Ever since Mogale City Local Municipality pushed harder for the Minister of Mineral Resource, Susan Shabangu to disband the Environmental Management Forum, which was formed by mining company Mintail SA through community consultation, there has been a rumour circulating the area that Master Push might be jumping the ANC capitalist ship and joined the socialist wagon.
Because of this I am now seen in the company as a “radical” leftist.
Sometimes rumours are true: this thing of disbandment of EMF left me with no choice but to establish the Workers and Socialist Party in the West Rand region and build working class branches of the WASP.
This was endorsed by the several unions and political parties.
In fact the birth of this party is not an expression of the political conclusions of the mineworkers alone but the entire working class.
Honestly, I want to congratulate the Numsa leadership for recognising the changed political situation post-Marikana that necessitated the calling of this special congress in December and for tabling an agenda that addresses the key issues facing the working class.
Already WASP is backed by Giwusa out of the Ceppawu, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the National Transport Movement (a 50 000 strong split from Satawu), Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine in Carletonville, to list a few.
There are splits from Samwu, Popcru and Sadty and a search for a way out by workers in Nehawu and those remaining in Num and Numsa.
WASP is your party. So you must build it. WASP has no big business backers. We will be built with cents, rands and hard work.
