Declaration of the South African Communist Party Limpopo Provincial Congress, 7-8 May 2016
9 May 2016
As communists in the province of Limpopo, South Africa, we convened our 7th provincial congress of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in Polokwane on the 07-08 May 2016, under the banner "taking responsibility for the working class in all sites of power, let`s do it".
Our strong 31,392 provincial membership was represented by 591 delegates at congress. We are highly pleased that women constitute 49.5% of our total membership. On average every delegate to congress was a representative to about 50 members of our party.
Being the second largest SACP province, our membership figures are indicative of a general upward trend and growth of our party. They mean the presence of a communist for every 159 people in our province. With such an impressive density, we are better positioned to carry out further qualitative party building work amongst the masses and for the overriding ideological objective of winning our people behind the struggle for socialism.
Most of our members belong to mass organisations, including the trade union movement, student and youth formations and a large number of Communists are amongst the skilled professionals employed in the public sector.
Out of this, important organisational lessons have been learnt in the last four years. As such Congress attaches a high premium in the resolution of all organisational weaknesses, specifically the need to take up social struggles and campaigns in our communities and for our political-ideological work to find expression among the working class. We particularly follow the Marxist-Leninist teaching that, "practice gropes in the dark if its path is not illuminated by revolutionary theory", underlining the necessity to strike a balance between theory and practice.
As such congress took specific resolutions on important organisational questions in order to build the party that is compatible with the political challenges ahead of us.
The 7th provincial congress was addressed by our General Secretary Comrade Blade Nzimande on behalf of the Central Committee. The core message of Central Committee which had a significant representation, resonates in all the discussions and resolutions of the congress.
The congress was also addressed by our alliance partners the ANC and Cosatu as well as the Young Communist League. They all stressed the critical role of a strong, politically and ideologically independent vanguard party in the province. Congress welcomed their honest evaluation of our strengths and weaknesses and committed to step up the party`s influence in strengthening the alliance. Our comrades from Frelimo in Mozambique and the Communist Party of Swaziland joined and addressed the 7th provincial congress. A lot has been learnt from exchanges around both the Mozambican experience in the post-colonial situation and with regard to Swaziland struggle for democracy.
Congress also paid tribute to all militants of the party, who fell in the last few years preceding the congress.
On the international front, Congress underlined that since the demise of Soviet Union, none of the new ways in which capitalism functions, renders the views of Marxism-Leninism invalid under modern day conditions. The capitalist system is still in and has not come out of its multifaceted political, social, ecological and ideological crisis that started in 2008. There are prevailing signs that we are entering another round of a potentially much bigger, more rapacious crisis, which could be triggered by a possible default on the US$1.3 trillion US student debt.
Due to the integrated global political economy, this persisting crisis is exerting a downward pull on emerging economies, including specifically on the BRICS countries. This crisis is further exacerbated by a tendency of the United States imperialists to use the military to advance its global hegemony.
The Russian economy is gradually contracting, having entered a recession by 2015. The cooling off effect in the Chinese economy is enduring, mainly due to low export demand for commodities. Brazil and South African economies are growing marginally and both face the onslaught of revitalised rightwing movements. Although the Indian economy is better off, it is growing under a political superstructure that is advancing rabidly intolerant nationalist politics.
Congress pledged to strengthen our support for the freedom of the Swazi people in its struggle against the Royal Swazi dictatorship. It pledged ongoing solidarity with Palestinian people, against Israeli Zionism and for the self-determination struggle of the Saharawi people.
Congress noted the implementation of Cuba`s strategic economic programme, in which it aims at advancing its socialist model within the current politico-economic conjuncture. We further noted a marginal improvement of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. This is an outcome of a protracted international solidarity campaign against the economic blockade of Cuba.
The Congress therefore re-affirms a long-standing call for the immediate lifting of the economic blockade against Cuba and supports the demands of the Cuban people, against subversion and for their sovereign right to the Guantanamo territory.
