Bidvest Group. The state owns, through the PIC, 17% of
the shares. The rest of the shares are distributed among foreign and domestic white
owned and controlled asset management rms

20. An example in the nancial sector is the Nedbank Group, which is 11% state owned by
the PIC. The rest of the shares are then owned and controlled largely by white owned and
controlled asset management rms

21. In short, the ownership and control of the economy is in white hands, with the PIC as
the junior partner and it has been diversi ed into smaller holding by asset management
companies, which on the whole control more than 80% of the companies in South Africa

22. This does not mean that white monopoly capital has therefore ceased to exist, it
continues unabated, under conditions where the shares are split into small amounts
among the white owned and controlled asset management rms, but on the whole sum up
to an overwhelming white monopolization of economic power

23. In terms of management and control of the economy, 66% of top managers are white
15% are African, 6% Coloured and 10% Indian/Asian. Clearly the white population,
together with the Indian/Asian population are over-represented in top management
positions in South Africa
 

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 24. Senior managers are 54% white, 24% African, 8% Coloured and 11% Indian/Asian.
Once again, the African and Coloured population are under-represented in senior
management positions in South Africa

25. Women make up 24% of top management and 35% of senior management. African
women in particular make up less than 10% of top and senior management positions, a far
cry from the 40% that they make up in the South African population

26. In relation to movement into top management positions, the Employment Equity Report
of 2020 states that “both the White and Indian population groups are most likely to be
recruited, promoted and trained at this occupational level when compared to any other
population groups during the reporting period. A similar trend is observed within the female
group at this occupational level. The preference of Foreign Nationals at recruitment
disadvantages the designated groups at this level”

27. The African and Colored populations are receiving the short end of the stick. They do
not wield power in proportion to their demographic representation. The African population
in particular, is severely under-represented and marginalized from positions of
management and control

28. The democratic state is embedded in a society with such a skewed and unjust
distribution of power in the economy. The democratic state has for years failed to
decisively deal with vested interests in the economy, and it has only allowed these power
relationships to change cosmetically. For example, much of the transformation that has
occurred is largely driven by appointments in government, and not in the private sector

29. These vested white monopoly capitalist interests, also dictate which resolutions of the
ANC are implemented in government, at what time, in what way and to what extent. In so
doing they work closely with comrades within our movement who, when they arrive in
government, turn against the resolutions of the movement, frustrate their implementation
or inde nitely postpone their implementation (example is the nationalization of the South
African Reserve Bank [SARB])

30. There needs to be a clear understanding that institutions such as the World Bank, IMF,
OECD, the ratings agencies, the mainstream media and some of the so-called mainstream
analysts (legal, political and economic) advance ideas that protect the interests of white
monopoly capital

D. Radical Economic Transformation (RET

31. Radical Economic Transformation (RET) is a program of action of the African National
Congress, whose aim is to initiate a radical second phase of the National Democratic
Revolution. The 2017 January 8th Statement says, “the ANC must have unity of purpose
and display unity in action in advancing the NDR! The ANC must concentrate on radical
economic transformation and ensure that the people become more prosperous. We must
grow the economy, create jobs and return the land to our people!

32. The NEC continued to say, our government must, “give effect to President Tambo’s
vision for the nation and create a society that is prosperous. We must focus on radical
economic transformation. The economy must be in the hands of the majority of the people;
we must return the land to the people”
 

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 33. The ANC NEC Lekgotla of 2017 de ned Radical Economic Transformation as follows:
“Radical economic transformation refers to a fundamental change in the structure,
systems, institutions, and patterns of ownership and control of the economy in favour of all
South Africans, especially the poor, the majority of whom are African and female”

34. The NEC continued to say, “Our main objective remains the liberation of blacks in
general and Africans in particular. Its components include the creation of jobs, accelerating
shared and inclusive growth, transforming the structure of production and ownership of
means of production, and enabling the talents and productive potential of our people to
ourish. At the heart of radical socio-economic transformation is an effective state that is
decisive in its pursuit of structural change”

35. RET is a long-standing approach of the ANC. It can be traced as far back as the
African’s Claims in South Africa of 1943, which among other claims, demanded the
complete destruction of racial discrimination, the right for Africans in South Africa to have
an equal share in all the material resources of the country

36. RET is a programme for the full implementation of the Freedom Charter, which calls
for, among other things, “the national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans,
shall be restored to the people; the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and
monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole; All other
industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people”

37. RET is a programme which gives effect to the ANC Strategy and Tactics of 1969, which
among other things, states that, “the main content of the present stage of the South African
revolution is the national liberation of the largest and most oppressed group - the African
people. This strategic aim must govern every aspect of the conduct of our struggle
whether it be the formulation of policy or the creation of structures”

38. Furthermore, the ANC continues to say, “whatever instruments are created to give
expression to the unity of the liberation drive, they must accommodate two fundamental
propositions: rstly they must not be ambiguous on the question of primary role of the most
oppressed African mass and, Secondly, those belonging to the other oppressed groups
and those few White revolutionaries who show themselves ready to make common cause
with our aspirations, must be fully integrated on the basis of individual equality”

39. The ANC therefore never wavered nor was it ever ambiguous about the leadership role
of the African people and the primacy of the interests of the African people in our National
Democratic Revolution. In this context, the ANC also asserted that, “in a very real sense
the future of the Indian and Coloured people and their liberation as oppressed groups is
intimately bound up with the liberation of the Africans”.

