Long live ANC long live!

Message on the occasion of 102nd ANC Anniversary

The South African Communist Party (SACP) expresses sincere solidarity and gratitude to the oldest liberation formation in our continent, the African National Congress (ANC), on the occasion of its 102nd Anniversary. The ANC was founded on 8 January 1912 to unite the African people in the fight against colonial oppression and imperialist exploitation.

Two years prior to the formation of the ANC, in 1910, the Union of South Africa was established between British imperialists and Boer colonialists, following the Anglo-Boer war of 1889-1902, which was fought between these imperialist-colonisers. This South African state formation also resulted from the post-war negotiations establishing common grounds for the exploitation, national oppression and gender domination of the African people in their own land. In 1928 the Communist International, a world organisation of communist parties, aptly summed up the South African situation as thus:  

"South Africa is a British Dominion of the colonial type. The development of relations of capitalist production has led to British imperialism carrying out the economic exploitation of the country with the participation of the white bourgeoisie of South Africa (British and Boer)".

As the Communist International correctly pointed out, this did not alter the general colonial character of the economy of South Africa, since British capital continued to occupy the principal economic positions in the country: banks, mining, industry, etc., and since the South African Boer capitalist class was equally interested in the merciless exploitation of the African people and entire working class on the basis of racist segregation and sexist discrimination.

For a period of 258 years (1652-1910) since the arrival of the Europeans in our land, the African people had to fight against wars of conquest and dispossession. Our people gained many experiences in this process. In particular, the need for unity became sacrosanct for the future of our country as would later be defined in the Freedom Charter, in 1955.

The formation of the ANC was therefore a response both to the experiences of the many years of gallant struggles of our people and to the state formation of the Union of South Africa, which was to continue the processes of dispossession against our people, their oppression and exploitation on a new bases, including legislation and repressive state instruments: the police, military and the unjust judiciary.   

As the oldest and largest political formation in our country after the ANC, we are proud to be associated with this revolutionary formation of our people both through the membership of our cadres in, and our alliance with it. Together with the ANC, the progressive trade union movement which we have helped to build, as well as many other formations of the mass democratic movement, we have fought against oppression and ultimately achieved a democratic breakthrough in 1994. This was sealed by blood of our martyr, former General Secretary comrade Chris Hani.   

We have navigated together with the ANC in unity many years before and after our 1994 democratic breakthrough. We have avoided to divide our organisations and people in our struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa in which there is a better life for all. Unity is fundamental for us, particularly to the achievement of the goals of the Freedom Charter. Divisions are a luxury we cannot afford. They do not belong to us and will not serve our people, but the enemy and his agents.

As the Communist Party we reaffirm our confidence in the ANC. We will continue to work together with the ANC as a reliable ally. We support the ANC in the forthcoming elections, and have already started our work to campaign for an overwhelming victory of this leading formation of our alliance and national liberation movement.

Regardless of all sorts of attacks that the ANC and our alliance have endured for a while now, and regardless of which angle these are launched, the ANC will be victorious in the forthcoming elections through our support, through the support of those formations of the mass democratic movement which remain clear and committed to unity, and, most importantly, through the support of the overwhelming majority of our people.

We therefore call on the ANC as the leading formation of our alliance and national liberation movement, of our government and society, to remain loyal, to continue selflessly serving our people, and to be determined to overcome new challenges as we have together done against apartheid.

Together we stand!

Victory is certain!

Long live the ANC long live!

Statement issued by the SACP, January 8 2014

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