The South African Communist Party (SACP) says its 5th Special National Conference starting in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni metro on Wednesday, will review its relationship with the ANC and assert its independence in the alliance.
The four-day gathering comes at a time when the ANC-led alliance, also comprising COSATU, the SACP and SANCO, is facing a number of challenges. These range from the ANC’s declining electoral performance to growing voter disillusionment, among others.
Another issue that has strained relations in the alliance is the inclusion of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the ANC-led Government of National Unity. The SACP claimed that this was diametrically opposed to the alliance’s national programme of action – the National Democratic Revolution.
SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila says, “We had indicated to the ANC that we have taken a decision to contest local elections as the Communist Party. So, officially and formally now this has been communicated to the ANC. So, one of the discussions in the January meeting will also discuss this matter.”
‘Sell-out’
A sign that all is not well in the alliance. For the first time since 1994, and after supporting the ANC in every election thus far, the SACP has now vowed to fish for votes from the same pot as its traditional ally – the ANC.
What has caused the two historical allies to drift apart is the ANC’s failure over 20 years to ensure the realisation of a reconfigured alliance and its recent coalition with the DA in the government of national unity, prompting Mapaila to declare the ANC a ‘sell-out’.
He also says they will either have their own logo or a front organisation known within communities and that all the other modalities of its decision will be finalised at this conference.
The ANC is not taking this lightly, with Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula earlier saying, that in as much as they respect the SACP as an independent entity, they warned it against this posturing, as it has serious implications for the broader alliance.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says, “We are going to engage with that decision in terms of its implication for the alliance and we have cautioned against that. It will have a far-reaching implication for the alliance in terms of our partnership as allies going forward.”
Mbalula says the ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile would lead their delegation at the SACP’s fifth Special National Congress.