The Congress further agreed to strengthen relations with the working class parties and the broader progressive movement in the continent. African economic integration can be sustainable if it is driven by the working class led-programme.
Congress agreed that in order to deepen our theory and implement resolutions taken, the unfolding international situation merits an ongoing, non-conspiratorial and scientific analysis.
On the domestic front, the program for the Second more radical phase of the national democratic revolution must underpin our battle against monopoly capital, the main "strategic adversary" of our revolution. Against this background, we will continue the fight against monopoly capital and the corporate capture, real or perceived, of the state and our organisations.
We analyzed the socio-economic conditions of the working class and the poor in the province. The economy of Limpopo retains very strong neo-colonial features and as such relies heavily on the export of primary products and import of finished products at exorbitant prices. The province is endowed with platinum, gold, diamonds and many other minerals. This makes the local industrial production of products such as jewellery and catalytic converters urgently desirable. We should stimulate agricultural production based on land and agrarian reform in such a way that it leads to sustainable job creation for the national and provincial economy.
We shall pay attention to the implementation of resolutions of the alliance around transformation and state ownership in Mining as well as the ecological impact corporate mining has in the pollution of ground water.
We will strive to advance industrialisation of the province based on a comprehensive beneficiation strategy. The envisaged strategy should target labour-intensive sectors, human resource development and have a conscious focus on the development of cooperatives. We shall further intensify our campaign against tenderprenuers and corruption.
It is of great urgency that we enhance provincial government planning capacity. Only a centrally planned national economy, which does not kow-tow to the influence of the rating agencies, can focus the economy on meeting people`s basic needs.
The SACP in the province will engage further with Cosatu, including around government investment decisions of the PIC funds. Amongst the critical areas for a shared discussion, is the need for a comprehensive social security and a social wage for workers.
The South African Road to Socialism (SARS) identified Ideological Hegemony as one of the key pillars in the struggle to advance the National Democratic Revolution. The Congress noted that the Media is a strategic instrument of the ideological state apparatus, whose ownership is still dominated white monopoly capital. The Congress called on the Democratic State to implement a comprehensive media diversification program based on a vibrant and developmental Public Broadcaster. Such a program should include community media and ensure that the digital migration process advances our developmental mandate.
Our party will campaign for the overwhelming victory of the ANC in the forthcoming 2016 local government elections in August. As part of this we have resolved to campaign in support of the implementation of the national health insurance and to take up struggles of farm workers in our campaigns.
Congress was emphatic on the war against and defeat of the enemy of corruption".
We are also united in the struggle against neo-fascist forces and have greater responsibility to wage a more determined counter-offensive against it.
On organisational issues, delegates emphasised greater communist contact with the masses of our people, including the need for a change in the orientation of our party, towards service for the working class and the poor.
We need more active campaigning around the core political demands of the working class in our communities.
In building and strengthening our party, we commit towards implementing the outcomes of our Central Committee led process to review organisational practice. For this purpose we shall study further the document on "Strengthening the vanguard character of the SACP: Towards a review of Party Organisation".
Congress unanimously condemns the mass burning of schools and other critical public infrastructure in Vuwani. The destruction of public infrastructure negates the imperatives of accelerating provision of basic services, facilitating local economic development and developing integrated human settlements for the working class. Congress salutes the heroic role played by the community in protecting public infrastructure. We urge others across all our communities to emulate such revolutionary action.
Congress calls upon the leadership of the Alliance in the Province to prioritise the resolution of this problem. Such a resolution will have to be people-centred and people driven and must restore cohesion in the community.
We further call upon government to declare Vuwani a disaster area, to institute redress and speedily restore normal teaching and learning. We also call for a thorough investigation of the `hidden` cause of this disaster and for stern action against those responsible.
We rise, at the conclusion of the critical Provincial Congress, as we declare once more that:
SOCIALISM IS THE FUTURE! BUILD IT NOW!
Issued by the SACP Limpopo Province
Contact:
Gilbert Kganyago, Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 082 609 0551
