10 Marikanas per day- the banning of Ivermectin
10 Marikanas per day- the banning of Ivermectin in South Africa
On the 15th August 2012, the then board member of Lonmin, Cyril Ramaphosa, urged the police, in an email, to launch ‘concomitant action’ against ‘criminals’, strikers who were gathered in an open field outside of company premises. On the 16th August 2012, 34 mineworkers were shot down by tactical units of the police drawn from around the country. The current net worth of Ramaphosa is estimated to be R6.4 billion ($450 million). The effect of the Marikana massacre was to demonstrate clearly, that in time of crisis, when workers are demanding their democratic rights to a living wage, the ANC-SACP-Cosatu alliance and the ANC in particular, stands on the side of monopoly capital, for the profits, even over the dead bodies of the working class. The ANC stands for the continued enslavement of the working class. The annual declared profit of Lonmin is about R4.5 bn. The annual profits of the large companies in SA is more than R1 trillion or more than R1000bn.
The Department of Health in SA reported a further 300 covid 19-related deaths on the 24th Jan 2021. This is roughly equivalent to 10 Marikana massacres occurring daily.
Yet there is an immediate prophylaxis (preventative) and treatment that could drastically reduce the numbers of deaths and the numbers of infections. Ivermectin. It is a very cheap treatment, costing virtually nothing, that has been thoroughly tested over the past 35 years, with minimal side effects and its impact and limitations are well established. It has recently been scientifically tested and there is overwhelming evidence of its usefulness to fight covid-19 infection. [1]. The Front Line Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) recently made a submission to to the National Institute of Health in the USA on ivermectin. As a result, the National Institute for Health, NIH, changed its designation from being ‘against’ to being ‘neither for nor against’. This is a profound change as it puts ivermectin on a par with convalescent plasma (purified antibody extract from survivors of covid 19) which can both now be recommended on prescription by Doctors in the USA. This is such an important step as the cost of a tablet of ivermectin is less than R10. This fight has important international significance as a victory in SA can help open up assistance to the masses throughout the world who are currently being terrorised by the giant pharmaceutical companies and the international banks that control them. Health care is a public good and should be in public hands not in the hands of capitalist companies. On the other hand, the suppression of ivermectin shows that the ANC protects the interests of the international banks.