Umsebenzi - Communists to the Front! Congress edition - SACP
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Hamba kahle, Cde Kay!
Umsebenzi Voice of the South African Communist Party / July 2017
Congress Edition
Communists
to the Front!
Advance & Defend
the NDR!
2 Umsebenzi
14th NATIONAL CONGRESS
Congress to
consider New Front
At its Congress the SACP, grown to nearly double its size
in just five years, will consider updating its
Medium Term Vision and reconfiguring the Alliance
N
early 1 900 delegates (1 864), from the revolution. That’s the main task. But
about 7 000 branches represent- we also have to try to defend the ANC,
ing more than 280 000 members, and deal decisively with factionalism
will participate in the SACP 14th within it.
National Congress in Ekurhuleni from 10 “Also, given the new conditions in the
to 15 July. current phase of the NDR, as the Party
There will also be 382 non-voting del- we have to play a far more active role in
egates representing, among others, Alli- ensuring widespread patriotic mobilisa-
ance partners, veterans, Mass Democratic tion to defend and advance the NDR.
Movement structures, faith-based organ- “We need to carefully consider our Or-
isations, international fraternal organisa- ganisational Renewal and Review Report
tions, SACP-related institutions, and the and reshape the Party on the basis of our
families of deceased former leaders. political perspectives and strategy. Given
The SACP membership at the 13th the changes in the political terrain, we need
National Congress in 2012 was about Blade Nzimande: We must restructure the to look at how to restructure the Party.
150 000 – the SACP has almost doubled Party “We also need to consider the pros-
its membership in five years. pects and possibilities of SACP directly
The Congress is organised on the the Party as part of a review of its overall contesting in elections.”
theme Advance, deepen, and defend the strategy. Cde Solly Mapaila, 2nd Deputy Gen-
National Democratic Revolution, the van- Cde Blade Nzimande, SACP General eral Secretary, said “We need at this Con-
guard role of the SACP. Secretary, said: “A crucial issue that the gress to re-position the Party to lead the
The Congress will review the past five Congress must focus on is the important next phase of our struggle, to adapt to
years and plan for the next five years as role and contribution of the working a new front approach, to new methods.
part of its overall Medium Term Vision. class to the NDR. We need to far more We have to do this to rescue the revolu-
Among the key issues to be considered effectively mobilise the working class to tion. The ANC is important, but we can-
at the Congress will be: take its rightful role in the struggle. not rely on it. There are no guarantees it
l A review of the SACP’s South Afri- “The Party also has to work closely will rescue itself. There are no signs at
can Road to Socialism and the current with Cosatu and contribute towards the moment that it is learning any les-
state of the NDR; strengthening it and building broader sons from our defeats in the 2016 local
l The SACP and state power, includ- trade union unity. government elections.
ing possibly participating in the 2019 “Fundamentally, we need to defend “We are in an alliance with the ANC,
elections outside the Alliance; not with an ANC faction. But there is a
l A reconfiguration of the Alliance; narrow accumulation faction that domi-
and nates the ANC. That faction just doesn’t
l Combatting state capture and cor-
ruption generally.
Our main task is to defend care about the struggle, only about pur-
suing its own material interests. How can
A major consideration at the Con- the revolution … we must the Party relate to such a faction?”
gress will also be the SACP’s Organisa-
tional Renewal and Review Commission
actively mobilise the working The Congress takes place during the
centenary year of the 1917 October Revo-
Report, which is aimed at restructuring class to advance the NDR lution. The Congress will also consider
July 2017
UMSEBENZI 3
Cover: Tshepo Lebolo; Above: Tshwane
District Deputy Chairperson Solly Tabatha.
Right: Nomarashiya Caluza (SACP
Provincial Treasurer and Sadtu Provincial
Secretary) with the KZN delegation to the
2013 Special National Congress
All SNC pix: Mpho Ranto and SACP Media staff
a review of the revolution, including
through a seminar.
A number of awards will be made
to Party structures and individuals who
have made major contributions to the
liberation struggle. The highest is the
Chris Hani Peace Award, which has pre-
viously been conferred to Cdes Fidel Cas-
tro, Nelson Mandela, Hugo Chavez, and
Che Guevara.
The Congress will elect five office
bearers and an additional 35 ordinary
Central Committee members. l
July 2017
4 Umsebenzi
14th NATIONAL CONGRESS
Advance, deepen
and defend the NDR!
This Congress will be one of our Party’s most demanding, argues
Jeremy Cronin, because of the responsibilities the SACP
will have to shoulder, among them taking a lead to drive the NDR
T
he SACP’s 14th Na-
tional Congress will
be one of the Party’s
most demanding Con-
gresses. This is not because
the Party is on the back-
foot – on the contrary, our public profile
and our membership (now more than
one-quarter million strong) have surged
over the past year. Nor is the forthcoming
Congress challenging because of sharp
inner-Party strategic divisions (which are
barely present, if at all).
The Congress will be one of our most
challenging because of the responsibili-
ties the SACP must shoulder, and the
expectations vested in us not only by
our own members, but also by hundreds
of thousands of non-Party progressives
throughout South Africa.
All of this relates, of course, to the im-
mediate national context. South Africa
remains afflicted by extreme and persist- SACP media unit’s Hlengiwe Nkonyane hosting the Cuban ambassador Oscar Martinez and
ing levels of unemployment, poverty and Cuban embassy first secretary Tania Perez Xiqués at the 2013 SNC
inequality. Many community members,
especially women and children live in a fight against white minority rule and of analyse in depth the reasons for this de-
chronic state of physical insecurity. At governing a non-racial, constitutional cline, and even pose the question: Is it
this most challenging time, much of the democracy. reversible? Certainly it has neither been
ANC is in steep moral, organisational, Tens of thousands of communists the SACP’s historic mission, nor is it our
electoral and strategic decline. over the decades have committed to this current ambition to push the ANC aside
This is the immediate context of our ANC-building task, as workers, journal- and go solo as the Party.
