Durban - The Radical Economic Transformation Champions, long-time supporters of former president Jacob Zuma, have slammed the SACP for "protecting President Cyril Ramaphosa and his handlers" in the wake of the leaked emails saga related to funding for his presidential campaign.
Nkosentsha Shezi, chairperson of RET Champions, said that the Communist Party had also relinquished its historical mission of acting as the vanguard of the working class whilst providing the ideological compass to the ANC.
“Whilst the ANC has over a century remained a party of both capitalists and proletariat, it has historically been biased to the working class through the input of SACP and Cosatu.
“This is proven to be history under the leadership of the current central committee led by Solly Mapaila. The media statement by Solly Mapaila protecting President Cyril Ramaphosa and his handlers is a bid to cover up the pre-paid state capture project of Nasrec,” Shezi said.
Shezi said that Mapaila and Nzimande's attack on Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane was proof of their disregard of the Constitution of the Republic, Chapter 9 Institutions and the general rule of law.
Shezi said that the corruption and grand acts of money laundering committed by the CR17 team ahead of the ANC’s 54th national conference in Nasrec in 2017 could not be ignored.
“It is the virus that comrades Tambo and Gwala warned us about,” said Shezi.
He said that the monies moving around the 2017 conference did not advance the National Democratic Revolution and that they were all aware that Nzimande's "politicking and factional prostituting" had been rewarded with a ministerial position and an unending term as the SACP's chief.
“We therefore stand with the public protector and disregard the SACP's attempts to remove her from office and their mission to cover-up the theft of Nasrec and seal Ramaphosa from accountability,” Shezi said.
The SACP said that it agreed with the ANC that the leaked emails were a wider politically motivated agenda and an attempt to undermine public confidence in Ramaphosa.
“The SACP resolutely rejects being drawn into a one-sided focus on the fundraising details of the leadership contest associated with the last conference of the ANC,” the Communist Party said in a statement.
“It would be appropriate for ANC members and the public at large to receive a full disclosure of the sources of all the funds that were donated, received and used in the course of the contest, regardless of candidates involved.”
The SACP added that it would be in the best interests of the ANC and the movement as a whole to consider regulating funding for internal leadership campaigns as strongly argued by Ramaphosa himself prior to and at the last National Executive Committee meeting.