In South Africa privatisation and nationalisation have been subjects of heated debate for many years. Perhaps these debates have never been hotter than in the period since the government adopted the GEAR policy in 1996. This booklet attempts to provide worker leaders, community activists and other progressives with information that will be useful in participating effectively in debates and struggles over privatisation and the role of the state in transformation.
The booklet is divided into five chapters. Each chapter deals with a separate aspect of privatisation:
– Chapter One defines privatisation and summarises some key debates
– Chapter Two places the struggles around privatisation in the context of a broader debate around the role of the state
– Chapter Three focuses on the international experience of privatisation, with special case studies on the UK and Zambia
– Chapter Four looks at privatisation in South Africa — both in the past and the present
– Chapter Five offers some international and local case studies of alternatives to privatisation