Mazibuko Jara
Mazibuko Jara, born in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, one of the province of South Africa. An activist in the democratic Marxist tradition, he was active in the South African Students Congress and the left-wing Young Christian Students. He was a member of the South African Communist Party until 2005, serving as its spokesperson, including editing the party paper Umsebenzi, and strategist. He was ousted from the party after he wrote a paper in 2005 rejecting the SACP's overt support for Jacob Zuma, entitled What Colour Is Our Flag? Red or JZ? : A Critique of the SACP Approach on the JZ Matter, one of a number of critical figures purged in the 2000s. In 2006, Jara co-founded Amandla. He argues for a "democratic left" and Eco-Socialism, criticizing authoritarian and socially conservative tendencies in South African society at large, including in major political parties. Jara has worked in a range of left coalitions and NGOs, including a leading role in the Democratic Left Front and the subsequent United Front, and the Treatment Action Campaign and is currently Chair of Oxfam South Africa and director of Ntinga Ntaba kaNdoda, a community-based rural movement in the Eastern Cape.
