‘SACP won’t admit that ANC is manned by criminals’

The revival of the SACP’s view that communists should not let the ANC go to the dogs, signalled failure by the SACP to admit that the governing party was “manned by criminals at all levels”, independent political analyst Sandile Swana said yesterday.

Making the call ahead of the ANC’s December national conference, where David Masondo, the party’s second deputy general secretary, is expected to contest for chair, the deputy finance minister said he did not want communists to be swayed to leave the ruling party.

ANC’s poor governance

Following the 2007 ANC Polokwane conference, which voted in Jacob Zuma as party president, communists received a boost, with the SACP scoring a 9% representation in provincial and national legislatures.

Leaders condemned for lack of accountability

SACP leaders – including its national chair Dr Blade Nzimande, the minister for higher education and training, and his deputy Thulas Nxesi, minister for employment and labour – are taking flak for not holding the ANC accountable for poor governance.

“The SACP cannot admit that the ANC is manned by criminals, having failed to launch a clear unambiguous expulsion of crooks, – starting with those involved in Phala Phala and Bosasa scandals,” said Swana.

The SACP’s idea of “swelling the ranks of the ANC” had been tried before.

“It was mentioned in the build-up to Polokwane, where communists said they were determined to rescue the ANC from the neoliberal policies of Thabo Mbeki, Trevor Manuel and Tito Mboweni.

“That idea and its practice merely assisted state capture and the present malaise,” said Swana.

Division and weakness within the ANC

Swelling the ranks and branches of the ANC meant “also joining factions and fuelling the cult of personality”.

“The SACP supported both the Zuma and the Cyril Ramaphosa slate in 2012 and in 2017, with the ANC getting more divided.

“The party became more corrupt and a nonperformer. Electoral results got worse, load shedding and poor water supply got worse,” said Swana.

Expert view

University of Pretoria politics lecturer Roland Henwood said the call by Masondo “signals the historical bond between the SACP and the ANC – also that the political fortunes of the SACP is tied to the ANC”.

“The SACP does not have the numbers to significantly change the fortunes of the ANC.

“It does, however, carry symbolic importance: if the SACP leaves the tripartite alliance, the message will be that the ANC is a lost cause.

Henwood ruled out a possibility of communists taking over the ANC as “a nonissue”.

“Currently, the important issues are the tensions between factions and the possibility of them increasing between a narrow nationalist ANC and the ideological stance of the SACP,” he said.

ANC without direction

Said independent political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga: “This is an admission that the ANC is in trouble and has lost direction.

“But that does not mean the SACP has been on a good track to a point where it can save anyone.

“For the SACP, it’s about survival and the ANC has a been a good platform for access to power.”

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