(Apologies for cross-posting)
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT -- SEE ALSO http://www.queensu.ca/msp
Services for All?
Water, Electricity and other State Responsibilities
of the New South Africa and the World Summit on Sustainable Development
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The Municipal Services Project and our Partners invite you to join leading local intellectuals and activists, and global-justice strategists Dennis Brutus (SA/US), Oscar Olivera (Bolivia), Vandana Shiva (India), Njoki Njehu (Kenya/US), Camille Chalmers (Haiti), Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke (Canada), and Colin Leys (Britain), for:
A Conference of Local & International Research Relevant to Social-Justice Strategies & Struggles of Labour, Communities, Women and Environmentalists
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16-18 May 2002, Johannesburg
at Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management in Parktown, and Funda Centre in Soweto
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Until liberation in 1994, South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle was often fought out over specific problems that ordinary people experienced in state services delivery. Whether mandatory Afrikaans in the schools of Soweto (1976), racially-biased services in Port Elizabeth (late 1970s), inadequate housing in Durban (early 1980s), forced removals and oppressive public-sector labour relations (throughout), or rent and services boycotts across the country's townships (mid-1980s-early 1990s), local-level grievances generated intense political mobilisation and visionary demands for change.
Since the late 1990s, resistance has emerged to what some term class apartheid. Evidence is found in the resurgence of mass-popular social movements, isolated eruptions of anger (and state repression), persistent trade union campaigns, rural people's protests, non-payment of bills, illegal reconnection of water and electricity, fury over new public-health epidemics, and many other forms of advocacy, activism and social anger. These remind us that South Africa is still not free-certainly not until the essential state services guaranteed in the Constitution are finally available to all.
But with privatisation, corporatisation, service cut-offs, full-cost recovery policies, broken electoral promises, bureaucratic obstruction, corruption, political demobilisation and repression of legitimate dissent, that day sometimes appears further away than ever before. So we are compelled to come together to reflect upon these and other questions:
. What progress has been made to assure the society's constitutional rights to state services, and to empower workers, communities and women to bring those services to all our people in ways that are affordable, humane, pro-women and environmentally sensitive?
. How does the unequal distribution of essential municipal services--especially water, sanitation, electricity, waste removal, as well healthcare, housing and others-afflict our society, and in particular, our women, children and elderly, our health (and especially the health of our five million HIV+ citizens), our municipal workers, our communities, our natural environment?
. Is the privatisation of those essential services so far advanced that we will now send a large portion of our services payments to a Paris or London corporation, instead of circulating those scarce resources back into our municipalities and communities?
. Will the free lifeline services promised in the 1994 election (and again in 2000) finally become a reality, or remain a public-relations gimmick?
. What has driven the South African government to cut off the water and electricity supplies of more than ten million of our 42 million people, and what can we do to prevent any further cuts? Are the courts effective? What kinds of social protests safeguard social rights?
. Are other cities in Southern Africa, and across the world, similarly affected, and how are progressives in these places reacting?
. Is the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development-to be held in Johannesburg's wealthy Sandton suburb in August-September--a useful venue for aggrieved communities, workers, women and environmentalists to make their case for `Services for All!', or just another money-eating elite talk-shop? Will the New Partnership for Africa's Development's commitment to privatised infrastructure make it part of the problem?
. Who are our international allies-and opponents--in campaigns to decommodify essential services?
. What arguments are emerging, locally and globally, against our rights to essential services, and how do we rebut these?
. What analyses, strategies, tactics and alliances will allow us to achieve economic, social and environmental justice?
The Johannesburg conference sponsored by the Municipal Services Project--and many of our labour, community, environmental and think-tank allies--will educate, inspire and ready us for the next stages of analysis and activism. Join us from 16-18 May in Johannesburg. Overlapping with our conference, a world-class New Social Movements Film Festival will take place from 15-17 May on evenings in the same venue. Join us for entertaining documentaries that make the links between local and international campaigns for water, electricity and a decent environment, and the neoliberal economic policies which so many campaigns must ultimately confront and defeat. Some resources are available for low-income organisations outside Johannesburg to send representatives. Additional events are being planned for visiting international and regional experts, who will be available in other South African locations. For further information, please contact Greg Ruiters (064greg at muse.wits.ac.za) (phone 2711-717-4373) or Patrick Bond (bond.p at pdm.wits.ac.za) (2711-717-3917).
