The South African Communist Party shouldn’t be going to change or grow to be impartial of the ANC any time quickly as a result of its former common secretary Blade Nzimande will stay a stumbling block to any makes an attempt to wrestle the social gathering from ANC’s neo-liberalism.
This was the view of no less than two consultants with clear understanding of socialism who believed that Nzimande was the principle pressure that influenced the social gathering to grow to be the ANC’s junior associate in authorities as a substitute of a real impartial vanguard of the working class.
They mentioned Nzimande, who was elected as SACP chairperson throughout latest social gathering nationwide congress, was there to defend his legacy which concerned purging opponents and conserving the SACP inside the realm of the ANC neo-liberal insurance policies as a part of the federal government.
While political analyst, Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast from Nelson Mandela University lauded Nzimande for having grown the SACP membership since 1998 when he took over from Charles Nqakula, he mentioned Nzimande overstayed his welcome within the social gathering. He mentioned his 24 years as on the helm was an overkill as ideally the GS ought to solely serve two phrases.
He mentioned Nzimande stepped down as GS however determined to keep on as chairman, which meant he was a de facto GS. “Nothing will change in the party without his input,” the analyst mentioned.
Breakfast mentioned Stalinism, the place opponents had been systematically purged, had deepened beneath Nzimande. Previously the social gathering had a sturdy battery of intellectuals however the majority of them had been purged as a result of he didn’t tolerate dissent. “The hallmark of Nzimande’s leadership was to purge people who disagreed with him,” Breakfast mentioned.
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The social gathering had failed the working class that it must be a vanguard of because it couldn’t produce sustainable class consciousness via working class targeted political schooling.
“That ideology is very complex, you must be able to articulate the dynamics of capitalism using the tools of analysis. Since there is a movement away from Socialism to democracy in the former Eastern bloc due to the demise of the Soviet Union, you need to ask what are the implications of that to the working class,” he mentioned.
The professional pitied Nzimande’s successor, Solly Mapaila as a result of, with Nzimande round, he couldn’t affect the social gathering to comply with a new impartial course with out offending Nzimande. “Of course he will never rub him up the wrong way, otherwise Blade would find a way to get him out,” Breakfast mentioned.
But extra scathing was Dale McKinley, a political analyst and former SACP Johannesburg Central chair and Gauteng provincial government committee member who mentioned Nzimande had grow to be the face of the SACP turning into the junior associate of the ANC in authorities.
Blade spent the final 24 years turning the SACP into a junior associate of the ANC in authorities as opposed to being the vanguard of the working class. He defended the alliance with the ANC and expelled those that advocated for independence of the social gathering from the ANC,” McKinley mentioned.
McKinley, who was expelled from the social gathering in November 2000, was a part of younger social gathering members and intellectuals who approached Nzimande to stand to change Charles Nqakula with a mandate to direct the social gathering to grow to be impartial from the ANC. But to their disappointment, on being elected and earlier than the congress ended, Nzimande defended the SACP alliance with the ANC.
He pushed out anybody who advocated the social gathering’s impartial line in direction of the ANC.
“Jeremy Cronin and Blade did not want to give up alliance with the ANC and their argument was to influence the ANC from within in favour of the poor, but that did not happen. They were together in this journey,” McKinley mentioned.
McKinley, who joined the SACP impressed by Chris Hani who declined succeeding Mandela as ANC president, mentioned Nzimande and Cronin acted opposite to Hani’s strategy that the social gathering mustn’t take part within the authorities however must be impartial to construct the working class. He described Cronin as an “intellectual bully” who didn’t tolerate those that held completely different views intellectually inside the social gathering.
“I used to challenge his line, but many of us were pushed out.”
He cited intellectuals and SACP members who had been sidelined within the social gathering as Mazibuko Jara, Langa Zitha, Willie Madisha, Philip Dexter, Dinga Sikhwebu, McKinley himself and plenty of others. Comrades within the decrease and regional social gathering buildings had been purged through the years whereas many social gathering stalwarts and veterans bought disillusioned with the SACP and determined to transfer apart.
Members of SACP political schooling secretariat that included Zitha had been sidelined after they grew to become vital of the ANC Growth Employment Redistribution (GEAR) technique.
Jara, a former SACP nationwide spokesperson after which editor of Umsebenzi journal, was remoted for penning a paper in 2005 vital of the SACP’s help for Jacob Zuma, who was dealing with legal fees.
McKinley was himself expelled in November 2000 for allegedly undermining management and bringing the social gathering into disrepute due to a vital article he penned about SACP’s transfer away from the working class.
However, McKinley mentioned there was hope that the younger era and Mapaila would redirect the social gathering to comply with the right path as a working class vanguard.
“I have no doubt that Blade will keep watch over Mapaila. But it’s clear the young generation of the party will want an independent working class vanguard – independent of the ANC, but Blade does not want that. Solly and others and the young generation are in the majority and will be able to push the party in the right direction in favour of the working class. there are clear signs this will happen. We might also see the return of those who were moved aside by Blade and Jeremy,” McKinley mentioned.
ericn@citizen.co.za