South African Premier Oscar Mabuyane has called on the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) not to let their upcoming municipal elections contest destroy their longstanding relationship. Mabuyane, who is also the ANC provincial chair, made the remarks at the SACP's Red October national launch held in Great Kei at the weekend. He emphasized that the two parties should not hound out SACP members holding public office on the ticket of their alliance partner, the ANC.
Mabuyane's comments come as the SACP prepares to contest the November 4 municipal elections independently for the first time in its history. Many SACP party members hold dual membership of the two parties. Mabuyane hinted at possible post-election co-operation between the longtime allies, saying that they would need each other after the elections. He urged for political discipline between members of the two alliance partners ahead of the elections.
Mabuyane emphasized that people occupying positions of public responsibility must be assessed according to their competence, integrity, performance, and commitment to the transformation of society. He said that the ANC should not transform contradictions among allies into antagonisms among enemies. Mabuyane also warned that the fragmentation of progressive forces at a time when conservative and reactionary forces are reorganizing themselves would carry profound historical consequences.
SACP Secretary-General Solly Mapaila, who attended the launch, warned members against corruption, saying a council seat was not a career ladder. He emphasized that elected SACP councillors should rather be servants of the people they represent. Mapaila also stressed the importance of transparency, community monitoring, protection of whistleblowers, and consequence management.
Mapaila cited the dangers of corruption, saying that it steals directly from the working class. He gave examples of how corruption can affect service delivery, including unfinished clinics and broken roads. Mapaila emphasized that every rand must be traceable and that public representatives must remain subject to democratic accountability, including recall.
Mabuyane and Mapaila's remarks highlight the importance of maintaining the alliance between the ANC and SACP. The two parties have a long history of cooperation, having worked together to fight apartheid and construct the democratic state. Mabuyane urged the two parties to have a serious political conversation after the elections, focusing on a programme around which they can govern together.
The conversation between the ANC and SACP should focus on exercising municipal state power, rebuilding municipalities, and ensuring that local government becomes genuinely developmental. Mabuyane and Mapaila's call for cooperation and discipline ahead of the elections reflects the significance of the alliance between the two parties. The SACP's 105-year history gives it pride, but it does not give it immunity from error, Mapaila said.
Key points
- The ANC and SACP should not let their first electoral contest destroy their longstanding relationship.
- SACP members holding public office on the ticket of the ANC should not be hounded out of office because of their choice to contest the upcoming municipal elections outside the ANC.
- The ANC and SACP should have a serious political conversation after the elections, focusing on a programme around which they can govern together.