14th Congress. ists, guerrillas, community organisers We remain committed to the strategic
Since the late 1920s, our Party has and trade unionist. Some have gone to imperative of a radical NDR. Whether the
been committed to a far-reaching Na- the gallows, others have died in torture ANC on its current trajectory is capable of
tional Democratic Revolution (NDR), in chambers or on the battlefields of South- leading such an NDR is highly doubtful.
principle, as the shortest route to social- ern Africa both as communists and as One way or another a major re-grouping
ism in South Africa. Since the late 1920s, proud ANC cadres. of progressive national democratic forces
our Party has been active in the trenches The steep decline of the ANC is there- will have to take place over the coming
to help build the ANC as a radical popu- fore a matter of great concern to the months.
lar movement capable of leading the SACP. Our 14th Congress will have to This, then, is also the context in which
July 2017
UMSEBENZI 5
Celebrating Party unity: Above: delegates
entering the SNC, singing as they come
and (right) SACP Gauteng Provincial Treas-
urer Joe Morallana (he is also NUM regional
PWV coordinator)
the 14th Congress will need to debate and
decide on the modalities within which
the SACP will engage in future elections.
The next general election is due in 2019,
but such is the volatility of the current
political reality that things might unfold
unexpectedly.
Finally, a major challenge for the SACP’s
14th Congress will be to ensure that all of
our attention is not focused on the palace
politics unfolding within the ANC.
The 14th Congress must emerge with
clear organisational and campaigning
resolutions that connect with the daily
lives of the working class and poor in
our country. The advancing, deepening
and defence of our democracy will not be
possible if the working class and broader
popular forces are mere political specta-
tors. l
Cde Cronin is SACP Deputy General
Secretary
July 2017
6 Umsebenzi
14th NATIONAL CONGRESS
Central Committee
prepares for Congress
The SACP Central Committee issued this statement
after its meeting in June
T
he Central Committee of the South the rural Nqutu municipal and other by- uttered in ANC NEC meetings, and
African Communist Party met in Jo- elections in May. there is a growing pattern of intimi-
hannesburg over the weekend of 2-4 At this rate of decline the ANC may not dating actions directed at those who
June. This is the final CC meeting retain its electoral majority in 2019. Fur- dare raise concerns. The illegal role of
before the SACP’s 14th National Congress ther organisational fragmentation cannot a paramilitary force linked to elements
to be held in Ekurhuleni on 11-15 July. Ac- be ruled out. Every week, in fact almost within the MK Military Veterans’ Asso-
cordingly the political context of our Con- every day, now with a barrage of leaked ciation is one of the many instances, in
gress, as well as the organisational prepa- e-mails and more and more whistle blow- particular threats against our Second
rations for it, was the main agenda items. ers coming forward to the South African Deputy General Secretary, Cde Solly
The SACP’s audited membership now Council of Churches’ Unburdening Panel, Mapaila. These patterns are repeated,
stands at an all-time high of 276 168. At the sheer scale of corporate capture and often more violently at the grass-roots
our 13th Congress in 2012 our audited of parasitic plundering of public resources levels, with a surge of political assassi-
membership was 154 220. Over the past by the Gupta network becomes more and nations, notably in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
five years there has been a steady increase more evident. Sadly, and even more con- l A diversionary populist ideological
in membership numbers, with a large in- cerning, the central role is also increas- platform – in the face of growing pub-
crease of over 26 400 members since De- ingly apparent of President Jacob Zuma lic exposure of their misdeeds, there
cember 2016, which we attribute to Party and his son Duduzane in this auctioning have been a number of ideological in-
activism increasingly winning public en- off our national sovereignty. terventions from the parasitic-patron-
dorsement throughout the country. We In the political report to the Central age faction. Private corporate capture
are already in the process of registering Committee four interrelated features of of public institutions has included
Congress delegates nominated formally the Gupta parasitic-patronage network the SABC under the despotic rule
from branches, and we expect to have were identified: of Hlaudi Motsoeneng. The Gupta-
1 864 voting delegates. l Accelerated rent-seeking based on funded ideological apparatus – The
Our Congress occurs at a critical mo- state capture – with key state-owned New Age and ANN7, along with social
ment for our country. The SACP is well corporations (among them Eskom, media fake bloggers, and Twitter bots
aware that we carry many responsibili- Transnet, SAA and Denel), and their linked to pop-up “think tanks”, like
ties with high expectations being vested billions of Rands of procurement, be- the “Black First, Land First”, and the
in our Party from a wide array of forces, ing the principal target. “Decolonisation Foundation” seek to
many of which might not have been his- l The emergence of a parallel shadow divert the narrative. These diversion-
torically sympathetic to us. It is no secret state, what some have described as ary narratives often invoke narrow,
that the ANC is now in deep crisis. At the a “silent coup”, with key policy and right-wing Africanist themes, and feed
highest national leadership level it is par- deployment decisions being taken into the erosion of the important non-
alysed by deep divisions that, for the mo- outside of the constitutional struc- racial values of our constitution and
ment, render it incapable of undertaking tures of government (and of the ANC our movement. At the local level this
the decisive corrective measures that the governing party). In this context the decline in moral and ideological values
great majority of ordinary ANC members CC called for the immediate reversal is seeing increasing tribal and ethnic-
and supporters now clearly recognise as of the factionalist axing as an MEC of based mobilisation.
imperative, beginning with the stepping our provincial secretary, Cde Madoda All of this is happening at a time when
down of President Zuma. Sambatha. life for the majority of South Africans, the
The steep decline in popular support l Growing authoritarianism and in- working class, the rural and urban poor
that saw the loss of major metros in lo- clinations to presidential diktat, with and middle strata, is becoming more des-
cal government elections in August last nostalgia for military-style, top-down perate, more insecure. Levels of racialised
year has continued unabated with, for command and control openly ex- and gendered poverty, inequality, and un-
instance, a further dramatic decline in pressed. Dark threats are reportedly employment (now at 27,7% in the narrow
July 2017
7 Umsebenzi UMSEBENZI 7
politicians and civil servants.
l Halting the roll-out of a nuclear
programme that our country neither
needs, nor can afford.
