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President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed ties between the ANC and SA Communist Party (SACP) following strained relations in the latter years of former president Jacob Zuma’s rule.
At one point the, SACP even considered contesting next year’s national general elections, despite being an alliance partner, due to unhappiness about corruption and state capture in Zuma’s administration.
“The SACP welcomes that we are now in a new period where there is renewed confidence among large numbers of our people,” Ramaphosa said today.
He was speaking after a “wonderful” meeting with the party’s leaders in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, this morning.
“But this renewed confidence imposes on us a number of tasks,” he said.
“We, as the alliance, must be more determined to speed ahead with making sure that objectives of national democratic revolution are implemented, that we address the needs our people and put our people first and make sure service delivery becomes the order of the day.”
Ramaphosa said they spoke about how to “foster greater unity, greater renewal” not only in the ANC, but the alliance as well.
“In many ways we were able to strengthen the bonds between the SACP and ANC and reconfirm once again that we are a living alliance.
"We are an alliance that was set up years ago and whose relevance continues even today and will continue to the future.”
He said the ANC, labour federation Cosatu and the SA National Civic Organisation had to strengthen ties.
“We should also, through this alliance, address challenges in governance as we’ve seen in a number of places, working together as united force.
“Elections are coming, where we will work together to ensure there’s a victory that will advance the interests of our people.”
Asked about divisions within the alliance ahead of the ANC’s 54th national elective conference, held at Nasrec last year, Ramaphosa said they emerged united.
He acknowledged that there might still be people pulling it in a different direction.
“We are working very hard throughout the length and breadth of our country to forge unity. It does take time to get everyone walking in the same direction.”
He said the Nasrec conference had resulted in a united approach to corruption and state capture.
“Nasrec was a cement that made us unite behind a particular programme and mandate.”
He said the ANC’s new leadership had been going around the country to mend relations.
With the SACP it was more a case of consolidating, rather than mending relations, he said.
He was expecting a report on the progress of investigations into suspected political killings in KwaZulu-Natal from ministers in the criminal justice cluster.
He said these murders were of great concern.
“We are going to make moves to stop these killings. We resolved to do so because we can’t allow leaders of various organisations ... to go on being slaughtered as though they are cattle,” Ramaphosa said.
