A former SACP leader in KwaZulu-Natal cautions the ANC against attending the conference.
Image: Motshwari Mofokeng / Independent Newspapers
The ANC’s top 7 national officials will meet on Monday to discuss the SACP’s invitation to attend the conference of the left.
This was confirmed by the party’s national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, who acknowledged the receipt of the letter of invitation, saying the matter will be discussed by the national officials in their next meeting.
“We confirm the receipt of the letter from the SACP inviting us to their proposed conference. The top 7 national officials will discuss it and take the decision in their next meeting on Monday,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
In January, the SACP announced that it had started organising a conference of all the people and organisations on the left-wing of the political spectrum to discuss how to tackle challenges that face the country. It then reached out to like-minded organisations to discuss and table points that would form the agenda of the conference.
So far, the SACP has met Cosatu, Sanco, and the EFF and has invited its long-time alliance partner, the ANC.
The SACP is also in discussions with other non-political groupings like KwaZulu-Natal-based Abahlali baseMjondolo, a civil society group that advocates for shack dwellers’ right to land ownership, Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, as well as the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC).
The ANC and SACP's historical political relationship has soured since the latter announced that it would contest future elections outside the ANC. This has caused divisions, particularly among the communists within the ANC, who face a decision to choose which party to campaign and vote for in the upcoming elections.
During the ANC's national general council last year, some ANC members pushed for an end to dual membership, challenging Cabinet ministers who are SACP members to choose sides. It was reported that the fallout between the current SACP and the disbanded KwaZulu-Natal SACP leadership was a result of the party's decision to go it alone.
The former SACP leader in KwaZulu-Natal, who does not support his party's decision, said it would be wrong for the ANC to attend a gathering that has been arranged by an organisation that intends to contest it in the upcoming elections.
The former leader, who did not want to be named, stated that if the ANC attends, it would formally endorse the SACP as a standalone political party. He accused the communist party of attempting to establish a new alliance while claiming to remain committed to the Tripartite Alliance led by the ANC.
“It is not advisable for the ANC to attend and doesn’t think it will attend this conference of the left. How can the ANC attend the gathering alongside its fierce opposition, like the EFF, particularly with less than 10 months to the elections? For me, the conference should have been jointly organised by both the ANC and the SACP. If the SACP is speaking the truth that it is still part of the Tripartite Alliance, it should have consulted the partners, not inviting them alongside the opposition,” said the former leader
Furthermore, he said that the SACP is playing politics by inviting the ANC, and if it turns down the invitation, the SACP would go to poor people during campaigning and say the ANC has deserted the left and leans towards the right of the political spectrum.
He further stated that the concept was first developed by the SACP during Dr Blade Nzimande’s tenure as secretary-general, adding that the original idea was to unite parties on the left against the right-wing parties that were forming working relationships to continue oppressing the masses by introducing neo-liberal economic policies.
He said this new conference clearly has different intentions than the original idea because the SACP of today has made a decision to contest elections alone.
“The current SACP leadership keeps on saying that it would not contest the ANC in the polls and has not left the alliance, whereas what it is doing is exactly the opposite.”
However, the party’s national spokesperson, Mbulelo Mandlana, hit back, dismissing the assertion that it intends to establish a new alliance.
He also defended his party meeting with the EFF, saying their discussion centred on the current national and international matters such as the unemployment crisis, crime, and the country’s Budget, which was presented last month, as well as the Middle East war.
He also denied that the SACP intended to use this gathering to forge a political pact to contest the local government elections, similar to the DA-led Multi-Party Charter in 2024.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za