These basic demands, we believe, form the
basis for the broadest patriotic unity in action.
At the same time, however, we need
to ensure that these critical interventions
do not simply serve to return us to a sup-
posed business as usual. The defence of
constitutionality and democracy is essen-
tial but not enough. These historic gains,
which are now under dire threat, must
become the platform for radical transfor-
mation led by a popular front.
We need to ensure that popular mo-
bilisation, a radical popular front, in the
present serves to address the deep-seated
structural problems in our political econ-
omy that are at the heart of reproducing
crisis levels of poverty, inequality and
unemployment along with the resulting
Forward! Delegates to the 2013 Special National Congress morbid social phenomena like gender-
based violence.
definition) persist and are even worsen- goes on in our country, everywhere South What makes the Gupta-centred para-
ing. This is happening while a network of Africans show remarkable resilience. sitic network the most dangerous and the
parasitic plunderers fly around the world The SACP is convinced that the great most immediate, counter-revolutionary
in private jets with known foreign money majority of South Africans are commit- threat to our democracy is, precisely, the
launderers, or acquire R18-million apart- ted to defending our Constitution and fact that it is eroding the two principal
ments in gold-plated boltholes in Dubai. our democracy. Our own SACP-convened weapons in the hands of the popular
We frequently invoke the triple crisis national Imbizo in mid-May, one among forces to drive radical transformation – a
of poverty, inequality and unemploy- countless broad patriotic initiatives, un- democratic state and a popular move-
ment. But it is necessary to add a fourth derlines that the core values of democrat- ment that was, once, led by the ANC.
and related dimension – the crisis of en- ic constitutionality are shared across the This is why the SACP is actively engag-
demic, and particularly gender-based, widest spectrum of South Africans. ing Cosatu and the broader trade union
violence. The majority of South Africans The declaration from the Imbizo movement, ANC stalwarts, veterans and
no longer enjoy the most basic of citizen- agreed upon a minimum platform of six supporters, civic and faith-based forma-
ship rights – a sense of personal security basic demands: tions, progressive social movements.
in their homes and neighbourhoods. A l An independent judicial commis- One way or another in the coming
pandemic of violence against women and sion of inquiry into state capture to be months the ANC-headed Alliance is being
children is particularly heinous. established immediately. In the light and will be re-configured.
Meanwhile the trust in the SA Po- of the barrage of further revelations Whether there is the internal capacity
lice Service in many localities is non- concerning the Gupta network, the within the ANC itself to drive this proc-
existent while the police themselves are commission needs clearly to extend its ess is uncertain, but that it must happen
often demoralised, under-resourced and scope beyond the major but still lim- is obvious.
overwhelmed by the scale of challenges ited issues investigated in the Public A reconfigured Alliance will have to
confronting them. At the same time, the Protector’s “State of Capture” report. be built on rootedness within working
upper echelons of the criminal justice But we must vigorously guard against class and poor communities. In the face
system, notably the NPA and the Hawks, recent attempts to dilute it into inves- of chronic violence, for instance, in locali-
along with the SA Revenue Service, have tigating such a wide field that its work ties we need to help communities to act
been among the first targets of parasitic will never be completed. together on a non-partisan basis to re-
elite factional capture and perversion – l The immediate dissolution of the claim their streets and neighbourhoods
for obvious reasons. Eskom Board as part of a broader set through street committees and other or-
Let’s not lament, let’s not despair - of urgent interventions to address SOE gans of democratic popular power. Popu-
Mobilise, organise and defend our con- corporate governance. lar power buttressed by democratic state
stitution, our democracy, our National l Ending abuse and factionalism with- power is the way forward.
Democratic Revolution! in the criminal justice system – nota- It is in this broad context that as the
While it is necessary to clearly iden- bly in the Hawks, the NPA and in the SACP we will be proceeding to our 14th
tify, to name and shame the perverse and Intelligence services. National Congress in July under the
deeply worrying developments within our l Strengthening parliament’s oversight banner:
country, our government, our ANC-head- role. Defend, Advance, Deepen the National
ed movement – it is even more important l Implementing the ANC-alliance res- Democratic Revolution:
not to give way to despair or apathy. Life olution on life-style audits for senior The Vanguard Role of the SACP!! l
July 2017
8 Umsebenzi
14th NATIONAL CONGRESS
Proposal to defer constitutional
amendments to SNC
Abridged version of the Constitutional Committee’s
report to the 14th Congress
A
major issue at Congress will be the a National Congress. The CC shall ensure Proposals on amendments
finalisation of the Organisational that all provinces, districts and other Number of CC members: Should the
Renewal and Review Commission structures receive such amendments or number of members elected to the CC be
Report. Decisions on the report will any other amendments proposed by the increased? If so, by how many and why?
entail constitutional amendments. In- CC not less than six weeks prior to the Most provinces proposed that the
stead of making constitutional amend- National Congress, and all comments number of additional CC members be
ments at this 14th National Congress, received shall be tabled at the National increased from 35 to 44, so that, with the
which may have to be reviewed after Congress. Amendments that do not meet six office bearers the CC comprises 50
the Organisational Renewal and Review these deadlines shall be considered by a members in all.