 E.    What is RET about

40. Recognition of the of leading role of black people in general, particularly the African
people. The 1969 Strategy and Tactics says, “the main content of the present stage of the
South African revolution is the national liberation of the largest and most oppressed group
- the African people. This strategic aim must govern every aspect of the conduct of our
struggle whether it be the formulation of policy or the creation of structures. Amongst other
things, it demands in the rst place the maximum mobilisation of the African people as a
dispossessed and racially oppressed nation. This is the mainspring and it must not be
weakened”
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 41. Recognition of the primacy of the interests of the working class among black people,
hence the need for a left, socialist-oriented, anti-imperialist mass-democratic strategy and
political leadership. The 1969 Strategy and Tactics says, “In our country - more than in any
other part of the oppressed world - it is inconceivable for liberation to have meaning
without a return of the wealth of the land to the people as a whole. It is therefore a
fundamental feature of our strategy that victory must embrace more than formal political
democracy. To allow the existing economic forces to retain their interests intact is to feed
the root of racial supremacy and does not represent even the shadow of liberation”

42. The 1969 Strategy and Tactics continues to say, “This perspective of a speedy
progression from formal liberation to genuine and lasting emancipation is made more real
by the existence in our country of a large and growing working class whose class
consciousness complements national consciousness. Its political organisations - and the
trade unions have played a fundamental role in shaping and advancing our revolutionary
cause. It is historically understandable that the double- oppressed and doubly exploited
working class constitutes a distinct and reinforcing layer of our liberation and Socialism
and do not stand in con ict with the national interest. Its militancy and political
consciousness as a revolutionary class will play no small part in our victory and in the
construction of a real people's South Africa”

43. Recognition of the leadership role of women, especially African, working class women,
in our struggle. These women continue to suffer from sexist, racist and class domination
and exploitation. Gender-Based Violence—a structural product of white monopoly
capitalist society, is visited upon black women. Indeed, the measure of RET is the extent to
which black, particularly African, working class women wield power, are at the center and
at the helm of strategic decision-making, have as much access to opportunities, skills and
capital as males

44. Recognition of the leadership role of young people. Young, black, working class people
suffer heavily from the scourge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The RET
program should be driven by young people. Young people should be at the center and also
at the helm of decision-making. They should lead in the articulation, elaboration and
defense of the RET program in the battle of ideas. The focus is on black, particularly
African, working class, young people, who suffer from lack of access to skills development
and training, employment, and business opportunities. It is the responsibility of the state to
account for the life-progression; career path, of each and every young person in the
country

45. Recognition of the leadership role of the state in the economy and a rejection of
privatization of strategic state companies. The state should, on behalf of the people, own
and control strategic sectors which have been broadly identi ed in the Freedom Charter.
Countries such as China and Vietnam are fast-growing economies that have successfully
defeated imperialism and colonialism. They are setting examples of state-led socio-
economic transformation, that also enhances and guides a patriotic private sector that is
led by their national, not foreign capitalist classes, lifting the vast majority of their
populations out of poverty.  

46. The ANC has passed resolutions along these lines, but there is no progress in
implementation. The State Pharmaceutical Company and the State-Owned Mining
Company which should by now be owning at least 30% of all new mining operations in
South Africa, are examples. The issue of the State-Owned Commercial Bank, fully
 

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 licensed and operating at the same level as the established big four banks, is another case
of cold feet

47. Our country is in dire need of infrastructure development, whose construction should
be led by the state—a state-owned construction company should have long been
established to lead in the delivery of mega-infrastructure projects such as building of dams
and other water infrastructure, roads, revitalization, maintenance and extension of rail,
building of power stations, etc. to maximize job creation, industrialization and skills
development

48. The state should use these sectors, and control associated value chains, for the
bene t of the people, to build industries, support black and women entrepreneurs, create
decent jobs for the unemployed and provide business and training opportunities to young
people

49. The state should unashamedly, establish strong bonds and partnerships with black
entrepreneurs particularly Africans, women and young people, hold these forces by the
hand to create and vigorously pursue economic opportunities nationally, on the African
continent and the entire globally

50. RET is about full implementation of the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter is the
only socio-economic programme that is capable of rallying the progressive forces for
radical change. The ANC and its allied structures cannot go back to basics or undergo
renewal unless a renewed commitment to the full implementation of the Freedom Charter
is established and acted upon

