The debate on whether or not the SACP should leave the ANC and contest the ballot heated up seriously during a Mpumalanga provincial congress over the weekend but an overwhelming majority said it was now the time that the SACP goes on it own.
“We have have been making this call since 1973 when we were in exile that when we return we should contest state power but look now we have been overtaken by the EFF. We have to contest,” one party delegate told thunderously applauding delegates at the eHlanzeni Tvet College in Mbombela yesterday afternoon.
Newly elected provincial 2nd deputy secretary Nhlakanipho Zuma read out the report and said the decision to contest the ballot should not be against decisions taken by a national congress on the issue of state power.
“The contestation of state power must be within the confines of the resolution of the South Africa Communist Party nationally and that decision was that we were going to contest state power within the reconfigured alliance, that if the president comes from the ANC, the
deputy president must come from the SACP. A consultative conference within the alliance is therefore required to consolidate the issue of the reconfigured alliance,” Zuma said vaguely and to the annoyance of some delegates who felt he was differing a little bit with the decision taken by the party’s State Power discussion group.
Delegates raised hands and one by one lambasted the ANC for anything – ranging from manipulation of candidate lists, corruption, capitalism to the sour relationship between the ANC and the SACP in the province.
One delegate said: “We need to acknowledge that we are in a relationship with liberals and such relationship is poisonous. We are not fighting against the ANC but ourselves we are a registered political party and we have every right to contest”.
He added to a thunderous applause: “Let’s forget about the reconfigured alliance and that was the resolution of the commission we had in this 9th provincial congress”.
All of the other delegates who stood and spoke for the allocated 3 minutes told newly elected party provincial chairman Lucky Mbuyane that they wanted the SACP to leave the ANC.
Some cited the reasons that the failure of the ANC was embarrassing the party.
A few told congress they felt they were not ready to contest state power, citing “organisational weakness” in forming branches.
“Comrade chair, I don’t think that there is anything we are differing about. For a communist party in order to exist we have agreed that the basis of the SACP to contest the state should allow it to wither away in that process the state must be contested,” Zuma said, after being asked by Mbuyane to return to the stage to reply to delegates’ follow up comments”.
READ ALSO: Inside the SACP Mpumalanga elective congress
He said it was not only the issue of the ballot that had to be taken in consideration when wanted to divorce the ANC but there was still the Central Committee above them.
“Therefore we are agreeing that state power should be contested but we are going to embark on an on-going process moving towards the national congress in 2017,” Zuma said.
Zuma is the leader of the SACP in the Gert Sibande region and was elected over the weekend at the party’s 9th provincial congress in Mbombela as the 2nd provincial deputy secretary.
The party elects two deputy secretaries, one called a 1st deputy secretary and another called a 2nd deputy secretary.
He is also the newly appointed speaker of the Govan Mbeki local municipality.
He was elected to the 2nd provincial deputy secretary while Mandla Tibane, the former 2nd deputy secretary, was elected the 1st. In his address as the newly elected provincial secretary of the party, Bonakele Majuba told delegates: “The discussion about state power is something that we have always been saying. In the special national congress, we went there and we sponsored the motion. The reason now there is a special congress resolution to further discuss the question of state power is because of a motion that was taken by Mpumalanga and we re-affirmed that motion going forward.
“But we know that the special congress came up with processes and we respect the processes of the special national congress.
“We are going to engage with those processes going to the national congresses and we are going to pursue the congress next year and if we manage to influence the others it will be bravo but we will also have to accept to be influenced,” he said.
(edited by ZK)
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