SACP KwaZulu Natal PEC Lekgotla

2 February 2004

The South African Communist Party KwaZulu Natal province over the weekend held an extended Provincial Executive Committee Lekgotla. The SACP General Secretary, Dr Blade Nzimande and the Congress of South African Trade Union General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi addressed this Lekgotla. The Lekgotla discussed key issues relating to the implementation of the 2004 Programme of Action, key amongst these are:

The forthcoming 2004 General Elections for an overwhelming ANC victory

The Party will work tirelessly for an overwhelming electoral ANC victory in the forthcoming 2004 General elections, in particular in KwaZulu Natal.

The Lekgotla further decided to start preparations for the 2005 Local Government elections. The SACP feels the ANC is the only party contesting these elections capable of uniting and building a contract to create work and fight poverty in South Africa.

The Communal Land Rights Bill

The SACP in KZN is extremely concerned about the last-minute (November 2003) amendment made to the Communal Land Rights Bill currently before parliament.

These amendment envisage transferring effective land ownership and administration over communal land to Traditional Councils that will be dominated by traditional leaders. Rather than marking a bold step forward in helping to promote household sustainability for millions of rural poor, the envisaged amendment will, in practice, perpetuate their subject status, with particularly negative implications for the poor rural women.

The SACP acknowledges the role traditional leaders can play in facilitating rather than hindering service delivery and development. We believe that their needs and interests must be taken into account alongside the needs and aspirations of ordinary people. This must be done in ways consistent with democratic practice.

However, the SACP does not mean traditional leaders should have a dominant role in land administration. While we welcome progressive aspects of the Communal Land Rights Bill, we are very concerned about the powers the Bill allocates to traditional leaders in the administration of land. The role set out in the Bill may seriously undermine the basic values and principles of our democracy. In essence the Bill will give traditional leaders wide powers which they did not have even before the advent of colonialism.

We call on government to withdraw the Bill in its present form. We call on government to seriously take into account the wide range of legitimate concerns raised regarding this Bill.

We call on the tripartite alliance to reopen discussions around the Communal Land Bill, so that adequate consultation is conducted with all relevant stakeholders. We call for broader consultations with progressive and democratic forces who have all raised serious reservations regarding what the Bill means for democracy, gender equality and progressive land reform. These meetings must address these concerns and ensure that land reform in our country is not held in ransom by narrow interest of an unelected elite.

Themba Mthembu

Provincial Secretary

083 303 6988