The South African Communist Party(SACP) has raised concerns over the African National Congress'(ANC) regional and provincial elective conferences and the emphasis delegates have placed on the election of leaders for factional battles.
The SACP’s National Congress Central Committee concluded its first plenary in Benoni on Gauteng’s east rand. The party says its alliance partner risks further electoral decline as it moves against its renewal programme.
“The SACP is particularily worried about the persisting worrying signs that move against the renewal and unity of the ANC and the reconfiguration of the alliance. The recently held ANC regional and provincial conferences disputes, delays in dealing with credentials, allegations of money politics and divisions along those and other lines of disunity”, says SACP Secretary-General Solly Mapaila.
“In many instances, there were no substantive policy discussions. The conferences appear to have been solely convened to elect new leaders. The developments that followed indicate that some contested leadership positions to take over government positions for factional and private economic interests. These and other worrying signs place our ally and with it the entire alliance in danger of further electoral decline”, he adds.
The first plenary comes against the backdrop of the state of the nation being a subject of much critique due to, among other things, crime, lawlessness and the high cost of living.
The SACP is of the view that it needs to, among other things, build a powerful socialist movement of workers and the poor.
In addition, the party says this resolution does not necessarily need to be taken into representative hands. Additional reporting by Canny Maphanga.
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ANC North West Election
Meanwhile, ANC Treasurer General Paul Mashatile has praised the ANC in the North Province for setting history by electing 22 women into its leadership. He was speaking at the end of the 9th Provincial Conference in Rustenburg this afternoon. Despite having elected one woman as part of the top five officials, delegates elected an extra 21 women as additional members or Provincial Executive Committee members. Mashatile said this is historic in the existence of the ANC.
