SACP Eastern Cape Provincial Council Press Statement
25 June 2012
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape Province held a successful special Provincial Council (PC) meeting over the past weekend on the 24 June 2012 at the University of Fort Hare in East London. The meeting was a culmination of the process of preparation for the coming SACP 13th congress which was preceded by SACP provincial policy workshop and special districts councils held in all our districts. The meeting discussed the Draft Political Programme of the SACP 2012-2017 and the challenges facing our province and applied Marxist-Leninist tools of analysis whose correctness continues to be proven by the structural crisis of the capitalist mode of production.
The Provincial Council was graced by the presence of Central Committee member, comrade Mandla Makupula. The CC input served as a guide to the Draft Political Programme of our party. It also served as the guide to action to all authentic communist revolutionaries to the service to humanity with faithfulness and complete trust to our people guided by the true feelings of love.
DRAFT POLITICAL PROGRAMME OF THE SACP 2012-2017:
On the NDR and the South African Road to Socialism:
The council re-affirmed and committed the SACP and all authentic revolutionaries to deepen, advance and defend the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) as the direct route to socialism and not a detour. NDR is a single struggle, un-interrupted thorough going of the people`s struggles to address interrelated contradiction of national, gender and class oppression in our country.
The people`s organs must be strengthened as to deepen the participatory democracy in South Africa; The South African electorate must be active participants in their governance and development. The popular mandate given by the people must be used to deepen the NDR than only being consensus seeking in class divided society; development and industrialization must be anchored in communities than the current unproductive and inauthentic bourgeoisie as produced by the 1996 class project.
We are going to congress committed to build the SACP capacity to develop policies on Education, Health and Youth as tools for educating and mobilizing for a socialist South Africa, institutionalize political education beginning in schools and public servants and develop a chapter (pillar) in our program on the SACP and the environment. There is a great need to strengthen co-ordination of international left forces for total destruction of the capitalist mode of production. Our SACP must deepen the struggle of an alternative production system which is socialism as transition to communism, considering that capitalism is not only illogical, exploitative and cruel but has proven to be incapable of responding to the needs of people.
On the SACP and the State power:
The SACP is not a mere Marxist-Leninist NGO but a party of power and influence, the state therefore remains the highest concentration of political power. The party has always contested state, including through contesting elections. There is a dire need for the party to increase the tempo of contesting state power as part of building an independent profile of the party in the legislators and most profoundly building momentum, elements and the capacity for socialism. To increase the tempo of contesting state power is in the deepest interests both of the SACP, the ANC, COSATU and the broader liberation movement.
It is on the basis of the above that we will influence other provinces to support our proposal for the SACP to contest independently in the next local government elections for the SACP with and for the workers and poor. This include considering forming a patriotic front with the ANC pre or post elections. The council further called for the need to intensify co-ordination of the state efforts and alignment with all spheres of government; increase public participation and consider Presiding Officers of the people`s courts to be voted by the communities in which they are to preside over. We repeat; the contestation of state power will not be an action for or against the African National Congress (ANC) but for the SACP with and for the workers and the poor working with all progressive forces including the ANC and COSATU.
On the SACP and South African Economy:
The capitalist mode of production is in crisis throughout the globe, the working class is always the ones carrying the burden and the scars of this cruel production system. In South Africa the unemployment, poverty and inequality remain structural and deep rooted; in the 18 years of democracy the property relations remain unchanged except the co-option of few black faces. We call for the radical economic transformation of our country for the benefit of workers and the poor of our country. The ANC led alliance should consider amendment of section 25 of the property clause and consider the burning of land ownership by foreigners. The council re-affirmed the SACP perspectives of changing the dependence of South Africa on the mineral-energy finance capital, which is export orientated, as it is unsustainable.
The PC asserted that there is an urgent need to review the macro economic framework as means of breaking away from the neo-liberal discourse as entrenched by the 1996 class project, diversify South African economy from mineral energy complex with greater beneficiation and value adding anchored on the well articulated industrial policy. The state must take an active lead in the economy and the more than R80 Billion infrastructure roll-out with the strategic role being played by the state owned enterprise (SOE`s) led and co-ordinated by the central government.