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Services for All?
Draft Programme of Events, 15-18 May
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 15: NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FILM FESTIVAL
7PM RECEPTION for 7:30 SCREENING (UNTIL 10:30) (WITS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AUDITORIUM, 2 ST.DAVID'S ROAD, PARKTOWN)
WELCOME FROM DENNIS BRUTUS; SCREENING OF AN INTERACTIVE FILM, SOUTH AFRICA AND GLOBALISATION: WHICH SIDE ARE WE ON? AND OTHER NEW SOCIAL-JUSTICE DOCUMENTARIES
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THURSDAY, MAY 16: BRIEFING FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
9AM-4PM (ACROSS JOHANNESBURG) Orientation for international guests by local progressive tourguides: Alexandra/Sandton/Soweto tours and Museum Africa/Workers' Museum/Library visit
5:00PM (WITS P&DM AUDITORIUM) CONFERENCE BRIEFING PLENARY: THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICAN STRUGGLES FOR STATE SERVICES
7-10:30PM (P&DM AUDITORIUM AND GROUND FLOOR LOUNGES) DINNER, CONTINUATION OF NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FILM FESTIVAL, HIGHLIGHTING SA GRASSROOTS/LABOUR/ENVIRONMENT DOCCIES
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FRIDAY, MAY 17
9:00-11AM (P&DM AUDITORIUM) PLENARY 2: THE GLOBAL NEOLIBERAL THREAT
11-11:30AM tea break
11:30-1PM (P&DM, FIRST FLOOR) FIRST WORKSHOPS: A NEW SERVICES APARTHEID?
WORKSHOP 1A: WATER PRIVATISATION IN SA TOWNS
WORKSHOP 1B: CORPORATISED MUNICIPAL SERVICES
WORKSHOP 1C: WATER/ELECTRICITY COST RECOVERY CONTRADICTIONS
WORKSHOP 1D: SOUTHERN AFRICAN URBAN WATER PRIVATISATION
1-2PM (P&DM COURTYARD) Lunch
2-3:30PM (P&DM, FIRST FLOOR) SECOND WORKSHOPS: WATER, AT WHAT COST?
WORKSHOP 2A: GAUTENG WATER WARS
WORKSHOP 2B: WATER PRIVATISATION IN SA CITIES
WORKSHOP 2C: RURAL WATER SUPPLY CONTROVERSIES
WORKSHOP 2D: INTERNATIONAL LESSONS OF WATER COMMODIFICATION
3:30-3:45PM Tea break
3:45-5:15PM (P&DM, FIRST FLOOR) THIRD WORKSHOPS: STRUGGLES FOR SERVICES
WORKSHOP 3A: TRADE UNIONS V. PRIVATISATION
WORKSHOP 3B: COMMUNITIES V. SERVICES CUT-OFFS AND HARMFUL INFRASTRUCTURE
WORKSHOP 3C: ENGENDERING SERVICE DELIVERY
WORKSHOP 3D: ENVIRONMENTALISM AND BROWN POLITICS
5:30-9PM (P&DM AUDITORIUM AND LOUNGES) RECEPTION, DINNER, CONTINUATION OF NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FILM FESTIVAL, HIGHLIGHTING INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE DOCCIES
SATURDAY, MAY 18 9:00-10:30AM (P&DM AUDITORIUM)
PLENARY 3: ALTERNATIVES FOR SA & THE WSSD: LABOUR-COMMUNITY-WOMEN-ENVIRONMENT
10:30-10:45AM tea break
10:45-12:15PM (P&DM AUDITORIUM) FOURTH WORKSHOPS: NEXT STRATEGIES/TACTICS
WORKSHOP 4A: PUBLIC-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS
WORKSHOP 4B: LIFELINE SERVICES & BLOCK TARIFFS
WORKSHOP 4C: RESURRECTING PROGRESSIVE MUNICIPAL PLANNING
WORKSHOP 4D: INFLUENCING THE WSSD, INSIDE AND OUT
12:30-2PM (P&DM COURTYARD) Lunch and then travel to rally
2-5PM (FUNDA CENTRE, SOWETO) RALLY, STREET THEATRE, DISPLAYS, MUSIC
(Partners include International Forum on Globalization, SA Municipal Workers Union, International Labour Research and Information Group of the University of Cape Town, Alternative Information and Development Centre, and community, environmental and women's groups)