SACP welcomes ANC NEC meeting outcomes on fighting corruption, and on several other aspects

10 May 2021

The South African Communist Party welcomes the steadfastness of the African National Congress on the implementation of its constitutional imperative, that its office bearers, public representatives, and members charged with corruption or serious crime in a court of law must be suspended temporarily pending the outcomes of their cases if they do not step aside voluntarily themselves. The ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) created an equal opportunity, allowing all those who are implicated to step aside within 30 days. 

To support the ANC, the SACP will continue its discipline to do the same, to take the same action against any member of the Party who may be charged with corruption or serious crime in a court of law. 

The steps taken by the ANC will contribute by no small measure, will show leadership by example, to the national imperative to fight corruption. This will dissuade those who may be tempted, against getting involved or complicit in corruption. 

We reiterate our stance in support of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, and against weaponisation of corruption allegations. The tendency involves fabricating corruption allegations and spreading misinformation in pursuit of a false fight against corruption. To emerge victorious in our genuine organisational, Alliance and national imperative to end corruption, we must build wider patriotic unity against such tendencies, while encouraging real corruption to be reported, with evidence, to relevant law enforcement authorities. 

The SACP is firmly behind the ANC, and calls upon all members in our broad movement to rally behind the ANC's constitutional imperative to fight corruption, to protect and ensure that every rand and cent in public revenue is spent to look after the needs of the people. We need undivided focus on serving the people selflessly, on transformation and development to tackle unemployment, poverty, inequality, and unequal development.

Unity of revolutionary purpose is essential towards the goals of our shared Alliance strategy, the national democratic revolution, outlined in the Freedom Charter. 

The SACP reiterates its support for the organisational reunification of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) veterans. The ANC and the SACP built the MK jointly on the foundation of the armed struggle networks that had already been created by the SACP, as President Nelson Mandela says in his book, Long Walk to Freedom. The SACP will take part in the organisational reunification of MK veterans, ensuring that it is based on verified, real MK veterans, and the true values of the MK.

In the same vein, the SACP wishes to attach great importance to the necessity to drive the reconfiguration of the Alliance to function optimally towards accomplishing its historical mission, our shared strategy. To this end the Alliance Political Council adopted a common paper. 

The SACP welcomes the ANC NEC decision in support of the Alliance Political Council outcomes for the public service wage bill dispute to be resolved as a matter of urgency. We wish to stress the importance of engagement in good faith and compliance with bargaining agreements both in the public and private sectors. It is unfair for any employer to not follow their own processes, blame this on workers, and use the blame game to undermine bargaining agreements. 

The SACP welcomes the ANC NEC decision in support of the Alliance Political Council recommendation on the implementation of non-trading holidays. 

We further welcome the stance by the ANC NEC on tackling all forms of gender domination and gender-based violence. 

The SACP shares the same perspective with the ANC on the outcomes of its NEC meeting regarding the need to deepen solidarity with the people of Cuba against imperialist aggression, and the need to deepen our organisational, Alliance and national ties with Cuba. The SACP reiterates its call to the United States to lift its illegal blockade of Cuba and evacuate the Cuban territory of Guantanamo Bay unconditionally and with immediate effect. 

We also share with the ANC the same perspective on solidarity with the people of Western Sahara and Palestine, and call upon Morocco and Israel, respectively, to end and reverse their occupations of Western Sahara and Palestine unconditionally and with immediate effect. 

The SACP welcomes regional support to end the crisis in Mozambique and expresses solidarity with the people of Mozambique. 

Issued by Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, SACP Central Committee Member: Media & Communications, 10 May 2021