SACP Gauteng calls on GPU to focus on improving the living conditions of the working class and poor

9 July 2024 

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng Province held its ordinary Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting on Sunday, 7 July 2024, in the Linda Jabane District, City of Johannesburg. The meeting was addressed by leaders of the revolutionary Alliance, including the Provincial Chairperson of South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), Comrade Abram Mashishi, and the Provincial Chairperson of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Comrade Amos Monyela.

The PEC meeting analysed the current political developments in the province, focusing on the outcomes of the Provincial and National Government Elections held on 29 May 2024, and the announcement constituting the ANC-led Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) and the provincial Cabinet (Executive Council) led by Premier and ANC Provincial Chairperson, Comrade Panyaza Lesufi. The PEC sent its well wishes to all those comrades deployed to serve in the provincial Cabinet, extending its communist regards and revolutionary best wishes.

On Election Outcomes

The PEC adopted an internal discussion document titled “Reflections on the 2024 National and Provincial Elections”, focusing on the factors that led to the ANC’s decline to 34%. The PEC concluded that several key factors, with varying levels of detail, accounted for the electoral decline:

- Legacy of National Oppression and Colonialism of a Special Type (CST): The persistent and stubborn legacy of national oppression and CST, compounded by a historically racialised and semi-colonial dependent capitalist economy tied to the global crisis of capitalism, continues to reproduce and sustain high rates of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. This situation was further exacerbated by neoliberal austerity and the Guptarised assault on the democratic state’s capacity to improve the living conditions of the people. This reality is particularly pronounced in Gauteng, which has a high concentration of capitalist contradictions affecting the working class and poor population.

- Imperialist-Sponsored Aggression: The PEC noted an imperialist-sponsored aggression and sustained assault that has been comprehensively covered by the latest press statement of the 15th National Congress Central Committee, released on 1 July 2024. The statement details a sponsored disinformation campaign engineered by various forces in the USA and Europe, with clear links to domestic forces such as the Brenthurst Foundation. These forces mounted an anti-ANC disinformation campaign in the commercial mass media, with self-styled media commentators and various media houses pushing narratives that sought to overshadow the achievements of the ANC government in improving the living conditions of the poor.

- Subjective Weaknesses within Working Class Organisations: The PEC highlighted a set of subjective weaknesses within organisations of the working class and revolutionary people, particularly the Alliance, which is weak and thin on the ground, especially in industrial centres, workplaces in the public and private sectors, townships, informal settlements, and hostels. These weaknesses significantly reduced the resilience capacity of the working class and the motive forces of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), exposing them to a barrage of disinformation campaigns that ultimately led to the ANC’s electoral decline in the province and nationally.

On the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU)

The PEC reaffirmed the profound principle adopted by the Central Committee, which correctly and decisively defined and characterised the Government of National Unity (GNU) and therefore the GPU as a complex terrain of class contest and struggle. The outcomes and direction of this contest will depend on the balance of power between various class forces and strata. This is particularly important given the GPU’s nature as a minority government, in contrast to the clear majority of the GNU at the national level. The PEC noted the set of contradictions that remain elevated in this context.

The PEC resolved that in this class contest and terrain of struggle, it is crucial to deliberately and consciously elevate the maximum unity of the Alliance. Building strong organisations and providing ethical and disciplined leadership on the ground to ensure the delivery of services to the people, especially at the local government level, is equally important.

The PEC resolved that neither a narrow rejectionist nor a conservative embrace of the GPU will positively defend, advance, and deepen the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) in our province. The PEC cautioned against the danger of a bureaucratic caste taking advantage of the GPU to engineer a neoliberal austerity and primitive accumulation regime of corporate capture and corruption networks.

The PEC strongly believes that if such a situation were to occur, the GPU would become a mere “marionette”, where the aspirations and needs of the people are held hostage by the bureaucratic elite, creating conditions for a GPU implosion. In this regard, the PEC called on the Alliance to remain vigilant against the dangers of an opportunistic bureaucratic elite and caste that may exploit the complexities and limitations of the GPU for narrow selfish interests. Additionally, the PEC urged the Alliance to ensure that the GPU remains a revolutionary instrument serving the needs of the people, the working class, and the poor.

The PEC also called on the Alliance to remain vigilant against another elevated danger: reckless adventurism and triumphalism that may rock the GPU boat by treating it as an inherently sell-out arrangement. The PEC agreed that it is essential for the Alliance to remain vigilant against any tendency bordering on leftwing childishness. It is critical for the Alliance to master the art and science of managing GPU complexities, particularly considering its lack of majority and the contrast with the GNU as stated above.

