SACP Limpopo - Provincial Council Declaration

25 March 2014

We the delegates from the length and breadth of our province, Limpopo gathered here at Alpheus Malivha District, Malamulele, Shingwedzi College, on behalf of more than 25 000 file and rank members on this day Saturday, 23rd March 2014 to constitute the Provincial Council of the SACP in Limpopo under the theme: "Do it for Madiba; Vote ANC to consolidate and deepen our democratic gains for radical economic changes in the second phase of our transition", declare that the Provincial Council was a phenomenally resounding success.

We underline and acknowledge that this important occasion of the SACP in Limpopo was graced by the SACP Central Committee deployees, the Alliance, African National Congress (ANC), COSATU and of course our own YCLSA.

The Provincial Council is happening against the backdrop of:

• The 2014 National and Provincial Elections just six weeks ahead, scheduled for 7th May 2014;
• Human Rights month, the 21st March reminds us of the historic Sharpeville Massacre which in turn contributed to the strategic defeat and collapse of apartheid political and material relations;
• The on-going discourse on the Malamulele Question;
• The recent release of the Public Protector Report on Nkandla;
• Some poor performing service providers undermining the provision of basic services and founding values of our democracy – the immediate case in point is the Nandoni Dam; and
• The evolving international political situation which continues to be dominated by neo-liberal triumphalism.

The international situation

1. The Provincial Council, by this declaration, condemns the ridiculous sentencing of Cde Amos Mbedzi to 85 years in prison for political reasons. We, therefore, call for the immediate release of Cde Amos Mbedzi and all political prisoners languishing in Swaziland jail and that a new democratic dispensation be ushered in;
2. Similarly, we call on the self-declared policeman of the world, the government of the United States to stop interfering in Ukraine and in any other country across the world. We call for an end to the blockade of Cuba by the United States which has been condemned by several successive Resolutions of the UN and the release of the Cuban Five who remain currently incarcerated in Prison in the US;
3. We call on the Apartheid Israel to end the occupation of Palestine, and reaffirm our Party`s call for the implementation of a two-state solution based on a viable Palestinian state and the restitution of the Palestinian land to the Palestinians; and
4. We strongly warn the US to cease its desperate coup attempts against a revolutionary government of Venezuela led by President Nicolas Maduro.

The Malamulele question

The SACP continues to intensify its electoral work in areas where the working class and the rural poor are faced with major social and political challenges such as Malamulele. The SACP calls upon the people of Malamulele and all our people in the province to ensure that they cast their vote on May 7th national and provincial elections despite all the challenges that relate to the provision of services which we believe an ANC-led government has the capacity to and will resolve.

The SACP appeals to the people of Malamulele to appreciate that it is only by voting the ANC that their problems and concerns will be addressed. Abstaining from voting is no option and it will play in the hands of the enemies of the National Democratic Revolution. The SACP calls upon the people of Malamulele to allow the ANC-led alliance leadership to handle the processes towards the determination of the status of municipal governance structures while at the same time actively participating in such processes.

The Public Protector and the Nkandla report

At the material time, the demonstration of a great interest by the political opposition in the recent Public Protector`s Report in Nkandla is grounded on the correlation between the contents of the Report and the political opposition. The timing of the release of the Report, just six weeks before the National and Provincial Elections serves as a further ground validating the correlation that exists between the report and the political opposition; in fact Thulisile Madonsela`s report is embedded in an agenda to aimed at belittling the ANC leadership and undermining the successes that the ANC led Alliance have achieved over the past 20 years.

The SACP in Limpopo Province calls upon Thulisile Madonsela to make a simple choice between being a Public Protector and being an anti-ANC politician. Unfortunately she has already chosen the latter. By so doing, wittingly or unwittingly, she allowed herself to compromise the integrity of the Office of the Public Protector. For this reason, the Provincial Council calls on the PEC of the SACP to develop a robust critique and response to Madonsela`s Report with a view of leveraging the ANC`s work going into the elections.

The council is of the view that Chapter 9 institutions including the Office of the Public Protector were established to strengthen and not countermand the democratic transition and its democratically elected leaders.

Nandoni Dam

This Provincial Council notes with profound appreciation the work done in the termination of the poor performing service provider in respect of the Nandoni Dam. It is our considered view that the appointment of the new service provider will and should remedy the situation in the pursuit of provision of water to the working class and the poor.

As it could be expected, we recommend and declare that the service provider whose services have been terminated on grounds of poor performance be blacklisted by placing their details on the National Treasury`s list of restricted suppliers database to ensure that same (poor performance) is not recycled elsewhere.

The general scheme of things

It is our assertion that the Provincial Council met its mainstream political and organisational expectations. We concluded this Council with the strategic thesis to strengthen the Party in the province and its organisational machinery. We will translate the overarching resolutions of the Council into a systemic Programme of Action (PoA) that will guide work of the organization in the period post this Council.

Having considered the messages of delivered into this Council as well as the Reports which were presented, we emerge out of this Council most united and devote ourselves to ensure ANC`s landslide victory in the imminent 2014 National and Provincial Elections - "Do it for Madiba; Vote ANC, to consolidate and deepen our democratic gains for radical economic changes in the second phase of our transition". From the perspective of target, we will ensure the greater participation in polls of youth and women who constitute a statistically significant proportion of our electorate. That these people vote and vote correctly!!!

Released by SACP Limpopo Province

Contact

Gilbert Kganyago - Provincial Secretary

Mobile: 072 586 7340