THE SACP is worried about the waning of its decades-long influence on the ANC and the DA likely having more sway on the governing party following the establishment of the government of national unity (GNU).
The communist party is scheduled to hold its four-day special national congress next month at a time when the current reality is that its alliance partner, the ANC, is in coalition government with parties to its right and with what it described as “the outright bourgeois and neo-liberal DA”, on which the GNU coalition depends for parliamentary majority.
According to the SACP, the influence of the ANC’s coalition partners will more than likely be towards an even stronger adherence to key neo-liberal policy prescripts – including stricter austerity, which will be justified as a more determined push to meet in particular debt reduction targets.
The organisation admitted that working class power and influence have been declining for some time and that it is likely to face even more difficulties in asserting even the level of influence it has managed up to now in circumstances in which the ANC depends for its position in government on its coalition with parties to its right who are strongly committed to neo-liberalism.
”To put it bluntly, without building more power on the ground, left alliance partners are likely to have less influence on government economic policy than does the DA,” the SACP warned in discussion documents released ahead of the special national congress.
However, the party stated that it is in any way suggesting that it abandons the struggle to influence the ANC and tripartite alliance through the kind of activities it has been involved in up to date.
”We need to recognise that the old adage ‘we won’t be able win in the boardroom what we have not won on the ground’’ is likely to be even more true in the circumstances we now find ourselves in. We need to acknowledge that,” the SACP stated.
The communists have also taken a swipe on ex-president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), dismissing the country’s official opposition's success in the May 29 national and provincial elections as based on ethnic populism and identity.
According to the SACP, while ethnicity is not inherently irreconcilable with nation-building, it is the way ethnicity is politicised, in particular it is used to secure economic and political goals, that is divisive and undermines nation-building, and that this was expressed by the MKP and reflected in the May 29 election results, which led to the ANC obtaining 40% of the votes nationally.
The party described the results of the polls as a severe setback for the ANC, which led to the formation of the GNU and governments of provincial unity in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The SACP has insisted that its position is “neither neo-liberalism nor state capture” and opposes any coalition that includes the DA or MKP.
Severe losses suffered by the ANC were due to significant stayaway of the governing party’s traditional voters, especially in urban areas, according to the SACP.
“The ANC's losses were higher in urban than rural areas. The ANC lost the key metros – the major economic centres – with huge budgets for service delivery and development. And where the working class is concentrated and organised in Cosatu and other trade unions,” the SACP explained.
The organisation continued: “Most members of Cosatu unions in KwaZulu-Natal voted for the MKP. Some SACP members, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, also voted for the MKP. The working class voted for the ANC in significant but reduced numbers, creating huge challenges for Cosatu and the SACP.
Basically, the ANC is becoming a ‘rural party’".
The SACP added that there was a major swing from the ANC to the MKP, mainly among isiZulu speakers, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, with the ANC only winning in two of the 44 municipalities (excluding districts) – Greater Kokstad and uMzimkhulu, which border the Eastern Cape and have significant numbers of isiXhosa-speaking residents.
In addition, the SACP warned that the MKP is working towards forming a trade union federation and that this may undermine not just Cosatu but the tripartite alliance too, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.
Earlier this week, the SACP denied initiating engagements or receiving requests for formal engagement from the MKP after reports emerged that Zuma’s party was courting the organisation to challenge the ANC.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za