11 JULY 2017 - 14:02 NATASHA MARRIAN
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande. Picture: SOWETAN
The SA Communist Party (SACP) leadership wanted the state to terminate all dealings with the controversial Gupta family, its general-secretary Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday.
Delivering his secretariat report to the SACP'S 14th national congress, Nzimande urged delegates to make this call. His comments were met with loud applause.
All the reports in one place
Browse the full collection of our journalists' investigative reports into the leaked Gupta emails
Nzimande expressed disappointment in the manner in which the post-Polokwane "marriage of convenience" had broken down. He described it as a "betrayal of trust" - this is after he and the party were President Jacob Zuma's strongest backers in his battle against former president Thabo Mbeki.
"Our trust has been broken," he said.
The SACP also called for a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture as recommended by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.
Nzimande painted a dismal picture of the state of the ANC, alliance and the government during Zuma's second term from 2014.
He said after 2014 the rent-seeking, parasitic group, which included the Guptas, rose with "great boldness and recklessness". Recently a populist, radical narrative has arisen to cover up the activities by this group.
He described the emergence of a "shadow state" and a "silent coup" in SA, with state capture taking off on "steroids" after 2014.
Nzimande said not only the Guptas should be blamed for this, but also all of those in the ANC and the state working with them.
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe arrived at the congress during Nzimande's address. A large delegation of ANC members were present - most opposed to Zuma's leadership - barring the party's deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who is aligned to Zuma and sympathetic to the Guptas.
