Mthobeli Jiwulane

The real aim of the United States to organise the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) in South Africa has come under question as the labour movement in the country got fiercely criticised for participating in this year’s forum while ignoring AGOA’s imperialist objectives by the United States.

Interestingly, despite their Leninist-Marxist ideological thrust, South Africa’s labour movement joined the AGOA labour forum established for the first time in AGOA’s 23 years of existence. The introduction of the labour forum indicates that AGOA is beginning to shape and fashion itself to the BRICS, which has forums for different sectors of the economy.

The summit, which wrapped its activities on Saturday, is a plenary of the US government and a select group of countries in the sub-Saharan Africa that were offered the privilege to enjoy tariff-free access and trade with the US industries under AGOA policy. Those countries had to comply to certain neoliberal principle to be eligible for admission into the club. AGOA’s rigorous eligibility requirements include that each country should establish a market-based economy, upholding the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process.

Days prior to the summit, the South African government issued a statement in praise of AGOA. Pretoria said since its inception in 2000, AGOA had been pivotal in strengthening economic ties and promoting growth and development across the African continent.  South Africa alone had over 600 companies that were invested in the country, many during the white apartheid rule. The firms invested in the country in defiance of the international sanctions against apartheid government which oppressed the then disenfranchised black citizens.

According to South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa the country’s auto exports to the United States under AGOA had contributed to job creation in South Africa and in the auto supply chain within its neighbouring countries and several countries west Africa and Tunisia. “These inputs alone accounted for more than $200 million worth of products traded among African countries,” Ramaphosa said.

Usually, the country’s labour takes a very strong anti-US stance on any issue involving Washington. They regard the US as source of the world Capitalism which they claim was the cause of all troubles in the world and Africa in particular. The economic accumulation and pillaging of Africa’s mineral resources by the West and its corporations over centuries is believed to be behind Africa’s underdevelopment and perennial human suffering. None of the African countries were wealthy although then continent was endowed with mineral resources throughout.

But it came as great surprise to many when leading trade union leaders accepted invitations to participate in the 20th AGOA forum held at the Expo Centre south of Johannesburg.

Both the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), an ally of the ruling African National Congress and the independent South Africa Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) participated in AGOA’s new labour forum. This despite the clear neoliberal objectives of the AGOA, which works on the US terms.

The debate over whether to participate or not was sparked by one of the Saftu’s militant affiliates, General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), which, in conjunction with other pro-Palestinian groups, questioned the labour’s participation in the forum despite the fact that it was sponsored by the USA, that funded the Israeli genocide in Gaza.  They their reiterated that AGOA had nothing to do with the development of Africa but had more to do with the US imperialist agenda in Africa.

GIWUSA president Mametlwe Sebei, stated that AGOA was nothing, but part of continued US imperialism and that the US had stated clearly that AGOA’s goal was to serve its interests in Africa. “The US interest is not about creating jobs or alleviating poverty or developing the continent, but it’s about the plunder of its resources and exploitation of labour, subjugation of Africa and the perpetual neo-colonial servitude by Africans,” Sebei said.

The US interest was to exploit Africa’s minerals and this on top of the fact that 75% of benefits of the AGOA arrangement accrued to the auto-industry which was owned by the US and its allies including Japan.

GIWUSA and other groups that participated in the anti-AGOA march at the event venue weekend said if the unions participated in the summit, along with the “spineless” government of South Africa, that would give credence to US imperialism agenda. Instead, the unions should stand for international principle of solidarity with the Palestinian people currently under a bloody siege by the Israeli army.

So far, as at the weekend nearly 10 000 civilians including 3900 children were killed in Israeli security forces actions in Gaza and the carnage continued.  Israel had been bombing hospitals, schools and troops indiscriminately attacking civilians in the streets of Gaza while claiming to be targeting Hamas members.

GIWUSA, in collaboration with the South African chapter of the Boycott Disinvestment and Sanctions Coalition (SA BDS Coalition) and other Palestinian solidarity groupings, object to the fact that the labour forum also took place amid what they called “genocide” by Israel in Gaza.  The group, which staged a protest outside the AGOA summit venue at the Johannesburg Expo Centre on Saturday, said there should be no trade with the USA which that was financing the genocide in Gaza perpetuated by Israel.

They abhorred the US decision to send weapons and military equipment to Israel and even to brag that the Biden Administration had sent an ‘additional’ plane load of armaments and munitions, since 7 October.  The latest support is in addition to the regular minimum $3.8 billion a year military aid the US delivers to Tel Aviv. 

“US President Biden is pushing for an emergency budget to massively increase this amount.  It could not be clearer that the US is arming Apartheid Israel’s unfolding genocide on the Palestinian people,” the protesters said. They further claimed the US’s move to veto a UN security council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza indicates America’s as being complicit in the genocide.