The PEC reaffirmed its position that the GPU requires maturity, balanced leadership, well-calculated tactical flexibility, strategic consistency, and decisive advances across the Alliance. The GPU should ideally complement the GNU and ensure correct alignment, though this remains an elevated risk.

The PEC also called on the Alliance to cement unity and cohesion among all its forces, including the mass democratic movement, and to build a left popular front of all progressive forces in the province. This aligns with the character of the ANC as the leader of society. The PEC cautioned against mudslinging, divisive tendencies, and conduct that could fracture the unity of the Alliance, including in the districts and regions, as preparations for a militant and decisive local government election campaign towards 2026 begin.

In this context, the PEC further cautioned against the dangers of neo-fascist scapegoating and finger-pointing, including tendencies resembling those of a war-mongering young “Samurai”, certainly inspired by flamboyant tastes, suffering infantile disorders, and intent on spewing divisive outbursts as a rented mercenary of factional powers-that-be. The PEC correctly concluded that imperialist aggression is actively working to divide and tear apart revolutionary forces in the province. Therefore, any tendency that plays into the hands of divisive forces should be avoided and condemned. The PEC emphasised that the unity of revolutionary forces remains sacrosanct.

Call for Alliance Summit and the Need for a Shared Program in the GPU

The PEC resolved that the dynamics and contradictions of the GPU require a careful application of the dialectic of the unity of opposites. This necessitates finding a higher point of unity and a shared immediate program of the Alliance to elevate the needs and aspirations of the working class.

In this context, the PEC resolved to engage its Alliance partners to urgently convene an Alliance Summit to formulate and adopt a common platform to contest the GPU and deepen its progressive outlook. The PEC proposed the following measures:

1.    Job Creation and Youth Employment: Focus on reducing youth unemployment by continuing and expanding the Nasispani program, mass-reskilling of youth in partnership with SETA's, TVET Colleges, and the National Skills Fund. Additionally, stimulate economic growth through industrialization, such as the successful model of automotive Special Economic Zones (SEZ), infrastructure delivery and maintenance, and improving the investment climate in municipalities.

2.    Infrastructure and Service Delivery: Strengthen the capacity of the GPU and municipalities to sustain delivery of essential services such as water, energy, roads, and disaster management. This should include improved water management systems, water treatment plants, mass cleaning, street lighting, and localized security interventions to ensure public safety. There should also be a radical program for reviving Central Business Districts (CBD's), with an immediate focus on the Joburg CBD.

3.    Crime and Gender-Based Violence: Enhance the capacity to fight crime and gender-based violence through advanced infrastructure and technological systems, street-level coordination, and community-based intelligence. Integrate various law enforcement agencies, including SAPS, Crime Prevention Wardens, and Metro Police, to ensure public safety. The PEC welcomed the location of Community Safety in the Office of the Premier.

4.    National Health Insurance: Ensure the immediate roll-out of the National Health Insurance (NHI) and the establishment of a State Pharmaceutical entity. Deliver health infrastructure to support the NHI.

5.    Township Economy Development Act: Fully implement the Township Economy Development Act, supported by a state-owned bank to finance the township economy. Provide financial liquidity and favourable credit lines to grow and empower SMME's and cooperatives in the province. Ensure the Act is not a pipe-dream but a reality that benefits SMMEs and cooperatives.

6.    Grassroots Leadership: Build strong revolutionary organizations and provide time-tested leadership at the grassroots level, including wards, VD's, blocks, and streets. Ensure that revolutionary organizations and their leaders are actively engaged with the people on a daily basis. This is crucial as we approach local government elections and prepare for an aggressive campaign to win forthcoming ward by-elections.

7.    International Solidarity: Mobilise the Alliance for international solidarity campaigns, such as ending the genocide and freeing the Palestinians from the Zionist apartheid state of Israel, ending the criminal US blockade against Cuba, and supporting the independence of the people of Western Sahara.

The PEC once more sends its revolutionary salutations to the Red Brigades for their outstanding revolutionary contribution to the ANC’s election victory and expressed gratitude to the people of the province who voted for the ANC. The PEC called on the revolutionary people, including those who did not vote on 29 May 2024, to be ready for the 2026 Local Government Elections.

Victory is certain, and the struggle continues.

Issued by Nkosithethile Bonga, SACP Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson, 8 July 2024