Statement of the Western Cape 8th Congress 1st Provincial Working Committee meeting

5 June 2017

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape convened its first Provincial Working Committee (PWC) meeting since its 8th Provincial Congress held in May 2017. The PWC deliberated on the outcomes of the recent Central Committee (CC), held over the weekend in Johannesburg, and located some of the critical national political developments within our own provincial area of operation.

The PWC also reflected on current conditions facing the working class in the province, specifically focussing on severely low water-levels, the mismanagement of this crisis by the DA ("Democratic Alliance" provincial administration, the neglect of provincial governance due to the DA`s factional in-fighting amongst its leaders and of critical importance, the growing violence against woman and children.

The PWC also discussed how the SACP in the province will programmatise some of the serious concerns raised by the CC and, through our provincial perspective, ensure that the working class we lead are provided with both a theoretical and practical response to these challenges.

The Gupta-led parasitic network:

The PWC resolved to increase the mobilisation of SACP structures, alliance partners and broader social movements in a campaign to intensify demands developed by the SACP`s National Imbizo, namely:

• An independent judicial commission of inquiry into state capture to be established immediately
• The immediate dissolution of the Eskom Board as part of a broader set of urgent interventions to address SOE corporate governance.
• Ending abuse and factionalism within the criminal justice system;
• Strengthening parliament`s oversight role.
• Implementing the ANC-alliance resolution on life-style audits for senior politicians and civil servants.
• Halting the roll-out of a nuclear programme that our country neither needs, nor can afford.

Further, the PWC resolved to organise demonstrations outside the office of provincial law enforcement agencies, including the Hawks, to the demand the following:

• To expedite investigations regarding the apparent assassination attempt of Comrade Solly Mapaila, the 2nd Deputy General Secretary of the SACP, as well as threats made by rented-thugs on Comrade Mapaila and his family at their private residence and;
• To demand that the Hawks expedite their investigation into the content contained in recent leaked emails, implicating top-level government officials in all sorts of dubious actions.

Incapacity of the ANC to implement self-corrective measures:

The PWC reinforced the view that the ANC, in its current form, is incapable of dealing with the current deep-seated crisis it faces. The PWC believes that the ANC`s failure to implement self-corrective measures affects not only its capacity to coordinate and lead its organisational structures at all levels but also the impact that these deep-seated divisions have on its capacity to lead the National Democratic Revolution and society as a whole.

Drawing a practical response to this crisis in the ANC, the SACP in the province plans to continue its engagements with our strategic and ideological compatible partners of COSATU and its affiliates. We will also be strengthening engagements and work with progressive civil society and faith-based formations on similar objectives including: the recall of the President, investigations into SOE`s, fighting the scourge of Gender-based violence and social justice in the province amongst others.

These engagements are not a reversal of our aims of the National Democratic Revolution, instead they are a progressive realisation of ensuring that the workers and poor we lead are not led in to despair by the current crisis in the ANC and certain departments in Government. We reiterate: The ANC does not own the NDR nor is its responsibility of leading society absolute; leadership must be won, not imposed.

Factional in-fighting in the DA and its effect on governance in the province:

The SACP in the province has little interest of the DA`s intra-party politics. The PWC has however observed that a growing fight-back by right-wing and conservative elements, occupying top leadership positions in the DA, are dead-set in preventing a younger and black leadership from driving the DA`s political decisions. This has noticeably, come to the fore with the flip-flop on disciplining Helen Zille over her ignorant and racist Tweets as well as Patricia De Lille`s open disdain for Zille.

The SACP in the province has however a specific interest on how these factional battles in the DA are severely effecting basic governance in the province, more specifically on administrating the provision of basic services in our working class communities. The growing number of service delivery protests, the mismanagement of the water crisis, increased crime-related violence and gangsterism and the desperation of our people are all heightened due to the DA`s palace politics.

Issued by the SACP in the Western Cape

For media enquiries, please contact:

Benson Nqentsu, SACP Provincial Secretary

082 796 6400

083 809 1142