20 April 2022

The South African Communist Party (SACP) conveys its heartfelt message of condolences to the family of Comrade Thabo Masebe who died on Monday, 18 April 2022. The SACP also sends its condolences to the liberation movement and the people of South Africa whom he served selflessly.

At the time of his death, Comrade Masebe was serving as the Acting Director General in the Gauteng Premier’s office.

From his days as an activist of the ANCYL in the 1980s, later elected its Treasurer General in 1994, Comrade Masebe set himself apart as one of the most trusted leaders of our times.

Comrade Masebe will be most remembered for his communication roles in various government departments, including the presidency. As a communicator, he set the standard for government openness and accountability and always availed himself whenever necessary, holding on to the principle that our movement must hide nothing from the masses, thus winning many people over with his well-articulated arguments.

In memory of Comrade Thabo Masebe, our broader democratic movement, with the Tripartite Alliance at the forefront, needs to strengthen its political education and training to produce the best communicators, learning from Comrade Masebe and others of his high quality, to engage better in mass and targeted communication, media work and the battle of ideas. This must be in the interest of the people, the immense majority of whom is the working-class—who need to be lifted out of unemployment, poverty, inequality, the associated crisis of social reproduction and the underpinning regime of capitalist exploitation and neoliberal policy regime.

The SACP reiterates its stance on the achievement of the transformation of the media to serve the masses of our country truthfully and selflessly. A transformed media must manifest itself in accuracy, balance, anchored in diversity of perspectives, and analysis and opinion that are based on science. These key elements of democracy will equip South Africans with the necessary information, verifiable facts and access to the contesting options they can assess to make informed choices.

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY | SACP

EST. 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA | CPSA

 

1921–2021: 100 YEARS OF UNBROKEN STRUGGLE

PUT PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT

SOCIALISM IS THE FUTURE—BUILD IT NOW!

Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo

SACP Central Committee Member:

Media & Communications

FOR INTERVIEW ARRANGEMENTS, MEDIA LIAISON & CIRCULATION SERVICES

Hlengiwe Nkonyane

Communications Officer:

Media Liaison, Multimedia & Digital Communications Platforms Co-ordinator

Mobile: +27 79 384 6550

OFFICE & OTHER CONTACT DETAILS

Office: +2711 339 3621/2

Twitter: SACP1921

Facebook Page: South African Communist Party

Website: www.sacp.org.za

WELCOME TO THE SACP DONATION PAGE: https://donate.sacp.org.za/. PLEASE MAKE A CLEAN DONATION.