The Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front, or ZACF – Zabalaza meaning ‘struggle’ in isiZulu and isiXhosa – is a specific anarchist political organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a unitary organisation – or federation of individuals, as opposed to a federation of collectives – whereby membership is on an individual basis, by invitation only. This is because we have seen – through our own experience, as well as that of global anarchism historically – that we can accomplish more as an organisation, and be more effective, when our members share a certain level of theoretical and strategic unity, and collective responsibility.
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Cleaning workers throughout South Africa have been on strike since Monday 8 August. They are demanding a living wage of R4 200 per month, as well as a 13th cheque and shorter hours.
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This article outlines the core features of the anarchist/ syndicalist vision, strategy and relevance to contemporary struggles. While of general interest, it is also directed to South African militants on the left, as part of the larger debate on the future of the left project. ... read full story / add a comment

Πρέπει να μάθουμε από αυτά. Στην πραγματικότητα, αν θέλουμε να διασφαλίσουμε πως δεν θα υπάρξουν στο μέλλον άλλοι Άντριες Τατάνε, πρέπει να αναβιώσουμε τις καλύτερες πρακτικές της λαικής εξουσίας και να αρχίσουμε να χτίζουμε έναν ελεύθερο και ισότιμο κόσμο. Ένα κόσμο που θα βασίζεται στις αρχές που έχουν γίνει γνωστές, διαμέσου 150 χρόνων αγώνα για δικαιοσύνη, ως αναρχοκομμουνισμός. ... read full story / add a comment

A reflection on state repression of popular struggles in South Africa in the wake of the full aquittal of the Kennedy 12 (Abahlali baseMjondolo political prisoners). ... read full story / add a comment

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, the Wobblies) was the main influence on the radical left in South Africa in the early twentieth century. But who were the South African Wobblies? This article looks at three key figures. From Industrial Worker, May 2011, no. 1735. ... read full story / add a comment

The biggest single strike since the 1994 parliamentary transition in South Africa showed the unions’ power. It won some wage gains, but it threw away some precious opportunities. We need to celebrate the strike, while learning some lessons: • the need for more union democracy
• the need to use strikes to link workers and communities
• the need for working class autonomy
• the need to act outside and against the state
• the need to review our positions: against the Tripartite Alliance, for anarcho-syndicalism ... read full story / add a comment

In this article, using an anarchist analysis, it will be argued that this lopsided trade, expansive investment and projection of state power by the South African ruling class are signs of the imperialist role they play in southern Africa. In undertaking this, it will be outlined how the South African ruling class, as an integral part of their imperialist role, are conducting a class war against the workers and the poor across sub-Saharan Africa. Through examining this class war, it will hopefully become clear that the South African state is being used as a key instrument by the ruling class – made up of capitalists and high-ranking state officials – to further their own interests in southern Africa. The consequence of highlighting the imperialist nature of the South African state also has implications for the strategies and tactics that should be used in struggle. It will be strongly argued that due to its hierarchical centralising and expansionist ambitions, the state cannot be used as a tool for liberation in South Africa or in the region.
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On the 13th April, people in South Africa were stunned. On the evening news the sight of six police force members brutally beating a man, Andries Tatane, to death was aired. The images of the police smashing his body with batons and repeatedly firing rubber bullets into his chest struck a cord; people were simply shocked and appalled. Literally hundreds of articles followed in the press, politicians of all stripes also hopped on the bandwagon and said they lamented his death; and most called for the police to receive appropriate training to deal with ‘crowd control’ – after all, elections are a month away. Andries Tatane’s death was the culmination of a protest march in the Free State town of Ficksburg. The march involved over 4,000 people, who undertook the action to demand the very basics of life - decent housing, access to water and electricity, and jobs. ... read full story / add a comment

I sindacati sud-africani, confederati nel COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions), forte di 2 milioni di iscritti, hanno messo a punto una visione politica coerente che rompe con il neoliberismo. Il fatto è notevole - ma è sufficiente? Quanto vitale e desiderabile è questa visione proprio mentre l'era neoliberista barcolla? E c'è un'alternativa? [English] ... read full story / add a comment