The South Africans demanded an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. They believed the US veto had prevented a UN resolution that would have allowed the very minimum – a humanitarian pauses to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza.  “This vote made it clear to the world that the US is complicit in genocide,” they said.

GIWUSA and others were of the view that the United States’ programme to increase preferential market access to the US for select Sub-Saharan African countries keen to do business with American companies, was nothing but imperialism. They wanted the trade union movement and the South African government to refused to participate in the forum and for the ANC government to decline hosting the summit, but it fell on deaf ears.

“It is unconscionable that President Ramaphosa, Minister (Ibrahim) Patel and his Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) are playing host to high level US government representatives as the US military-industrial complex is complicit in the ongoing Israeli murder of (10 000) Palestinians trapped in Gaza. One Palestinian child is being killed every ten minutes and 122 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank since 7 October.

The SA BDS Coalition urged the country’s organised labour to pull out of the AGOA forum in protest at the US-funded Israeli ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

The body’s trade analyst Woody Aroun asked: “Is trade worth more than the life of a Palestinian child?” He said the organised labour’s current meek participation in the AGOA summit sharply contrasts with their publicly stated positions of unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people. “The ANC government and organised labour’s continued participation in high-level talks with the US government amounts to a passive and muted response towards Israel’s continued aggression against the people of Palestine,” Aroun said.

GIWUSA’s Sebei accused the unionists who attended AGOA meeting of having “stepped over the corpses of 10 000 Palestinians who died from US-made bombs dropped by US made fighter jets in Gaza”.

Even former anti-apartheid activist, Rev Dr Allan Boesak entered the fray. “Why is South Africa playing host to representatives of nations engaged in open, declared genocide, in targeted killings and bombardments of innocent Palestinians?”Boesak said.

Prior to AGOA gathering, Boesak called on Ramaphosa to support the country’s foreign policy direction, stand up to the US bullies and demand the US support an immediate ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid with UN protection for the 2.3 million Palestinians as prerequisite for the forum to commence.

Dr Dale McKinley, political analyst and educator at the Cape Town-based International Labour, Research and Information Group (ILRIG) said that Ramaphosa and his government had decided to proceed with the AGOA summit indicated that economic access to US markets and corporate interests trumped human rights and humanity, and solidarity with the Palestinians.

The groups had repeatedly demanded that Ramaphosa should fire the Israeli Ambassador in Pretoria and declare him a persona non grata and sever diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.

However, the labour movement in South Africa did not heed the calls to boycott the summit and Ramaphosa went ahead to host the gathering. Ramaphosa was caught between the rock and a hard place on this matter.

He couldn’t bite the hand that feeds him. The US is a significant trading partner for South Africa and in addition, South Africa could not afford to boycott AGOA and play in the hands of US politicians who demanded that Pretoria should be expelled from AGOA for its perceived pro-Russian stance in the Ukrainian war.

South Africa insists on being non-aligned and neutral not only in the current Ukrainian-Russian conflict but generally in all global impasse. It preferred to take the middle ground and even offered its mediation services in several conflicts including the Ukraine war and several parts of Africa.

Although far left Saftu supported the Palestinian cause, its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi defended the federation’s participation in the AGOA summit, saying they attended the summit merely to register their disgust at the US using its resources to back and abate the killing of innocent Palestinians. Vavi, who participated in the pro-Palestine protest outside the venue, said although 62 000 jobs had been created in South Africa through AGOA, as Saftu they opposed the use of US money to sponsor Israel in its attempt to wipe out an entire Palestinian nation.

“Their money and their jobs are dripping the blood of the people of Palestine. South Africa is busy de-industrialising and the programme of imperialism and domination is ongoing and the balance of economic forces favour the US and the industrialised countries, Vavi said.

Whether the participation of the Left in the US-sponsored summit will bear any fruits cause it to continue participation in future remains to be seen. But one thing for sure, the USA is doing everything it its power to win over Africa on its side to counter Russia and China’s influence on the continent.

Many Africa countries seemed to be confused as to which side they should choose between the US and China-Russian divide.  South Africa’s divided loyalty saw the country simultaneous hosting AGOA  and paying a visit by Deputy President Paul Mashatile to China for a business trip.  Mashastile was hosted  by China’s Vice President, Han Zheng, for the 8th session of the South Africa-China Bi-National Commission (BNC) on 3 November 2023 and was scheduled to stay in the country until 6 November.

That’s South Africa’s foreign policy of attempting to hit two birds with one stone.

Now with the US having managed to attract the socialist-oriented union federations, that operate on Leninist-Marxist ideology principle, who can be trusted to main solidarity with oppressed people of the world like those of Gaza.