Labour migration and the process of capital accumulation within a regional economy: the case of South Africa and Malawi

The central objective of this study has been to trace the development of capitalism within South Africa and in the region as a whole and to bring out as clearly as possible the historical fact that south Africa capitalism is rooted in the oppression and ultra exploitation of a black proletariat which is a regional phenomenon, tied together by a historical experience of the most extremes most brutal and most exploitative capitalist system in the world. The study looks at the historical development of the system of labour migration in the region and how this system was tied to the initial development of capitalism and the formation of a regional economy. Because of the need to limit the scope of so large an area of study the major focus has been on labour migration from Malawi and how this system is related to the development of the Gold Mining Industry in South Africa. The study revealed that the South African capitalist system cannot continue to operated as a profitable “gold mine” for foreign (international) capital without maintaining the inflow of foreign labour power whether from within the boundaries of South Africa or from the region. The strengthening of economic and political ties with states like Malawi is a manifestation of the vital role the migrant labour has always played and continue to play in the expansion of capitalist accumulation and of the capitalist system within the Southern African region. The study concluded by arguing that the victory of the South African proletariat over capitalism must of necessity be a victory of the entire regional proletarian and we have seen the first stage of this victory in the liberation fo Mozambique, which has set a stepping stone for the liberation of all the oppressed and exploited classes in the region.