6 August 2020

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State Province is deeply saddened and mourn the death of Comrade Mbuyiselo Jacobs, the Party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson in the Free State. Comrade J, as he was affectionately known, ceased to breath on 3 August 2020 following a short illness. The SACP expresses its heartfelt condolences to the Jacobs family, the communities and Congress movement he served selflessly in pursuit of social emancipation and a better life for all.

The SACP lowers its revolutionary red flag in honour of Comrade Jacobs, a true Communist, a Trade Unionist, a Congressperson and Community Activist since the 1980s. Comrade J selflessly served and shaped various sectors of society, especially within Thabo Mofutsanyana District, where he grew up. Born of a working-class family, Comrade J pursued his studies and became a qualified teacher.  He joined the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) and immediately became a social transformation champion, using his role to dynamically advance workplace struggles and deepened his participation in community struggles.

Comrade Jacobs rose within the ranks of the Congress Alliance and was subsequently elected Provincial Chairperson of SADTU in Free State and Regional Executive Committee member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions in his region at various periods. Through his pragmatic activism, he also rose within structures of the African National Congress (ANC) until he became its Regional Deputy Secretary. Comrade J was subsequently elected to the Provincial Executive Committee of the SACP in 2002 and served in its Provincial Working Committee since then, until he was elected and re-elected Deputy Provincial Chairperson at the sixth and seventh SACP Provincial Congresses. He served the Congress movement wholeheartedly and remained true to the Party until his last breath.

Comrade J's selfless involvement in his community saw him resign his employment to serve as a Ward Councillor and subsequently being deployed as the Executive Mayor of Dihlabeng Local Municipality. He was to be instrumental in building capacity in the local government sphere and helping build an activist developmental local government. As the Executive Mayor, he remained true to his humble beginnings and remained a grounded activist, living by the humane ethos and values his community imparted on him. He saw no contradiction in marching with the community and supporting their grievances and demands for transformation of the system of local government for efficient and improved service delivery, despite being an Executive Mayor.

Comrade Jacobs remained a servant of his community, continuing to serve as a Ward Councillor even after being removed from the position of Executive Mayor. He did not see this as a demotion but an opportunity to deepen his communist and revolutionary ties and service to the community. It was this revolutionary attitude and selfless service to the movement that, subsequently, saw him being elected Regional Deputy Secretary of the ANC in Thabo Mofutsanyana region.

The movement further deployed him as Member of Parliament designated to serve in the National Council of Provinces as Free State representative in 2009, serving in different committees. At all material times, Comrade Jacobs continued to question and rebuke many wrong tendencies in the movement and the provincial government. His various deployments never tamed his pursuit for the truth, irrespective of whether that earned him political enemies or had consequences to his person or deployments.

The Party in the province was never spared his constructive and open criticism too. Comrade J always contributed to building a campaigning Party and demanded highest commitment, revolutionary discipline from the Party PEC. On these and the overall improvement of Party work, he never compromised. Comrade Jacobs was, above all a Communist by conviction and action, with his life resembling activism in several sites of struggles such as the community, state, workplace, battle of ideas and international affairs, having visited no less than five countries on political missions.

Comrade J firmly believed that whenever the interests of the national democratic revolution (NDR) are wittingly compromised, the Party has a responsibility to rise and play a leadership role to defend, deepen and advance the NDR. He believed firmly that this included contesting state power, in the interest of the working class and communities taking all relevant factors into consideration, as was the case with Metsimaholo and Maluti-A-Phofung municipal by-elections.

Comrade J had a fighting zeal and stood against corruption. He sadly leaves us during the time when the country and the world is facing a fight against the crisis of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Moreover, the country has also been plunged into a crisis of rampant looting of Covid-19 related resources, through what appears to be a systematic channelling of tenders towards "Covidpreneurs" with business and family ties to those in positions of power and influence.

In honour of Comrade J and in living up to his exemplary leadership and anti-corruption commitment, the SACP in the Free State will deepen its campaigns on service delivery and pursuit of access to water to all communities in Qwaqwa and the whole province. Most importantly, the SACP will intensify the anti-corruption struggles and demand accountability and transparency, starting with the current revelations of potential ransacking of Covid-19 resources through tenderisation, including the suspiciously awarded Covid-19 related tenders to individuals with business and family ties to leaders within our movement and government. It is surprising that these Covidpreneurs have suddenly become overnight experts in provision of PPEs and sanitation services.

In the Free State, there is lack of decisive leadership against corruption hence the skeletons of the Gupta-linked parasitic patronage networks remain intact and continues unabated to suck both provincial and municipal government coffers dry. In honour of the memory of Comrade Jacobs and in line with his fighting spirit, the SACP will confront the scourge of corruption in our province. The SACP henceforth calls on government in the province to reveal all details related to Covid-19 tenders in the interest of transparency and all relevant authorities to investigate that all tenders were not awarded fraudulently, as suspected.

ISSUED BY THE SACP FREE STATE PROVINCE

Contact:
Bheke Stofile - SACP Free State Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 071 600 4899

Phillip Kganyago - SACP Free State Provincial Spokesperson
Mobile: 071 896 0157