The August-September 2010 mass strike in the South African state sector demonstrated remarkable working class unity across racial and ideological lines, as 1.3 million workers of all colours stopped work for four weeks despite severe economic recession. The strikers' determination reflected growing frustration with low wages and at the glaring political corruption and enrichment of the elite, plus the drive - by African, coloured and Indian workers specifically - to attain living conditions breaking decisively with the oppression and immiseration of the apartheid past. Yet the strikers' partial victory was tarnished by tactics that divided strikers from the larger working class - notably, hospital disruptions - and a failure to raise demands that linked union and community struggles against both neo-liberalism and the apartheid legacy. The top-down manner whereby the strike was ended makes workers cynical about their own unions, demonstrating the alarming bureaucratisation and centralisation that has arisen, in large part, due to union leaders being enmeshed in the African National Congress (the neo-liberal governing party) and state industrial relations machinery. Unions should re-orientate towards other working class movements, outside and against the state, to fight for a libertarian and socialist transformation, from below. The ideas of anarcho-syndicalism - raised at the 2009 COSATU Congress - provide a useful starting point.
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The promise of safe, reliable and affordable public transport comes as welcome news for the majority of working class and poor South Africans and immigrants to the country. The segregated town planning left behind by the system of racialised capitalism known as apartheid has meant that the majority of the population – also those who can least afford it – are often the ones who have the furthest to travel to work, schools, hospitals and so on.

This article looks at the Bus Rapid Transit system, what BRT really is, how our so-called leaders plan to implement it – since, as usual, there has been very little popular involvement – and whether our leaders, or BRT, can serve the needs of the poor and working class ... read full story / add a comment

VM 2010 må afsløres som det fuldkomne humbug, det er. Den sydafrikanske anarkistføderation Zabalaza fordømmer kraftigt den sydafrikanske regerings frækhed og hykleri, når de præsenterer verdensmesterskabet som en enestående mulighed for løfte det sydafrikanske folk og resten af kontinentet, økonomisk og socialt.

Det er helt klart, at ”muligheden” er og bliver en mulighed for nye indtjeninger til den globale og hjemlige kapital og den sydafrikanske herskerklasse. Faktisk er der, om noget, større sandsynlighed for, at mesterskaberne har skadelige konsekvenser for Sydafrikas fattige og for arbejderklassen – hvilket vi allerede har set eksempler på.
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Even with all eyes on the World Cup, movements of the workers and the poor in South Africa must not forget that another challenge looms: the local government elections of 2011. And with the approach of elections, we are already seeing the return of the wave of authoritarians and opportunists of the left, all singing the same old song: if they are elected, they will somehow be able to do something about the problems of the workers and the poor. And while they may remix the song over and over, the tune remains the same: individual leaders, experts, or vanguards can find the answer; the mass movements of the people cannot liberate themselves. ... read full story / add a comment

Testo di un volantino distribuito da militanti dello Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) e del circolo di studio sull'anarchismo di Orlando West durante un torneo di calcio presso un insediamento informale a Soweto. Purtroppo il torneo è stato cancellato a causa della pioggia. [English] [Français] [Ελληνικά] ... read full story / add a comment

Le tract suivant a été distribué par les membres du Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) et du cercle d’étude sur l’anarchisme Orlando West à un tournoi de soccer de Soweto. Malheureusement la discussion proposée après le tournoi n’a pas eu lieu à cause de la pluie.

[English] ... read full story / add a comment

The following leaflet was distributed by members of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) and the Orlando West study circle on anarchism at a football tournament in an informal settlement in Soweto.
Unfortunately the proposed discussion after the tournament did not take place due to rain. [Français] [Ελληνικά] [Italiano] ... read full story / add a comment

Αλληλοβοήθεια: μια αναρχική ιδέα σε εφαρμογή στη Νότια Αφρική - Κείμενο στη σειρά «Τέσσερα Εργαλεία Κοινοτικού Ελέγχου» - Μέρος 1ο ... read full story / add a comment

Il testo che segue contiene un'analisi presentata da un esponente del Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) al 'Seminario sui risultati elettorali del 2009' organizzato dal Khanya College a Johannesburg, domenica 10 maggio 2009. Il tema del seminario era "Qual'è il significato delle elezioni del 2009 per la classe lavoratrice in Sud Africa?". [English] ... read full story / add a comment

The following analysis was presented by a member of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) at the Khanya College organised Seminar on the 2009 Election Results, held in Johannesburg on Sunday 10 May 2009. The topic of the seminar was “What do the 2009 Election results mean for the South African working class?”.
There were speakers from the following organisations present: Bolshevik Study Circles & Che Guevara Film Club, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF), General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), Soweto Concerned Residents (S.C.R–A.P.F), NKUZI – Fieldworker of Farmworkers' Programme and Kathorus Concerned Residents (KCR)
It should be noted that - owing to the constraints of time allocated for this presentation - this is by no means a complete analysis of the 2009 elections, and what the ANC victory and Zuma administration means for the poor and working class of the region. It serves only to raise some of what we believe to be important issues for consideration going forward. [Italiano] ... read full story / add a comment