The South African Communist Party national leadership is expected to quell the fires of dissatisfaction among its members who have complained about alleged abuse by ANC leaders in provinces in the country.
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande is expected to table a report before the national congress on Monday in Bredell, outside Kempton Park, about progress made between his party and the ANC top six in dealing with the marginalisation experienced by several of his provincial leaders and those in district and local municipalities.
However, Nzimande faces a tough task to mobilise his members to support his vision that the SACP should remain within the ANC tripartite alliance.
SACP leaders appear so keen to remain in that alliance that they dubbed the theme of their national congress “Unity in the Movement”.
Nzimande said they chose that theme to preach unity within the SACP which must “contribute to unity within the ANC” which is riven by factional battles.
He is expected to deliver his party political report today which is expected to outline his plans of better working relations with the ANC and other alliance partners.
In it, Nzimande is expected to deal with the growing dissatisfaction from several of his party members who were allegedly excluded from serving in senior positions in the provincial legislatures and district and local municipalities across the country.
After the May 8 elections this year a number of SACP provincial leaders in several provinces, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, were excluded from several cabinet positions in their provincial legislatures - in what in SACP circles is believed to be a purge of communists within the ANC.
The exclusion fostered some of the aggrieved members to call on the SACP to prepare itself to contest elections independently from the ANC.
On Sunday, the SACP in Joburg lodged a stinging attack against the Joburg ANC regional leadership.
In their description of the ANC regional leadership, SACP Linda Jabane district secretary Afrika Masoa said: “As the party in the district, based on the scientific analysis conducted for over a period of time as to the character and posture of some regional leadership of the ANC, the current developments confirmed our analysis that the dominant view prevailing in our movement in the region is dominated by what could be defined and located to the character of some of the Old Western Transvaal leaders.
“These individuals have anti-working class tendencies which was camouflaged as anti-communist. To them it was fashionable to label and isolate communists as that was resonating well with apartheid anti-working-class agenda.
“The same individuals within that leadership preferred anti-working class formations as opposed to people’s camp formations, as some in the regional leadership of our movement are doing. In our view this character is an act of desperation and lacks revolutionary appreciation. This is also evident in that they believe that traditional alliance engagements must be reduced to briefing sessions, which are tantamount to pure ideological confusion in the movement,” Masoa said.
He was commenting after ANC regional chairperson George Makhubo was elected mayor following a coalition with the IFP, African Independent Congress and Cope to replace the DA at the helm of the City of Joburg.
Nzimande said his leadership had had several meetings with the ANC top six to discuss burning issues within the alliance.
The SACP has committed itself to intensifying its campaign against state capture and corruption but warned their efforts should not be “hijacked by neoliberalism”.