Report is finalised, the May Party Build- National Congress, provided a two-thirds Deputy general secretaries: The
ing Commission meeting and the June majority of the delegates agree that they North West proposes that that the de-
Central Committee meeting decided it may be considered.” bate on 3 Deputy General Secretaries at
would be more productive to consider the 13th Congress be revived. There was
constitutional amendments holistically Approach to Constitution enough consultation on this and suffi-
and in terms of a strategic framework, Constitution: a guide but not com- cient consensus on 2 Additional DGS’s,
and therefore proposes to Congress that prehensive: For a variety of reasons, they argue. The additional DGS should
constitutional amendments be consid- a Party Constitution should not be too be the national co-ordinator for group
ered after the 14th National Congress, comprehensive or long. It should not membership. “The only danger is when
at a Special National Congress (SNC) be a substitute for addressing issues Constitutional amendments are fixed on
in 2018. In other words, constitutional through policies, political education names of incumbents,” says the NW
amendments not be considered at the and action. Constitutional Amend- Alternative ex-officio representa-
14th Congress and be deferred to a SNC ments are only made at Congresses tives in SACP structures: If, for exam-
in 2018. and Constitutions should not be ple, a Provincial Secretary or Chair is una-
If there are amendments that are ab- changed lightly. vailable to attend a CC meeting, a Deputy
solutely urgent and need to be effected Need for rules and guidelines to Provincial Secretary (or some other ap-
at the Congress they can be, “provided complement the constitution: This propriate Office-Bearer; or PWC member
a two-thirds majority of the delegates may be necessary to set out in detail such or PEC member) or a Deputy Chair (or
agree that they may be considered” (Sec- issues as the need for political educa- some other appropriate representative
tion 26.2 of the Constitution). tion; induction of new members; a Code of the PEC) should be allowed to attend
Most of the constitutional amend- of Conduct; penalties for offenses and CC meetings. The same situation should
ment proposals submitted were consid- other matters. apply to PECs and other executive struc-
ered at the 29-30 May 2016 PBC meeting Differences with communist par- tures of the SACP.
and the CC meetings of June and August ties in power: While there are many les- North West argues for: “A constitu-
2016 and the PB meeting of 12 May 2017. sons to be drawn from the experiences tional amendment, which should read:,
Proposals were received from the SACP of communist parties in government, ‘In the absence and with the written
Secretariat, North West, Mpumalanga, especially in China and Cuba, we obvi- apology of the ex-officio member of any
Free State and Western Cape. ously cannot put into our constitution structure or level, the deputy to that of-
some of the issues they have, as we do fice shall attend; and in the case of office
Constitutional provisions on constitutional not have control of the state and because with more than one deputy, the option
amendments of the historical and other differences of be of the first deputy and only in the lat-
Section 26.2 of the constitution provides: our situation. But we should certainly ter’s absence that the next deputy should
“All proposed amendments to the con- draw from constitutions of these parties attend’”.
stitution shall be submitted in writing to whatever is relevant and useful to our Mpumalanga’s view is: “A clause
the CC not less than two months prior to experience. can be included into the constitution
July 2017
UMSEBENZI 9
for representation of ex-officio members
only by deputies. This must only happen
through an application to the secretariat
prior to the meeting and the acceptance
of the application therefore. The Deputy
Secretary and the Deputy Chairperson
should be allowed to attend the CC, PEC
and DEC meetings in the absence of both
Secretary and Chairperson.”
Interestingly, there is no proposal to
increase the provincial or other SACP
structures’ deputy secretaries to three.
Increase PEC (Provincial Executive
Committee) membership: Mpumalan-
ga proposes that the PECs be increased
to 30, including officials
Increase DEC (District Executive
Committee) membership: Mpumalan-
ga proposes that the DECs be increased
to 25, including officials.
Increase numbers of district, sub-
district and branch executive struc-
tures: North West holds: “On the neces-
sary focus of the SACP to strengthen the
organisational capacity with the current
financial constraints on appointments of
additional staff, constitutional structures
from District level to be structured to
respond to organisational development Delegates to the 2013 SNC: National Congress delegates will be asked to consider deferring
needs as follows: SACP constructional amendments to the next SN
The office bearers of the District be
defined as: District Secretary, District maximum of 10 additional members. Branch: 2 years
Chairperson, District Treasurer, District The office bearers of the Branch be Constitutional Committee: The Con-
Deputy Chairperson, District Deputy defined as: Branch Secretary, Branch stitutional Committee comprises: Yunus
Secretary, Secretary for Organising and Chairperson, Branch Treasurer, Secretary Carrim (Chair), Ben Martins (Deputy
campaigns, Secretary for Political Educa- for Organising and campaigns, Secretary Chair), Malesela Maleka (Secretary),
tion and Ideological Development and a for Political Education and Ideological Charles Setsubi, Mluleka Dlelanga, Zing-
maximum of 15 additional members. Development and a maximum of 8 ad- iswa Losi, Bulelwa Thunyiswa, Reneva
The office bearers of the Sub-Dis- ditional members.” Fourie and Buti Manamela.
trict be defined as: Sub-District Sec- Term of office of district, sub-dis- Constitutional Commission: Two
retary, Sub-District Chairperson, Sub trict and branch executive structures: representatives from each province and
District Treasurer, Sub-District Deputy North West proposes that the term of of- the YCL, members of the Constitutional
Chairperson, Sub-District Deputy Secre- fice for District, Sub-District and Branch Committee make up the Constitutional
tary, Secretary for Organising and cam- be constitutionally defined as follows: Commission. The Commission will meet
paigns, Secretary for Political Education District: 3 years on the day of registration of the Congress
and Ideological Development, and a Sub-District: 2 years and report to Congress on Day 1. l
Contributions on the
Centenary of the
soviet revolution
The issues of Umsebenzi in the last quarter of this year will focus on
the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. We would welcome
contributions, preferably not exceeding 1 500 words,
for publication. The deadline for articles is 15 September 2017.
July 2017
10 Umsebenzi
A NEW FRONT
Seize the moment!
