26 August 2020
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Moses Mabhida Province (KwaZulu-Natal) held its Special Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Meeting on Sunday 23 August 2020. The Special PEC was extended to all office bearers of the districts in the province. The Special PEC was called amid recent developments taking place in the African National Congress (ANC) in the province and in the provincial government in the past few weeks. These developments pertain to matters of corruption, particularly on the procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) that shocked not only the SACP but all South Africans.
The recent report on the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development, the blankets scandal as well as controversies regarding PPE procurement by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education are part of a number of serious allegations pertaining to matters of corruption in the province. The Auditor General’s local government audit report for the 2018-2019 financial year showing a R6.5 billion in irregular expenditure by the province is a clear indication of maladministration and malfeasance in the province.
The handling of problems resulting from the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of many. Corruption in the distribution of food parcels is widespread throughout the province. The admission by the leadership of the ANC that there are serious challenges of corruption in the organisation and in the government tells all and sundry that any caring governing party should be worried about such crimes.
The corruption taking place during the Covid-19 pandemic happens when all efforts should be directed at saving the lives of our people from the pandemic, particularly amid the deepening economic crisis. While so many people have died or been infected by Covid-19, millions are losing their jobs in droves and many people are suffering from hunger, poverty and there is widening inequality.
The biggest challenge facing the ANC today is the fast-moving state of paralysis orchestrated from within and without. Factional forces sponsored by some unscrupulous sections of capital have completely captured the ANC. These wealth-seeking predators have to a large extent outmanoeuvred revolutionary and progressive forces within the liberation movement to an extent that the much-need self-correction by the ANC has become an extremely difficult task.
The SACP in Moses Mabhida has many times raised the phenomenon of corruption with the ANC, that there is a form of state capture in the province that requires the attention of the ANC and its Alliance partners. There are massive pockets of state capture on many components of the provincial government and municipal structures. The SACP in Moses Mabhida calls upon the provincial government through the Office of the Premier to take serious action on corruption.
The SACP PEC in Moses Mabhida also delved on the state of the health care system in the province and concluded that this factor in the province may be in crisis. It was therefore resolved to do an in-depth analysis of the situation, working together with other progressive groups or organisations like TAC with the intention to submit a report to the public and the office of the Premier.
It was an overall feeling of the meeting that the push for the reopening of schools and the resumption of non-essential work are a reckless decision informed by prioritisation of profit over the lives of the people.
The PEC also applauded the disbandment of two boards, one of Umngeni Water, and one of Ezemvelo, Wildlife. Whilst we see that as being a long overdue decision, it is nevertheless a decision worth supporting, therefore giving credit to the executive authority, the Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation, and the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. The two boards have for a long time been rendered a paradise for tenderpreneurs. We call for a forensic investigation to look at the alleged plunder on these boards. The SACP in Moses Mabhida appeals to all good citizens of the province to support the move to clean these boards.
The PEC also noted the developments around the deployment of Zandile Gumede to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. The SACP in Moses Mabhida is not surprised by the large outcry on this unfortunate decision. The matter of Zandile Gumede dates back from her days as a councillor in Ward 53 in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. We must be reminded of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s report which recommended the removal of Zandile Gumede after an objection of the community of the ward on the election of the councillor there. It was then followed by the eThekwini Conference fiasco which led to her deployment as eThekwini Metro Mayor and her subsequent demotion from being a mayor because of matters pertaining to underperformance. It must be clear that the SACP in Moses Mabhida is not against Zandile Gumede as a person, but her flawed deployment is a matter of serious concern. She has always broken the rules and undermined the discipline of the ANC. We expect the leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to be sensitive to the public outcry on the deployment of Zandile Gumede.
The SACP in Moses Mabhida supports the clarion call by the ANC President, Cyril Ramaphosa, issued to all members on Sunday, 23 August 2020. We appeal to all members of the Alliance to heed this call. The Party in the province also calls upon all comrades in the ANC, Cosatu, SACP and the broader mass democratic movement structures to close ranks, unite and wage a relentless fight against these marauding gangs that are appropriating the gains of our revolution.
The PEC concluded that the current economic crisis condemns the working class and the poor communities to a state of hopelessness and misery. All that the people of South Africa struggled for over decades is now being enjoyed by the greedy few through a collaboration of the political elite and unscrupulous business gangsters. The SACP in Moses Mabhida condemns the erosion of democratic processes within the ANC in the province, where members are supposed to get a platform to participate in their hard-fought rights to decide on their development and their future.
The SACP in Moses Mabhida Province will call for a meeting between itself and the ANC’s provincial leadership in order to address all these concerns amicably.
ISSUED BY SACP MOSES MABHIDA PROVINCE
Contacts:
Sifiso Gwala
Provincial Spokesperson
064 907 0498
sifisogwala@gmail.com
Nomcebo Msomi
Media Liaison Officer
076 969 5897
msomi.nomcebo@gmail.com
