SACP welcomes the official establishment of South Africa’s sixth democratically elected Parliament, the election of the Speaker Thandi Modise, Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoliand President Cyril Ramaphosa

22 May 2019

On 12 May 2019 the South African Communist Party released a statement accepting the sixth democratic general election outcomes as a categorical expression of the will of the people. As the Freedom Charter states, no government can justly claim authority in our country unless it is based on the will of the people. Accordingly, the SACP welcomes the official establishment of the sixth democratically elected Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and the election of the Speaker Thandi Modise, Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli and President Cyril Ramaphosa by the Parliament on Wednesday, 22 May 2019.

The mandate for the government is categorical. Over the past several years corrupt elements in the state, in public enterprises and other public entities, in our broad movement and other political organisations, as well as in the private sector, coalesced and pushed South Africa to the brink. They undermined our hard fought-for national achievements. The negatives overwhelmed the positives as the state capture agenda entrenched and unleashed governance decay and corruption in our state institutions, state-owned enterprises and other public entities. There can be no doubt that the damage caused by the rot, and its fight back agenda, contributed by no small measure in the decline experienced by the ANC in the May 2019 general election.

Now is the time to turn South Africa around, building on the work already under way, notably since February 2018. In this regard there can be no doubt that Parliament and government, as well as provincial legislatures and governments, have a great responsibility. However, as a people, particularly the working class, we must continue and intensify social mobilisation and become actively involved in ensuring that those responsible for driving down our country are held to account.

As the working class, the overwhelming class majority, we need to unite and push radical structural transformation and ensure that the state implements it in order to address class inequalities, landlessness, unemployment, poverty, and social insecurity. It is crucial to widen democratisation in all spheres of our society. Unless this is achieved particularly in the economy it will be difficult to address and ultimately resolve the consequences of capitalist exploitation of labour. The system must be rolled back successfully. Until then, our freedom will remain incomplete. The importance therefore of forging a progressive popular left front for the dual purpose of achieving the immediate interests and aims of the working class and securing its future cannot be overemphasised.                   

Issued by Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, National Spokesperson & Head of Communications, SACP, 22 May 2019