The ANC has demonstrated it is neither willing nor capable
of driving the NDR, writes Yershen Pillay, so the SACP must
establish a working class-led front and move rapidly on to socialism
“It is time to recognize the historic and ti- of Marxism–Leninism, we are called upon enough to transform the economic base
tanic nature of the fight, and to unite all our to make our own history by circumstances and property relations in the country.
forces in countering the enemy’s palpable directly encountered, given and transmit- Post-1994, we have continuously ac-
activity with an even more active Red For- ted from the past. cepted and managed unholy alliances
ward Movement, political and industrial, of manifesting themselves in different
all the workers; a Great Push so militant, What are these circumstances? shapes and forms within the ANC. These
well organised and unified by solidarity as Our society is in crisis. Our state is in de- manifestations are bound to continue
to deliver, in co-operation with the advanced cay. The fundamental cause of the soci- long into the future, stifling the build-
Labour Movement of the rest of the world, etal crisis and state decay is the untrans- ing of work class hegemony in society
the knockout blow to a hated class system.” formed semi–colonial capitalist economy and deliberately postponing the socialist
(CPSA/SACP, 1921) and a governing party plagued with the revolution. This is in direct violation of
diseases of capitalism, thus incapable of the principles agreed to in the South Af-
T
he South African leading a programme for the radical trans- rican Road to socialism (SARS) whereby
Communist Party (the formation of this capitalist economy. we have clearly stated that the advance-
Party) is the vanguard The ANC itself is no longer capable of ment and consolidation of the NDR does
party of the working leading the victory of the National Demo- not mean the suspension of the socialist
class in South Africa. Since cratic Revolution (NDR). As a governing revolution.3
inception, the Party has party in a capitalist society it continues to The experience of the ANC as a govern-
been deeply engaged and actively involved suffer from the life-threatening diseases ing party post-1994 suggests the growth
in the struggles of ordinary citizens. The of capitalism – greed, competition and ac- and entrenchment of a traditional bour-
Party is a product of the struggles of or- cumulation. It is an organisation besieged geoisie nationalism within the ANC itself.
dinary South African citizens fighting for by patronage-linked factionalism, gate- The rejection of this traditional form of
an end to capitalism and a better life for keeping and corruption. It has become bourgeois nationalism in favour of a more
all. In South Africa – No Middle Ground, a meditation committee for conflicting advanced revolutionary nationalism was
Cde Joe Slovo argues: “For those who live bourgeois interests, where the political one of the pillars constituting the foun-
in apartheid’s reality, not in debate but in representatives of the dominant bour- dation of an alliance with the ANC and
their daily experience, the need to destroy geoisie exercise their influence, power the acceptance of the ANC as the head
it in all its manifestations is a self–evident and authority. This is precisely why very of the Tripartite Alliance. The retreat to
truth. That is the starting point and the little content and direction has been pro- traditional bourgeois nationalism, espe-
only remaining question is how?”1 The vided to the second phase of the NDR. cially since 1996 and more overtly and
same can be said about capitalism today. The embourgeoisment of the ANC has arrogantly since 2009, together with the
Therefore the only remaining question is led to very little or no appetite for the im- dysfunctionality of leadership within the
how do we end capitalism in South Africa plementation of radical economic change ANC, raises the question of whether the
– thereby contributing to the end of glo- that favours the working class. Examples ANC is still capable of leading the NDR.
bal capitalism? What type of society will of change can be found in some sectors of The struggle for the victory of the NDR
replace it? What then is the Party’s projec- the economy, but none of them are radical post–1994 has been abandoned to a politi-
tion in this respect? cal project of state capture by the domi-
In the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louise nant bourgeoisie, as is the experience of
Bonaparte, Karl Marx wrote: “Men make many other liberation movements in the
their own history, but they do not make ANC’s crisis of legitimacy is developing world. It is a political project
it just as they please; they do not make managed within the ANC leading to the
it under circumstances chosen by them, irreversible … it is time for capture of the state to win a share in the
but under circumstances directly encoun- the SACP to lead a new front, continued exploitation and domination
tered, given and transmitted from the
past.”2
with the working class as the of our people.
The political representatives of the
As communists guided by the ideology leading force bourgeoisie in the ANC have become
July 2017UMSEBENZI 11
rural masses, non–comprador bourgeoi-
sie and progressive sections of the urban
petty bourgeoisie. This New Front will
require a new organisational vehicle that
displaces the current organisational vehi-
cle, led by the ANC.
A new front for the victory of the NDR and
socialism
The current conjuncture requires a new
alliance of progressive revolutionary class-
es that can be mobilised in support of the
victory of the NDR and socialism. A new
front for the victory of the NDR and social-
ism requires a new organisational vehicle
with a new leadership to achieve its goals.
The SACP should lead this New Front to
build the unity of progressive revolution-
ary classes and other strata to deepen,
Pondering the future: General Secretary Blade Nzimande (centre), Deputy General Secre- advance and consolidate the NDR as the
tary Jeremy Cronin and Treasurer Joyce Moloi-Motopa considering the SACP’s post-Con- most direct route to socialism. It is only
gress challenges the SACP as the political vanguard of the
working class that can lead a New Front
more differentiated after 20 years of ANC of the competing bourgeoisie. The ANC united across racial and gender lines.
government party in South Africa. We can therefore not be depended on to the We can no longer afford to be in alli-
can no longer speak of the political rep- lead the victory of the NDR. Doing so will ance with and to be led by an ANC that
resentatives of a single capitalist class contradict the interests of the competing has abandoned its revolutionary progres-
or black bourgeoisie existing within the bourgeoisie within its ranks and push the sive nationalism of the past in favour of
ANC. One can identify the political rep- revolution beyond the bounds acceptable a traditional bourgeoisie nationalism
resentatives of three propertied classes and beneficial to any of these propertied that we see today. The ANC is a party of
competing with each other for resources classes. The ANC post–1994 has played a the bourgeoisie who have welcomed the
that are under the control of the state: a mediatory role between the political rep- character flaws of President Jacob Zuma,
national bourgeoisie whose base is inter- resentatives of the conflicting propertied as they did of former President Thabo
nal and whose interests lie in the own- classes. It now has the responsibility of Mbeki, and have cultivated such flaws for
ership and control of industrial capital; moderating, managing and preserving their own ends.
