Mpumalanga communists say they are extra careful not to fall prey to what they say is DD Mabuza’s “cosmetic unity”.

The South African Communist Party in the Mpumalanga province has in a way pronounced its preferred candidate for the ANC’s top job.

The party wants deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed president Jacob Zuma.

Things appeared more clearer over the weekend when the party in the Chief Albert Luthuli sub-region publicly declared their support for Ramaphosa, singing songs dissing the Gupta family and embracing the deputy president.

They say Ramaphosa is the only one who can salvage the ANC and South Africa from corruption and increasing unemployment.

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Two weeks ago, provincial communist leader Bonakele Majuba told young people attending the Young Communist League’s Youth Day rally in eMalahleni that as Mpumalanga they took the decision to contest the 2019 general elections because of the challenges that the ANC faces.

“If the leader of the alliance can be able to rebuild itself and become the ANC of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Chris Hani and Joe Slovo and defeat the Premier League maybe we can look back at our decision [to contest state power] but as long as the ANC is captured by the Guptas and as long as it is taken over by a bunch of tsotsis called the Premier League we will continue to say the SACP should continue with its decision to contest state power,” he said to thunderous applause at the eMalahleni civic theatre on 18 June 2017.

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The party in the Mpumalanga province wants to convince its national elective congress in July 2017 of the need to leave the ANC and contest the 2019 general elections on its own.

The party in the Free State province recently indicated their intention to join the Mpumalanga call for the SACP to go to the ballot, with the party in the North West province endorsing Ramaphosa to succeed Zuma.

Both Ramaphosa and former AU chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma are currently  the front-runners in the race for the ANC’s number one job ahead of December 2017.

The SACP and Cosatu have accommodated Ramaphosa in all their events, calling him the leader of the “real ANC” while dissing the Dlamini-Zuma faction and calling on Zuma to resign as president.

(edited by ZK)

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