SACP and Cosatu lambast the ANC

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have heavily criticised their alliance partner, the African National Congress for forming a coalition government with “right wing political parties” and shifting rightward. The SACP and Cosatu leaders were speaking during the party’s 103^rd anniversary celebrations in Khayelitsha on Sunday. 

SACP secretary general, Solly Mapaila described the recently formed government of national unity (GNU) as an error made by the ANC. “The GNU is a wrong political choice. It’s an error, we made a wrong choice and the DA will finish us alive. The battle lines have been drawn now. The working class will not lead itself. The GNU is unjustifiable to the working class,” he said. His scathing attack did not spare other political parties, who he blamed for losing ANC votes in the May 29 elections.

“Those who deliberated on removing the ANC from political power, received money from the Oppenheimers. Going forward we must re-strengthen each other. I am calling on all of you as communists, stop being abused by members of the ANC because you want positions,” said Mapaila. He also attributed the ANC’s recent election losses to a leadership vacuum within the party. “Leadership weakness has left us vulnerable. We must address the leadership question. Mass struggle is the only solution to our problems. I am calling on you, to provide political leadership, to defeat crime and extortion rings in Cape Town,” said Mapaila.

During his address, Mapaila also lashed at both Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, and South African Reserve Bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, calling them neo-liberal addicts. “We want to reiterate our call as the communist party that our fiscal and monetary policies must change but we have a neo-liberal addict in Lesego Kganyago running one of our institutions. We can never have economic transformation with someone like him running the reserve bank. The fiscal policy is also represented by another neo-liberal addict, the finance minister, Enoch Godongwana. We don’t have laws that protect our currency. As much as the ANC was up in arms and didn’t want to give the DA the finance portfolio, we don’t know what to do with that portfolio. The finance minister doesn’t care about the working class. We have to create our own banking institutions. We can’t be 30 years into our democracy, and we don’t have a single bank for our people. We must also talk about the land. You cannot end poverty, if you cannot deliver the land,” Mapaila told the crowd of about 300 who braved the cold and wet weather to fill the OR Tambo Hall.

Mapaila said that they are not going to be made to explain their utterances by anyone except the working class. He was referring to media reports that the national working committee of their alliance partner, the ANC, is expected to summon the party to explain a “Don’t Kill Chris Hani Again” T-shirt they produced. “If the working class wants us to come explain, we will do that. But it won’t happen that when we are attacking the oppressors of our people, then we are the ones who get disciplined. We are not an organisation of another organisation. That is why I ‘m wearing the T-shirt that I’m wearing. I am wearing it with dignity and respect. We wont allow them to kill Chris Hani again. Why do they want to ban the T-shirt in public, who do they want to please? I have instructed the communist party structures that this T-shirt should become a standard T-shirt of the South African Communist Party,” Mapaila said.

Cosatu’s 1^st deputy president, Mike Shingange also criticised the GNU and assured Mapaila that the reaction to his speech was a sign he is on the right path. “They didn’t come back to the people after the elections. This GNU is just an agreement of the elite pack. So long as we have capitalism running the country, we still have a long way to go. If capitalists are clapping hands for you, just know that you are on the wrong side of the class struggle. The ANC leadership must not say we voted for this. We are in the mess we are in, because we are reactionary. The problems of the ANC also come from inside the party. Our real opponent is the right-wing agenda of the DA, which we co-govern with today. Our task is to fight for the unity of our alliance,” said Shingange. 

The ANC’s lonely representative

Responding to the attacks by the SACP and Cosatu, Joe Maswanganyi, the National Executive Committee (NEC) member of the ANC defended the party and assured the alliance partners that they will go ahead with the policies that they recently signed into law. “The government of national unity is not a sell-out approach. We are not in alliance with the DA, IFP and all the other parties involved but in coalition government with them. We won’t retreat on the BELA [Basic Education Laws Amendment] bill. We signed a statement of intent with the parties. Our stance on the genocidal slaughter of Palestinians by the Netanyahu regime will not change,” Maswanganyi said.

During the event, SACP stalwart and trade unionist, Mildred Lesia (91) was honoured with an award for her long service to the organisation. “The alliance is very important. I plead with you to keep the alliance. And don’t leave the people outside. People are feeling left out. Information must go to the people and that is how you can win the people’s trust,” Lesia told the gathering.