a comprador bourgeoisie composed of the social relationships of the propertied A new front would be a direct re-
black middle class elements working with classes which the capitalist economy re- sponse to the triple crises’ of legitimacy,
western imperial capital and/or eastern quires. Consequently, it can no longer be integration and participation in the ANC
imperial capital and whose interests lie in tasked with the responsibility of leading as the leader of the Alliance. A crisis of
acquiring a share of the domestic exploits the victory of the NDR. legitimacy as a result of the ethical and
by imperialist capital; and the political Capitalism was founded on the exploi- moral degeneration in the ANC, a crisis of
representatives of a parasitic bourgeoisie tation of humans by humans. It is based integration as a result of dysfunctionality
whose interests lie in the extraction of on the principle of ‘survival of the fittest’ in the leadership of the ANC and a crisis
resources from the state, not for the pur- and gives rise to competition, greed and of participation as a result of gate–keep-
poses of social reproduction, but to sus- inequality. Democracy was founded on ing and degenerative patronage linked
tain a power elite. The interests of these the principle of political equality, imply- factionalism.
three propertied classes are found to be ing that the majority rule. It is therefore The SACP has previously argued that
competing but not contradictory. The po- impossible for capitalism to be compat- a rupture has occurred in the multiclass
litical representatives of these three bour- ible with the victory of the NDR and so- consensus post–1994 around the national
geoisie continue to fight for dominance cialism. To achieve this requires the end democratic revolution. This rupture re-
in the ANC, having already captured the of capitalism. The means to achieving this quires the formation of the new front
structure and culture of the ANC. objective is the formation of a New Front which will place the working class as the
The post–1994 ANC is more engaged of the working class in alliance with the primary motive force for deepening, ad-
in the mediation between the national vancing and consolidating the NDR.
bourgeoisie, the comprador bourgeoi- There are a series of questions that
sie and the parasitic bourgeoisie. While we may need to address in the discussion
the ANC is more involved in moderating Achieving state power around this new front in relation to state
and mediating the conflict between these
propertied classes, the masses want to
is impossible without power. These questions have previously
been posed by the Party for discussion
redistribute wealth in their own favour. conscientising the masses but have not been sufficiently addressed:
However, this redistribution of wealth that socialism is possible - l What constitutes a revolutionary ap-
in favour of the working class and rural proach to state power?
poor will inevitably harm the interests Karl Marx & Frederick Engels l What would be the consequences
July 201712 Umsebenzi
and impact on the Party directly con- be no second class participation in our post-2009 has succeeded in shifting gov-
testing elections in a multi-party set- movement.”5 ernment from a neo–liberal posture on
ting as the head of the new front for the The post–1994 character of the ANC state–owned companies and trade policy
victory of the NDR and socialism? clearly suggests a deviation from the to a developmental policy largely embod-
l What are the immediate struggles Strategy and Tactics document with the ied in the New Growth Path with explicit
and how do we link these struggles to introduction of narrow nationalist ten- job goals.” 7
the struggle for socialism? dencies within its rank and file. This de- However, what more could the Party
l Other than political power, what are viation has subsequently led to a rupture achieve with independent political power
the other key sites of power to estab- and disunity in the revolutionary alliance if it were to make the transition from a
lish working class hegemony? with the working class. ‘party in government’ to ‘the governing
The Party has the twin tasks of deep- party?’ Notwithstanding the international
People’s power for state power and state ening and advancing class-consciousness limiting factors, if the “deliberate check
power for socio–economic transformation amongst the people as necessary for state and counter–balances of the SACP influ-
One of the most immediate struggles power and that of pursuing state power ence in government” were to be removed
should be the revitalisation of the work- necessary for radical economic transforma- as a factor, how much more progress
ing class as the primary motive force in tion in the interests of the working class. could we make towards the victory of
the NDR. The current epoch has seen These two tasks do not exist in isola- the NDR and socialism? It can be argued
significant differences emerging between tion or have a certain hierarchy where that given the track record of the SACP in
the Party and the ANC on the main con- first comes political consciousness for government especially since 2009 much
tent, strategy and tactics of the NDR. state power and then follows the task of more progress can be made if the Party
This is further compounded by the lack the capture of state power necessary for were to make the transition from ‘a party
of joint decision making by all partners effecting socio-economic transformation. in government’ to ‘the governing party.’ A
in the alliance. The task of deepening and advancing transition of this nature can only manifest
The 12th Congress programme adopted class and political consciousness neces- itself through a radical shift in the strat-
in 2007, the South African Road to Social- sary for state power goes hand-in-hand egy and tactics of the Party with particular
ism (SARS), provided a basis for a revo- and evolves side-by-side with the task of emphasis to the question of the SACP and
lutionary approach to state power. SARS seizing state power necessary for radical state power.
argued that a revolutionary approach to economic transformation while laying The post–1994 ANC has suffered a cri-
state power is the antithesis to a narrow, the basis for the construction of a socialist sis of legitimacy that is irreversible. The
electoralist approach to the capture of economic order. The dialectical nature of deficit of credibility has increased sub-
state power by the working class. these twin tasks constitutes the theoreti- stantially during the Zuma years from
Marx and Engels argued that the work- cal underpinnings for the Party not to go 2007 and even more so in the second
ing class could not effect the economic it alone in the quest for state power but Zuma administration from 2012.
