Towards the end of 2007 South Africa was hit by a cycle of damaging power cuts from which it is still to recover. Eskom, the partly privatised, national energy utility, revealed that it had run out of capacity to meet the country’s needs and it further claimed that there would have to be hefty increases in electricity tariffs if it was going to solve the problem in the shortest possible time. The government self righteously expressed outrage at Eskom’s demands but admitted its fault in not making timely investments in power supply. It had hoped for private investment in this sector which did not materialise. Now, all new, large scale industrial development projects have been brought to a halt until sufficient power becomes available in about five years time. In the period before Eskom had merely been fiddling around with the development of a largely experimental pebble bed modular, nuclear reactor (PBMR), a scheme in which the state has invested billions with nothing really materialising to date. Moreover, the idea behind this scheme is that the PBMR should be produced, not so much to meet the country’s energy needs, but for export. Later, the government acceded to a 35% increase in electricity tariffs, as opposed to the +60% which Eskom wanted and also pledged hefty loans for the building of new power stations.
The entire electricity supply debacle sparked a heated debate around the question of energy, the more so since South Africa is the biggest polluter on the continent. Pro-nuclear power lobbyists have been met with sustained opposition as has the policy of exporting high grade coal leaving the country’s power stations running on low grade coal, with high levels of pollution. The PBMR project is a hazardous one, requiring the construction of about 30 mini-nuclear plants around the country to produce the equivalent of two conventional nuclear reactors, with all the attendant dangers of transporting fuel to and waste fuel from these plants. But the government maintains its neo-liberal stance, paying lip service to demands for the development of sustainable, clean energy sources. Here it may be noted that about three years ago scientists at Johannesburg University made a major breakthrough in thin film solar electricity technology which holds the promise of cheap and efficient, on-site electricity production. South Africa enjoys an abundance of sunshine and using this technology, every household could be equipped with a cheap, clean and sustainable source of electricity, making new, large power stations running on low grade coal quite unnecessary. The government did not pursue this breakthrough for reasons known only to itself, possibly because of its fixation with capitalist, Black Economic Empowerment. Instead the scientists responsible have taken their findings to Germany for further development and the country is left none the wiser.
In general, besides a plethora of local, flora-fauna protection societies of all shades, shapes and sizes there is a fairly strong but fragmented environmentalist movement in South Africa, driven by a few militant NGOs and a few vocal individuals. One such body is Earthlife Africa which campaigns on a range of issues such as opposition to nuclear energy and coal burning power stations, promoting sustainable energy sources such as wind, sea and solar power and highlighting the burning question of climate change. Another is the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) which has lately been campaigning vigorously for sustainable and potable water supplies, especially in the rural areas, for the benefit of the poor and small scale farmers where many are still dependent on untreated river water for their needs. Both of these NGOs attempt to integrate their work with the broader social resistance movement. Other NGOs of significance are Biowatch South Africa and SafeAge which have both being focussing on opposition to genetically modified crops and biofuels. A limiting factor is that all of them are cash strapped and are facing a new and potent funding competitor, namely Greenpeace, which has recently established itself in the country.
Unfortunately, the leftwing political movement is far in the rear. This is perhaps understandable since, with the attainment of the universal franchise, the populace placed its faith in bourgeois democracy, leaving the left struggling to maintain itself. A Green Party was established around the time of the first democratic election in the country but it has similarly struggled to make an impression on the population. Yet two recent developments gives reason for some optimism. About two years ago the Radical Left Network (RLN) was established – a low key collaboration of leftist groupings which had previously been antagonistic to one another. The RLN, operating mainly in Cape Town, has hosted a number of public seminars, the most notable and successful being the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. In November 2008 it organised a seminar on ecosocialism vs. capitalist barbarism. This seminar drew in speakers from the environmental sector while also attracting environmentalists in the audience. Judging by the cross-section of people in attendance, it was a highly successful event, demonstrating that leftwing organisations are keenly aware of the importance of linking environmental questions to the political program today.
Equally significant, if not more so has been the establishment of the Socialist Green Coalition. This is a body that has arisen in response to the burning issue of the general elections to be held later this year. The Socialist Green Coalition is mainly a merger of two bodies - the Operation Khanyisa Movement (“Turn on the Lights”) and Ecopeace. The OKM was established some years ago out of bodies affiliated to the Anti-Privatisation Forum in Gauteng, specifically to combat electricity cut-offs and has a strong socialist orientation. In 2004 it was registered as a political party in order to contest the local government elections in which it succeeded in winning one seat on the Johannesburg municipality. Ecopeace was established as an independent, ecologically orientated party in the eThekwini (Greater Durban) municipality where it also succeeded in winning one seat in the 2004 municipal elections. The Socialist Group, some of whose members operated in the OKM and which is also a member of the Radical Left Network, now functions in the Socialist Green Coalition in its own name while another political grouping, the Workers’ Party – a grouping with links to the Black Consciousness Movement has also joined.
The formation of the Socialist Green Coalition must be seen as an attempt to campaign politically on a national level and it is instructive to observe the recognition that ecological questions cannot be divorced from the struggle for socialism. It will be interesting to see how other left groupings respond to this development in future. While it is somewhat premature to suggest that we here have the makings of a mass workers’ party that is so sorely needed in South Africa it certainly points in that direction. When such a party is born it is bound to link the struggle for socialism with the struggle to halt and turn back global warming, to protect biodiversity and to pursue the necessary use of the environment in a sustainable manner.
R Wilcox
January 2009