The state must be de-tenderized and build a state capacity, as this tendering system has created high levels of corruption and closed real job opportunities. We commit to engage in struggles for a comprehensive social wage as means to integrate the real income of workers. The council rejects the proposed youth wage subsidy in favor of the need for a skills revolution to arm young people. We believe that any youth subsidy as proposed will further weaken the working class.
We are calling for the 2nd financial sector summit to assess the progress made since the first summit given commitments made by the banking sector in particular. We believe on the need for the state to play a greater role in the financial sector and for the Post Bank not to be seen as the bank for only the poor.
The land summit must be convened, with the view to develop more radical land reform program including measures for land expropriation and the banning of foreign land ownership in our country. We support nationalization which is working class orientated for socialization of means of production and this includes to immediately nationalize SASOL and ARCELOR Mittal for the energy needs of our country. There must be dedicated focus in building co-operatives for the people to actively participate in the mainstream economy of our country.
South Africa must strengthen BRICS as basis for creating alternative economic bloc and such should be coupled by party to party relation; build sound relations with the Latin America.
On the SACP and the workplace:
The capitalist mode of production in its crisis has become more creative in its stratification of the working class. It is against this background that the workplace remains a strategic terrain of our Mid Term Vision (MTV). The party should strengthen relations with the federation (COSATU) and intensify building party units in the workplace.
On the battle of ideas:
The Provincial Council noted that over a period of time the bourgeoisie South African media has placed itself as an opposition to the people`s government and paraded as an anti-alliance force and only focused on profit making whilst propagating neo-liberal views and positions. The neo-liberal is on the offensive and seek to consolidate an anti-majoritians using media and courts. Our party should develop a comprehensive program on how the party adequately communicates with its membership and broader society. The promotion of the people`s languages remains a strategic struggle; alternative sources of media should be developed whilst intensifying battle of ideas within mainstream media. The Party must insist on legislative instrument to diversify media.
On the SACP 13th Congress:
The SACP congress should not be seen as an event but a culmination of a process aimed strengthening the party and building elements and capacity for socialism with and for the workers and the poor. That our congress together with the congress of COSATU and that of the ANC should be regarded as platforms to deepen and defend the NDR. The council agreed that the current leadership of the SACP has done compelling work in building a strong and independent party which remains agile, flexible and adaptive party for socialism. The organization remains a dialectical combination of theory and practice. We are indeed happy that our party has almost doubled its membership since the last congress of 2007.
The Provincial Council has appreciated the role played by Cde Blade Nzimande, the General Secretary of our party as he has led the party through difficult and challenging times: the collapse of Soviet Union, the passing of comrades of Cde Chris Hani and Cde Joe Slovo, the communist onslaught, the 1996 class project to mention but a few. However he and the leadership collective managed to grow our party in numbers, quality and influence. It is under this leadership that we have made noteworthy advances that include: Land summit, financial Sector summit, growth path, NHI and leading to the regulation of the financial sector etc.
We take an exception of the attacks directed towards our General Secretary by those who are calling for him to withdraw his participation in the state and "be fulltime in office". We are of the firm view that to authentic communist revolutionaries full-time does not mean seating in office from eight to four o`clock but be fulltime in the ongoing people`s struggles that includes skilling working class. We believe that instead of our SACP General Secretary leading a sector he must be positioned in the state and be responsible for more areas. That is why we view these calls as nothing else but factional calls by the liquidators of our party who masquerade as genuine revolutionaries.
The Provincial Council noted with great concern and apprehension the statements attributed to the Deputy President of the ANC Cde Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe; that the ANC can no longer rely on the members of the SACP as a dependable ally because there is a lack of political education. This kind of statement is no different to calling for the breakaway of the alliance. Our commitment to the alliance cannot be measured by political education but by our common program of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR); our alliance with the ANC is anchored on the principles and the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution not on political education.
It is advisable that Cde Motlanthe refrains from trying to weaken the alliance as it is undermining our shared program and feed directly on the current liberal offensive. We are of the firm view that any weakening of the alliance will lead to the surrender of power in our country to a Democratic Alliance (DA) led opposition.
The SACP in the Eastern Cape Province is going to the SACP 13th congress as a united and coherent province of the party on both, the issues of policy considerations and leadership. We close this council quite confident that our Party will host a successful congress as it remains the most united formation given challenges facing other organizations in our country.
Issued by the SACP Eastern Cape
For more information contact:
Siyabonga Mdodi
SACP Provincial Spokesperson
083 3588 070
