Nzimande tells SACP conference he won’t step down as a minister in the GNU

South African Communist Party (SACP) national chairperson Blade Nzimande says he will not resign from the Cabinet because of the party’s stance against the government of national unity (GNU).

His reasoning for this is he is an ANC deployee in the state, rather than an SACP deployee.

He said as an SACP member he is still bound by the party’s position which is opposed to a coalition between the ANC and the DA. He also believes that the ideologies of the SACP and the DA are opposed to each other.

“In the GNU I do the work I am given by the ANC because I am deployed by the ANC not the SACP, and I do it to the best of my ability,” Nzimande said.

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He said when the ANC adopted the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy in 1996, the SACP opposed it but did not pull out of the government because of the policy.

One of the areas they succeeded to win in the growth plan was for it to provide for inclusive growth instead of growth that favours a rich minority, he added. “We stood by our position although we were in government, we knew that growth does not translate into benefit for everybody, it can benefit a minority, hence we have inclusive growth today.”

Nzimande, who is Minister of Science Technology and Innovation in Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, said a huge setback for the revolution is the ANC’s alliance with the DA in the GNU.

Both the NHI and the Bela Act were initiated by the SACP as part of its campaign to ensure the lives of the poor were improved.

Nzimande, along with SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila, said the party would push for the full implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, including the controversial clauses that caused tension within the government of national unity.

He said the education clause in the Constitution was personally initiated by him and it was one of the reasons that the National Party left the 1994 GNU. “They long lost the battle of white education and the language issue at schools. This (Bela Act) must be implemented in totality. It must be implemented together with the NHI,” Nzimande said.

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He rejected the deal between Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and Solidarity not to implemented the two clauses. “Solidarity represents a tiny section of the Afrikaans-speaking people,” Nzimande said.

Mapaila said the NHI was part of the SACP’s campaign during the tenure of former health Minister Dr Manto Shabalala-Msimang. He said the party would make sure it was implemented along with clauses 4 and 5 of the Bela Act.

On Thursday, Gauteng premier and ANC provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi will address the four-day SACP national conference while ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile will speak at the meeting on Friday.