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Mpumalanga’s SACP wants to ditch ANC’s ‘factionalism’ and go it alone

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SACP secretary in Mpumalanga Bonakele Majuba. Picture: Mandla Khoza/AENS
SACP secretary in Mpumalanga Bonakele Majuba. Picture: Mandla Khoza/AENS

The SACP in Mpumalanga is leading a campaign to see the party standing alone in the 2019 general elections.

The Mpumalanga branch took this resolution after its elective conference held in Mbombela on the weekend.

“Congress deliberated on this matter thoroughly, noting that the province has always held a firm view that the party should contest state power. We believe that the conditions dictate for the party to take responsibility for the national democratic revolution,” reads the South African Communist Party’s declaration.

“The province will start lobbying other provinces within the framework of party organisation, discipline and principles to advance this position in the forthcoming 14th national congress of our party in July 2017.”

The party’s Mpumalanga secretary, Bonakele Majuba, told City Press that the resolution had nothing to do with the frosty relationship between the SACP and ANC leaders in Mpumalanga but national issues.

Majuba and Premier David Mabuza had not seen eye to eye for many years.

Their differences led to a break out of violence in KaNyamazane between the organisations’ supporters after the ANC in the Ehlanzeni region tried to stop a memorial lecture to honour SACP stalwart Joe Slovo and former Mbombela speaker Jimmy Mohlala.

The conference has called on the release of an investigation report into the incident after ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe appointed a team of ANC veterans to investigate.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa met the structures early this year and brokered peace, and they campaigned side by side for the August 3 local government elections.

“Firstly, the SACP is not a [non-governmental organisation] and we can contest state power,” Majuba said.

“We’ve realised that the ANC is busy with infightings and factionalism instead of focusing on the needs of the poor working class. There’s also the element of corporate state capture,” he added.

Majuba said that the province would table this proposal with the national structure for a final decision.

He said that if their proposal was accepted, it would benefit the ANC in 2019.

“We can perhaps enter into a coalition with them instead of trying to enter into a coalition with the [Economic Freedom Fighters], which has hatred of individuals and has formed a coalition with an imperialist organisation like the [Democratic Alliance],” Majuba said.

Provincial ANC secretary, Mandla Ndlovu, agreed that the SACP’s decision was not precipitated by the tension in the province.

“It’s no longer about the differences. They think we’re delaying them, but there’s no detour to socialism. We respect their view,” Ndlovu said.

The conference also resolved that the ANC must call a non-elective special national conference to deliberate a turn-around strategy following its declining support.

The ANC’s decline in electoral support, the conference said, was due to “widespread corruption allegations, political arrogance, distortion of internal democratic processes and imposition of candidates in leadership structures based on factionalism and factional divisions”.

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