51. An important element of the Freedom Charter is that the return of the basic wealth of
our country to the ownership of the people as a whole: the mineral wealth beneath the soil,
the banks (including the South African Reserve Bank), and monopoly industries (which
includes the large mining houses, insurance companies, steel chemical companies such
as SASOL, Arcelor Mittal and Evraz Highveld Steel, cement and construction companies),
should be transferred to the people as a whole. This means that such companies should
not be owned by a few individuals, be they white or black - they should be owned by the
state, for the bene t of the people as a whole

52. Land expropriation without compensation, is a key demand that should be defended
and advanced. We all know that the land was forcibly stolen from African people by white
settlers. In 1969 the ANC said, “South Africa was conquered by force and is today ruled by
force. At moments when White autocracy feels itself threatened, it does not hesitate to use
the gun. When the gun is not in use legal and administrative terror, fear, social and
economic pressures, complacency and confusion generated by propaganda and
"education", are the devices brought into play in an attempt to harness the people's
opposition”. The ANC continues to say, “Whether in reserve or in actual employment, force
is ever present and this has been so since the White man came to Africa”

53. The system of white domination is alive and well today and it has to be defeated. It
may not use force at the moment, but it uses, “legal and administrative terror, fear, social
and economic pressures, complacency and confusion generated by propaganda and
'education' ”. Every time RET demands are raised, economic pressures from rating
agencies, IMF and propaganda from white monopoly capitalist media is used to instill fear
and make people scared of supporting RET
 

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 54. The return of all the land is non-negotiable. We do not need Imbizos, unending public
consultations to ask people the obvious demand for land, we do not need to set conditions
under which this or that piece of land can or cannot be taken, nor is the issue of land to be
confused with food security. Those who raise “food security” and seek to put conditions
under which land can be taken back to its historically rightful owners should have done so
during wars of resistance, or during the armed struggle.  Our freedom is not negotiable nor
is it conditional

55. Control and ownership of the nancial system, particularly the South African Reserve
Bank and the banking system as a whole, is another key pillar without which RET cannot
be achieved. No post-colonial country has ever guaranteed its sovereignty without control
of its central bank

56. The Canadian Prime Minister McKenzie King, understood this very well when he said:
"Once a nation parts with the control of its currency and credit, it matters not who makes
the nation’s laws. Usury, once in control, will wreck any nation. Until you control the issue
of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as the most sacred
responsibility, all talk of sovereignty of parliament and of democracy is idle and futile"

F.   No unity, no renewal without RE

57. The calls for unity will remain empty unless there is a program upon which unity is
built. The RET is a program for such unity. We have voluntarily joined the struggle and
have committed to making sacri ces for the liberation of the black people in general,
particularly Africans

58. Therefore, we need to be united around a common program, the colors of our ag as a
movement mean nothing without a program of action. The commitment to shift economic
power to African people, the majority of whom are working class, is at the core of the
struggle for national liberation

59. We reject unity that is based on abstract formulas and which is based on a liberal
approach to those who deviate from the core of our national liberation struggle in theory
and in practice

60. We reject unity that is not based on a clear commitment to the core of the national
democratic revolution which is to shift economic power to African people the majority of
whom are working class

61. We reject unity that is based on this or that individual agreeing to share positions of
leadership

62. We reject unity that is based on blind loyalty to this or that leader, unity that is based
on money-politics, regardless of whether the leader deviates from the core of our national
liberation politics in their public and private pronouncements

63. It is our rm belief that there cannot be organizational renewal without a return of the
ANC to its socialist ideological orientation. The 1969 Strategy and Tactics remains the
seminal guideline of our approach to the National Democratic Revolution. There cannot be
organizational renewal without a re-commitment to that approach
 

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 64. There cannot be organizational renewal without a re-commitment to the full

implementation of the Freedom Charter

65. There cannot be a return “Back to Basics” unless the basics are de ned by our
revolutionary theory and we commit to a clear socialist ideological orientation, which
places black people in general, particularly the African people—the majority of whom are
working class, at the center and at the helm of our organizational activities.

66. We regard white monopoly capital as the primary enemy of the national democratic
revolution. White monopoly capital, by monopolizing power and resources in the hands of
the white population—with a few black allies who have united with it to exploit the black
working people, causes on-going suffering to the majority of the people. The primary
objective of RET is to destroy white monopoly capitalist power

67. In whatever structures, policies, strategies, laws and measures we adopt, the RET
program demands that we constantly ask the following simple questions: How are the
short and long-term ownership and control interests of black people, particularly the
African people, promoted? How are the short and long-term ownership and control
interests of the working class promoted? How are the short and long-term ownership and
control interests of women promoted? How are the short and long-term ownership and
control interests of young people promoted

END
 

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