South African Communist Party

Gwede Mantashe’s baseless attack on the SACP cannot be left lying down

The South African Communist Party (SACP) strongly condemns the recent statements made by Gwede Mantashe, in his capacity as the ANC National Chairperson, during his mobilisation towards the ANC’s 113th anniversary rally held in Khayelitsha. Mantashe launched a baseless attack on the SACP, accusing the Party of opposing the GNU for ulterior motives, nothing but something in return, “XYZ” he added. This allegation is aimed at diverting attention from the critical challenges facing our movement and our country. Out of respect for the ANC’s crucial 113^th anniversary celebration, the SACP did not respond on the spot to allow for undivided attention by avoiding diverting focus in the media and the country at large from this important occasion.

Mantashe must now substantiate his public claims and provide concrete and incontrovertible evidence for his allegations. If left unattended, Mantashe’s unbecoming conduct will undermine the unity that is critical to defend the National Democratic Revolution and advance and deepen it towards greater heights. Mantashe’s behaviour reflects a disturbing detachment from the realities of the shifting balance of forces affecting the ANC in particular and as a result our movement at large. He has chosen to bury his head in the sand in the face of the glaring shift to the right in the composition of the Cabinet, which now includes the DA, a right-wing, neo-liberal party fundamentally opposed to the National Democratic Revolution.

The rightward shift in the composition of the Cabinet has become evident through the DA’s opposition to, and subsequent delays in, the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. This trend continues to manifest in the DA’s resistance to the National Health Insurance, among other transformative policies. At the heart of both the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act and the National Health Insurance lies a national imperative: to eradicate discrimination based on class, race, gender and the colonial and apartheid legacy of deliberate underdevelopment and marginalisation of the formerly oppressed majority in access to quality education and healthcare.

Through his conduct, Mantashe has shown his complete disregard for the exclusion of our Alliance’s organised working-class formations from contributing to the statement of intent and participating in the post-May 2024 election negotiations. His actions leave no other conclusion than that this exclusion was a deliberate move, directly contradicting the Alliance’s agreement to ensure representation of all partners in the technical committee and negotiating team. The SACP will take further steps to address his conduct.

In no uncertain terms, the SACP reaffirms its commitment against the shift to the right, both in the composition of the government and in its policies. We remind Mantashe, and all those who support reactionary agendas, that the executive authority of the Republic is exercised collectively by the President and the Cabinet, as outlined in the Constitution.

The SACP will not stand idly by while attempts are made to erode the revolutionary integrity of our movement. We remain steadfast in our struggle for socialism, the deepening of democracy and the transformation of South Africa in the interest of the working class and poor.

The SACP calls on all progressive forces within the ANC-led Alliance to reject divisive rhetoric and focus on addressing the material conditions of the majority, which are marked by crisis-high rates of inequality, unemployment and poverty. The Alliance, more so if reconfigured to move with the times, remains a critical force in the struggle to transform our society and change the lives of the majority of our people for the better.

Our task is to strengthen unity and activism both through the Alliance and exercising our independence – which is the cornerstone of our interdependence as Alliance partners. Each of the four independent organisations that make up the Alliance has its own constitution, resolutions and processes: we have come together in the Alliance because of a shared strategy of struggle, transformation and development, the National Democratic Revolution. This – including policies and key decisions of tactical questions to advance it – needs extensive democratic consensus-seeking Alliance consultation and collective leadership, accountability and inclusive approaches, as opposed to unilateralism. The SACP reaffirms its right to exercise its independence on all fronts of the struggle and believes that this will contribute to the reconfiguration of the Alliance in practice.

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Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.