Episode 2 of popEd is now live.

South Africa does not have a shortage of political parties.

Yet when progressive forces confront a political crisis, the proposed solution is often the same: form another one.

Veteran trade unionist and political educator Dinga Sikwebu calls this “party mania” - the belief that the challenges facing working-class people can be solved by creating the correct political party.

[Dinga Sikwebu is a South African trade unionist, labour educator, and activist with several decades of experience in the labour movement. He became involved in political activism during the 1976 student uprising in South Africa and entered the trade union movement in the early 1980s. He later worked for the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), where he served for many years as Head of Education. Wits University

His work has focused on shop-steward training, political education, workplace organising, and broader questions of working-class power. After NUMSA’s 2013 decision to explore a more independent political strategy, Sikwebu helped coordinate the United Front, an initiative intended to connect trade unions with community and social movements.]

Drawing on his experience in NUMSA and the United Front, Dinga reflects on how the pressure to become an electoral vehicle can displace the slower work of organising communities, building campaigns and winning concrete changes in people’s lives.

If another party is not the answer, what kind of political organising do we need?

Watch Episode 2 of popEd, a podcast by My Vote Counts: https://youtu.be/MloJmmPNzE4