12-19 October 2008 – Jubilee International’s Week of Action against the IFI’s

In this article Brand gives a brief report of the Jubilee South Africa’s local solidarity actions with the International Week of Action against the International financial Institutions.

Jubilee South Africa as an integral part of the International Jubilee South Movement organised myriad of actions throughout the country to mark this year ’s protest actions against the International Financial Institutions (IFI’s) and those Trans National Corporations (TNC’s) that trampled upon the human rights of communities claiming that this is done in the name of development. The IFI’s also claim that this dispossession will assist in bringing investment to the regions and thus grow the economy of this country.

International Financial crisis

This year, the Jubilee Week of Action co-incided the international financial crisis. Just a year ago the global neoliebral economic system was assured, even against the background of rising food and fuel prices and growing poverty. Yet, just a few months ago the world financial system came crashing down, and a new chapter in the history of modern globalisation has opened. Millions, no trillions of US dollars have been lost on stock exchanges, and banks have collapsed and face bankruptcy. South Africa is part of the world capitalist sytem and as a because of the ANC’s neoliberalism since 1996, SA too is helpless in the unfolding economic global crisis. The one certainty is that the ideological dominance of neoliberalism is at an end as we move towards new opportuntities. .

Companies targeted

In the campaign against the IFI’s, in SA we targeted the following companies:

• Anglo Platinum

• Lonmin

• Impala Platinum

• Harmony gold

• Motsepe’s African Rainbow Mineral

• ABSA (Barclays).

• The Department of Minerals and Energy was also included; and in some regions of Jubilee, corrupt businesses and individual police-men who are paid to terrorise communities, were also targeted.

This year, the Week of Action co-incided with current community-based struggles. In the Mokopane region communities have been demonstrating against the mine-companies who are desecrating graves and attempting to demolish a secondary school. The main culprits are Anglo Platinum and Lonmin.

Thirteen of Jubilee South Africa’s twenty regions, supported by the affected communities, embarked on the following actions:

Jubilee Gauteng organised pickets at the following places, all of which went very smoothly;

1. Anglo Platinum office in Johannesburg CBD

2. DME office in Braamfontein

3. Uranium One in Park Town (The Uranium One official came down to observe the picket)

4. ABSA at their main office in Johannesburg

5. WCCC at the other ABSA Regional Office in Vereeniging supporting the Khulumani Support groups lawsuit in the USA courts

Jubilee Matlosane in Klerksdorp, North West supported the 4000 workers dismissed by Uranium One mine for being sick, after a prolonged exposure to radiation.

Jubilee Fezile Dabi targeted ABSA demanding that the South African share-holders should withdraw from Barclays and also encouraged Barclays to settle the Khulumani Lawsuit and pay reparations to the victims of apartheid.

Jubilee Xariep joined the Jubilee comrades in Bloemfontein to echo the Jubilee Fezile Dabi demands. They also took advantage of the APLAMVA meeting happening in Bloemfontein on

19 Oct 2008 to ask them to publicly support Jubilee South Africa/Khulumani and call on the Justice Department to withdraw the Pennuel Maduna Affidavit filed in the USA court. This will enable the South African victims and all those who were violated the world over to seek their rights in the court of law.

Jubilee Mokopane organised seven pickets targeting the Tribal Authority, Lonmin, Anglo Platinum’s PPL, reactionary Indunas who are working with these companies, the individual police officers and local business who are helping these companies to dispose of communities’ land and protesting against the move by the Section 21 companies to relocate the Seritarita High School from Sekiming to Chokwe villages. They also highlighted the problems of the relocations of the Sekiming graves which included those that are more than sixty years old and by law cannot be exhumed and relocated willy nilly.

Induna Isaac Pila of the Sterkwater, accompanied by community members of his village, organised a bus to support the Maluleke community and other communities in the test case held in the Pretoria High Court, to protect their land from being taken by big firms under the guise of ‘development’. After the court found in favour

of the communities, the Sterkwater village together with their Induna, Isaac Pila, took to the streets of Pretoria targeting the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME). They picketed at DME and exposed them for colluding with big business to dispossess communities of their land. One, Mr. Issac Tema, claiming to be the DME official tried to intimidate Mr. Pila claiming that it was illegal for him to protest at the DME offices. He threatened to call the police to disperse the picketers.

After making an impact, Mr Pila together with his village elders drove back to Mokopane, two hundred and fifty kilometres north of Pretoria.

Jubilee South Africa/Khulumani branch of Sebokeng targeted ABSA in Vereeniging to demand that Barclays support the Khulumani matter in

the USA courts. They also highlighted the plight of residents of other countries like the Comfort Women of Japan. The Maduna Brief also denies them their rights to seek recourse in the courts.

Jubilee Eastern Cape held a meeting in the regions that culminated in a picket at ABSA to echo the demand of Fezile Dabi region. The region also highlighted the plight of dams and problems of water denial by government and big dam builder companies. A workshop on water resources was conducted in partnership with the Environmental Monitoring Group, an ngo.

On the 18 October 2008 at 10H00 the Jubilee Goldfields supported by the Khulumani comrades also picketed in front of the ABSA building in Welkom demanding that they withdraw from the takeover by Barclays.

ABSA was also picketed in places like Bosborand and Komatipoort by Jubilee Bushbuckridge and Jubilee Nkomazi respectively, in the Mpumalanga province. Jubilee Nkomazi followed up this

picket by another picket against those companies and government departments that are denying communities access to water resources.

Lastly, Jubilee Upington organised their action more differently. The region embarked on a four-day pamphleteering campaign making

communities in the region aware of the lawsuit in the USA and the good work that both Jubilee and Khulumani are doing. This action culminated in the formalisation of a Jubilee Branch in Pabalelo, Upington.