09. SA TEACHERS OPTIMISTIC, SAYS SALOME SITHOLE

(The following article is from the April 1-15, 2008 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3).

People's Voice recently interviewed Salome Sithole, the Vice-President for Sports, Arts and Culture in the 230,000-member South African Democratic Teachers' Union, who was in Toronto for a convention of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF). Sithole, a member of the South African Communist Party, lives in Whitbank, Mpulanga Province, a small city about 106 kilometers from Johannesburg.

People's Voice: What changes have you seen since the end of apartheid in education?

Salome Sithole: That would be integration. I am an elementary school teacher and I began teaching in 1989, until 2006 when I was elected to National office. After the 1994 election, there was an exodus of some black communities into the cities, moving into houses and neighbourhoods we could not before. We could not go to certain schools, we could not organize a teachers union - in 1989 I was brought before a high court [and charged with being a trouble maker] for organizing the union. But I was not arrested, and we had good lawyers. Times were changing and in 1990 we organized SADTU.

     Before democracy, there was a lot of oppression - what the principal said goes. For example, if you started at a school you would be given a job, no questions asked. You would be given the choir, even if you had no experience in teaching music. They also dictated what we could wear...

     I once went to the Principal to inquire about my salary; I wanted to know when I would get a pay increase. This was logged as disobedience. So that does not happen either. The people enforcing this, the principals, were black. We were being oppressed by our own people!

People's Voice: What is your view about the recent changes in ANC leadership?

Sithole: We were involved in the process through COSATU, the trade union central of South Africa. We really pushed for leadership changes. The workers are powerful, they either make you or break you. But I think [the past ANC leaders] forgot. We are thinking the current leadership is a people's leadership. The fact that they come down to the people is important. Jacob Zuma went to the COSATU Central Executive to find out how they are doing, to ask what they are doing right, what they can do better. And we told him. Zuma is a humble person... There are problems, but Zuma's election indicates there will be changes. Education and nurses are a priority. Some of the nurses have recently negotiated raises in their salaries. So they are leaders for the people. We are all optimistic.

People's Voice: What is the perspective of the SACP on these developments?

Sithole: The SACP shares the same perspective, more or less, as COSATU. But South Africa is a capitalist country. We have to deal with that first. It is no more about racism, it is about economic inequality. Now there is economic segregation between have-nots and haves, the business people. We have political power, but not economic power. Maybe we can overcome this, make changes, and move towards socialism.

     In the immediate, the SACP is running a number of campaigns. There is the Red October Campaign, and our SACP demand for a social grant for children was recently implemented. Every child should get grants to be able to go to school, so they don't have to drop out. $180 a month can pay for school fees.

     There is also the Black-list campaign implemented by the SACP. This is not a political black-list, it is a list that prevents you from getting a bond or a house. It prevents you from buying anything. The list is of people who can not pay back loans immediately, they may be missing some months. So business people put them on a black list. We think this should be removed.

     The Red October campaign is also about banks. We have big capitalist banks, and we pay high interest rates. We think we should move away from this. Of course, the SACP can not establish a bank. The people should establish their own national bank.

People's Voice: Tell me about the struggle for accessible education.

Sithole: Before democracy there was a struggle by university students. Every one should have free education - this has been the demand... The new leadership have said finally that they will establish free university education up to the level of undergraduate. After undergraduate you will have to start paying.

     I think the lack of access to education has a larger influence on society, such as the crime rate. Youth drop out, and turn to crime to keep a livelihood. People look up to people who have things, and there are break-ins to homes, and cars, to get things. With more education, and jobs I think the crime rate would go down.

     I don't think that children should pay anything to access sports. But there is an organization, the United School Sports Association of South Africa, which before democracy used to charge extortionate fees. For example, if you have to participate in a local sports tournament, they would charge you 4,000 Rand. But a mother only earns 300 Rand a month. Most students rely on their mothers incomes. The fathers have either died from AIDS or they are working far away from home.

     Well, we fought until the two ministries signed an agreement. We also demanded that the USSASA be disbanded. But it wasn't, and today they are still trying to charge fees. The USSASA also said that teachers should not teach sports. Only USSASA people should. They said we should not teach sports because teachers go on strike.

People's Voice: What about privatization?

Sithole: Privatization is happening. They are privatizing water. We used to get clean running water. Now in Soweto you purchase a coupon and get so much water. Until you can pay, your water system is closed. So if you buy a coupon for 100 Rand, and it is used up on Friday, during the weekends the office is closed so you will go without water until Monday. People do their washing in buckets, saving water. The same is with electricity. You get charged 50 Rand for electricity, it is not as much as you can use.

     They've outsourced responsibility to the companies, and the companies cut corners. They don't use enough cleaner in the water. There are actually worms in the water. Once, we had to resort to bottled water, which is very expensive. But you have a choice: purchase bottled water, or drink the water with worms in it, and be prepared to die.