and social transformation of society rather to lead a new front for the victory of It is time for the SACP to deliberately
without state power but they also argued the NDR and socialism. lead a new front, a broad alliance of the
that achieving state power was impos- These twin tasks must include the working class and other strata with the
sible without conscientising the masses, struggle for working class hegemony in all aim of capturing state power and the
through struggle and through their own other key sites of power in society. It must creation of a state in which the working
experience, that socialism and ultimately include the building of a popular national class, in town and countryside, in alliance
communism was possible. 4 sovereignty around the state. Any discus- with the rural poor, non-comprador bour-
Popular peoples’ power is necessary sion around the formation of a new front geoisie and progressive sections of the ur-
for state power, and state power is nec- must adopt the strategic thrust of the 12th ban petty bourgeoisie will be the leading
essary for socio–economic transforma- Congress programme adopted in 2007 force. It is time for the Party to seize the
tion. For the Party to lead the victory of which directs us to build working class moment! l
the NDR it will need to end the unholy hegemony in the state, in the workplace,
alliance with the national bourgeoisie, in the economy, in the battles of ideas and Cde Pillay is the Chairperson of the
comprador bourgeoisie, and parasitic in our communities. YCLSA and serves on the board of the
bourgeoisie. A new front would result in National Youth Development Agency
a new peoples’ democracy, not in capital- Conclusion
ism, and would lay the basis for a social- The SACP as a ‘party in government’ has Notes
ist South Africa. been relatively successful especially since 1. Joe Slovo, “No middle ground” in Davidson,
The achievement of state power is an the Polokwane Conference of the ANC in Slovo and Wilkinson, Southern Africa – The
SACP objective. But who then has the role 2007 and the subsequent deployment of new politics of revolution, 1976, p. 107
of conscientising the workers, if not the SACP cadres into the Zuma administra- 2. Marx, 1852, p. 15
SACP as their vanguard party? tion in 2009. The Political Report pre- 3. 2012, p. 7
sented to the Augmented Central Com- 4. www.socialistworker.org
The twin tasks of the SACP mittee in December 2016 points to these 5. Cited in Slovo, J. “No middle ground” in Dav-
In its approach to unity contained in its successes with particular reference to idson, Slovo and Wilkinson, Southern Africa –
1969 Morogoro Strategy and Tactics docu- labour policy, competition policy, trade The new politics of revolution, 1976, p. 175
ment, the ANC states: “We are revolution- policy, infrastructure development, the 6. Political Report presented to the Augmented
aries, not narrow nationalists. Committed spatial economy and the post–school edu- Central Committee, 2016, pp. 7 -8
revolutionaries are our brothers (sic) to cation and training sector.6 According to 7. Political Report presented to the Augmented
whatever group they belong. There can the report, “The left axis in government Central Committee, 2016, pp. 7
July 2017UMSEBENZI 13
CUBA
Africa-Cuba – hands
across the water
As Donald Trump derails US-Cuban normalisation plans,
Chris Matlhako reports on Africa reaffirming its ties with Havana
A
38-person delega- also contributed to the continent in the – is intended to undermine Latin Ameri-
tion of the Friends cultural and spiritual spheres. can integration trade bodies such as Alba
of Cuba Society- SA The fifth continental solidarity meet- (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples
(Focus-SA) took part ing took place at a crucial time – with of Our America) and Mercosur (South-
in the successful 5th Afri- Donald Trump committed to undoing ern Common Market). By triggering a re-
ca Continental Conference Barack Obama’s softening of relations gional crisis the USA is seeking to regain
of Solidarity with Cuba, in Windhoek, 5-7 with Cuba, as he bows to right wing pres- lost ground and reclaim what it regards
June. sure from the hostile anti-Cuba Miami- as effective economic colonies. Since the
The South African delegation, drawn mafia. This year also marks the 50th year efforts of the region to shrug off the yoke
from the ranks of the progressive nation- of the cowardly murder of Che Guevara of neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Latin
al liberation movement in the country in Bolivia in 1967. American left and progressives have had
and representing the South African Com- Recently Latin America has confront- to confront the regrouping of right wing
munist Party (SACP), Congress of South ed extreme US efforts to undermine the national bourgeoisie.
African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the Afri- progressive left governments. In Boli- The fifth Africa-Cuba Continental
can National Congress Women’s League varian Venezuela, ‘hybrid war’ has been Solidarity Conference is an affirmation
(ANC WL) and MK veterans, was the sec- unleashed, characterised by violence of the historic ties that have existed be-
ond largest after the host nation. Previ- clashes with the authorities and pro- tween Cuba and Africa. Socialist Cuba
ous editions of the continental solidarity PSUV (PSUV - United Socialist Party of has been on the side of the people of Af-
conference have been held in Johannes- Venezuela) forces in major cities of the rica since the early years of the triumph
burg (1995), Accra in Ghana (1998), and country. The ‘hybrid war’ has been char- of the Revolution. The people of the con-
Addis Ababa in Ethiopia (2012). acterised by fanning internal contradic- tinent have been able to count on Cuba
The delegates discussed the ongoing tions, sponsoring opposition violence to as a reliable ally throughout this period.
economic blockade against Cuba; joint conduct a campaign of terror and vio- As early 1961, Cuba provided crucial sup-
development initiatives between Cuba lence against ordinary people and state port to national liberation struggles, and
and their respective governments; and institutions. has maintained unwavering solidarity
the achievements of solidarity work, The underlying agenda of this cam- for more than half a century, sharing its
such as the international campaign for paign is to seek to nullify the example limited resources and shedding its blood
the release of the Cuban Five. They re- of Cuba and to isolate it. Strangling Ven- on the continent. l
called the important role played by the ezuela –experiencing low levels of eco- Cde Mathlako is the Politburo Secre-
late Fidel Castro and dedicated the con- nomic growth because of low oil prices tary of International Relations
ference to his memory.
