Political – Zabalaza for Socialism

Lessons of 1976: ‘Be united to face the common enemy’

Noor Nieftagodien10 July 2026

On 30 June 2026, a few hundred people marched through Soweto as part of the broader campaign of xenophobia that in recent weeks has swept across some parts of the country. In the same month, the country marked the 50th anniversary of the historic 1976 uprising, when tens of thousands of Black students nationally mobilised against […]

March Separately, Strike Together: Xenophobia, Working-Class Fragmentation, and Strategic Crossroads

Rehad Desai and Luke Sinwell8 July 2026

500 Migrants outside the Malawian consulate Woodmead, Johannesburg In townships and informal settlements across South Africa, violence against foreign nationals is no longer episodic. It is increasingly organised and spoken about in ways that normalise it. Groups such as March and March have become associated with mobilisation that targets migrants in the name of jobs, […]

Ratanda: Two Residents Die After Water Protest, Community Calls for Mayor to Step Down

Siyafana Sonke Campaign7 July 2026

Ratanda, a working-class township south of Heidelberg in Gauteng’s Lesedi Local Municipality, has water again. Water has returned. Katleho Mokoena and Sipho Motaung will not. Katleho Mokoena (23) died after police confronted residents protesting weeks of water shortages on Wednesday, 1 July. Sipho Motaung later died in hospital from injuries sustained during the same protests. […]

INPUT BY SAFTU GENERAL SECRETARY ZWELINZIMA VAVI AT THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION SEMINAR

Zwelinzima Vavi7 July 2026

THIRTY-TWO YEARS OF DEMOCRACY: A WORKING-CLASS ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION Comrades, colleagues, leaders of the movement, intellectuals, veterans of the struggle, and fellow South Africans,I must begin by locating myself.I am not speaking here as a neutral observer.I am not speaking as an academic standing outside the battle.I speak as a trade unionist.I […]

No Borders, No Bosses, No Xenophobia: Build Proletarian Power from Below.

Socialism From Below6 July 2026

Keep Left/Socialism from Below statement There is no migration crisis. There is a crisis of capitalism. The violent events of 30 June remind us that xenophobia is a weapon used to divide the working class and excuse our rulers’ failings. South Africa’s crisis is rooted in an economic system that concentrates wealth in the hands […]

MAYOR’S REFUGEE DECEIT FLAMES ETHEKWINI TENSIONS

Siyafana Sonke Campaign6 July 2026

Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign condemns the utterances by Ethekwini Mayor, Cyril Xaba, feeding into the disinformation campaign targeting vulnerable migrant and refugee communities. According to Mayor Xaba’s comments in a recent podcast, he informed the interviewer that displaced refugees were demanding ‘free housing’, to the detriment of South Africans. The Siyafana Sonke campaign will not […]

THEMBELIHLE WAS BUILT THROUGH STRUGGLE: IT WILL BE DEFENDED THROUGH UNITY

Siyafana Sonke Campaign6 July 2026

The Siyafana Sonke Campaign salutes the residents of Thembelihle informal settlement in the South of Johannesburg, Lenasia, who continue to defend the values on which their community was built: solidarity, dignity and the right of all people to live without fear. Thembelihle was born out of struggle. It emerged because poor and working-class people, denied access to […]

Response to Jacintha Zuma

Bslefi Chirwa12 June 2026

It is important to be led by people who have at least picked up a pamphlet before a microphone. You’re choosing the easy way out Jacinta, because you’re simplistic in thought but radical in action. How do you blame me and EFF for crimes committed by foreigners when we aren’t government? What do you blame […]

Stuck Between Promise and Reality

Suliman Rajah22 May 2026

Soup kitchens, long cold, dry and dark winters Why your local council can’t just make water and electricity free — and what communities can do instead South Africa’s Constitution says everyone has the right to enough water. It says local government must provide basic services fairly. Those are not empty words. They are binding promises. […]

TOWARDS A CONFERENCE OF THE LEFT: THOSE MAKING THE CALL NEED TO ANSWER CRITICAL QUESTIONS

Brian Ashley14 May 2026

South Africa is living through a deepening social crisis. Unemployment, inequality, hunger, state decay, ecological destruction, and violence continue to define everyday life for millions. The political formations that once claimed to represent the aspirations of the working class have lost legitimacy, while the Right – both neoliberal and authoritarian – has grown stronger. In […]

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Category: Political