The scale of Cuban engagement in Af-
rica after 1959 is multi-dimensional. There
was also military engagement in Angola,
where tens of thousands of young Cu-
ban soldiers served during the 1970s and
Editorial Board
Umsebenzi Joyce Moloi-Moropa
Editor-in-Chief: Solly Mapaila
1980s, and dramatically altered the bal-
Blade Nzimande Mluleki Dlelanga
ance of forces in southern Africa. Medical
cooperation was provided in many parts Deputy Editor- in-Chief: Chris Matlhako
Jeremy Cronin Malesela Maleka
of the continent during particular crises
and also in the training of local doc- Editor: Mark Waller (sub-editor)
Yunus Carrim
tors. Education was promoted through David Niddrie (chief sub-editor)
technical, administrative and university Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo
training of large numbers of young peo- Reneva Fourie
ple in African countries or in Cuba. Cuba
July 201714 Umsebenzi
The SACP pays tribute to Cde Kay Moonsamy: (from left) Sbusiso Sithole, Busani Mbatha (Thulani Ncwane district organiser) and Mlu Nkosi
(Magwaza Maphalala district organiser)
IN MEMORIAM
Hamba kahle, Cde Kay!
The SACP released this statement on the passing of Cde Kay
Moonsamy, ‘a die-hard communist in the old tradition’, always ready
to roll up his sleeves for the Movement
T
he SACP is saddened by the death late and other SACP leaders, I visited Cde Kay was active in the SACP after we came back
on 21 June in eThekwini of SACP and about a month ago. He was very distressed home, he would constantly say ‘we must
Alliance veteran Cde Kay Moonsamy. about the state of the ANC and couldn’t un- roll up our sleeves and put our shoulder to
Cde Moonsamy, 91, was a former SACP derstand how such a glorious movement the wheel, comrades’. He served as Nation-
National Treasurer and the last President could sink to such depths. al Treasurer of the SACP at a time when it
of the South African Congress of Trade Un- “Cde Kay was a die-hard communist was very difficult to raise funds, and he had
ions (Sactu) at the time of its disbanding in the old tradition. He came from a work- very strict views about who qualified as a
shortly after 1990. He was among the 156 ing class background and joined the Party donor. His long political life in the SACP
leaders charged for high treason in the his- through the trade unions. He was active in spanned major periods in the Party’s his-
toric 1956-61 Treason Trial. a wide range of Alliance structures, but saw tory, and he was obviously a huge reservoir
SACP General Secretary Cde Blade himself as first and foremost as a commu- of knowledge and experience.”
Nzimande, said; “It is comrades like Kay nist. He was very frank, committed, unyield- Cde Moonsamy was born in Durban
Moonsamy who laid the foundations for ing, militant, and constantly argued that the on 5 July 1926. Coming from a very poor
our democracy. We owe him and his gener- 1994 negotiated transition failed the working background, he had to leave school at 14
ation a huge debt. We can’t let them down. class and poor because it did not adequately and work as a machinist at Rhodesian Tim-
Their sacrifices can’t be in vain. We have to address economic transformation.” bers Limited. He soon joined the Natal Box,
defeat the parasitic bourgeoisie and deepen SACP Deputy General Secretary Cde Broom and Brushworkers’ Union, and be-
and consolidate our democracy. Jeremy Cronin, said: “Cde Kay was quietly came its president.
“Together with our veteran Cde Eric consistent, and I remember when I first In December 1944, aged 18, he joined the
Mtshali, Solly Mapaila, Themba Mthembu met him in exile, and through the time he Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA),
July 2017UMSEBENZI 15
Above: KZN Premier Willies
Mchunu (2nd left) with Comrade
Kay’s children and programme
director, SACP Politburo member
Yunus Carrim
Far left: Party delegation visiting
Cde Kay shortly before his pass-
ing: James Nxumalo, Themba
Mthembu, Blade Nzimande, Eric
Mtshali, Solly Mapaila
Left: Cde Kay visiting Nelson
Mandela
and was elected to the Durban Commit- 1963 he was served with a banning order. A and was later elected SACP National Treas-
tee in 1949. He continued to work under- month later he was sentenced to 18 months’ urer. In 1999 he was elected to Parliament
ground after the CPSA was banned in 1950. imprisonment for violating his order. and served for 10 years.
He joined other communists and other He was also detained under the 90-day In 2015, Comrade Kay was awarded the
progressives in the Natal Indian Congress law and charged under the Suppression of Order of Luthuli by the state for his major-
(NIC) to form the Anti-Segregation Council Communism Act on 1 December 1964. He contribution to the struggle.
to oust the conservative Kajee-Pather lead- was given bail, and in June 1965 went into He was laid to the rest at an official
ership of the NIC and replace them with exile, leaving behind his unemployed wife provincial funeral on 24 June addressed by
Cdes Monty Naicker and Yusuf Dadoo, who and four minor children. senior leaders of the Alliance and veterans
worked much more closely with the ANC. Based mainly in Lusaka and Dar es Sa- of the struggle. According to his wishes, the
Cde Kay was active in the 1946 Passive laam, he served in various structures of the funeral was
Resistance Campaign and other campaigns movement in exile, and attended both the brief, simple and modest, with the SACP
led by the Natal Indian Congress. On his 1969 Morogoro and 1985 Kabwe Conferenc- playing a prominent role.
20th birthday, he was sentenced to four es of the ANC. He assisted Cde JB Marks, the Cde Kay is survived by Tammy, Ragini,
months imprisonment under the Riotous ANC Treasurer General, in Dar es Salaam, Saroj, Rajen, Vassan and Lefika. The SACP
Assemblies’ Act. and in 1982 was elected Chairperson of the conveys its deepest condolences to his fam-
During the 1960 State of Emergency he Lusaka Regional Committee of the SACP. ily, relatives, friends and comrades.
avoided arrest and worked underground. He He served as Treasurer-General of Sactu be- The SACP dips its revolutionary red
helped to organise the three-day national fore becoming its President in 1989. banner in honour of this outstanding stal-
protest from 29 to 31 May 1961. On 31 March He returned to the country in June 1991, wart! l
July 201716 Umsebenzi
Hamba kahle, Cde Kay!
Kay Moonsamy
5 July 1926 – 21 June 2017
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