SACP message to the 98^th Anniversary of the ANC

On behalf of the Central Committee of the SACP and our entire membership, we bring revolutionary greetings and message of support to this, the 98^th anniversary of our ally and leader of our alliance, the African National Congress.

The ANC is celebrating its 98^th anniversary as the first major event since the historic April 2009 electoral victory. Therefore this event must also be a celebration of this victory. We are also proud that as the SACP, throughout the length and breadth of our country, we were together with the ANC campaigning for a decisive electoral victory. We were not doing this as parasites on the ANC, as some of our detractors would like to project us, but as a principled commitment based on the understanding that it is only the ANC that is best placed to consolidate and deepen our democratic advances, and respond to the challenge of addressing the major problems facing our country - poverty, unemployment and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

However the only consistent way to celebrate this victory is to continue to mobilise our people for the implementation of the five key priorities as contained in the ANC-led Alliance election manifesto. The single biggest challenge facing the ANC and the Alliance it leads is to embark on ongoing mobilisation of our people to ensure that we do the following:

• Strengthen the progressive trade union movement, especially our COSATU, to fight for decent work. It is only by strengthening COSATU and working class struggles on the shop-floor that we shall realise decent work. The SACP also wishes to reiterate its stance that as a country we must do away with labour brokers, as they constitute one of the most serious obstacles to achieving our goal of decent work. We use this opportunity to call every worker, casual or permanent, to join a COSATU union, as one of the ways of realising our manifesto commitment of decent work. We also want to use this occasion to express the SACP's solidarity with the current legitimate struggles of FAWU at ABI and SACCAWU at Sun International. Realisation of decent work means intensified working class struggles as bosses will never hand this on a plate.
• The SACP also commits, working together with our allies, to throw its full weight behind the campaign for access to education to the poor of our country. To us education and training is vital in skilling the working class, and is at the centre of the struggle against poverty, and the growth and development of our country. Our YCL has pledged to intensify its Joe Slovo Right to Learn Campaign, as an important component of the role that communists are prepared to play in realising this Manifesto Commitment on access to quality education. The SACP urges the YCL, the ANCYL, SASCO, COSAS and other progressive youth formations to work together to realise the objectives of quality education for all. The SACP also wishes to use this occasion to call upon all those 2009 matriculants who did not get a university entrance not to lose hope, but to explore the many other avenues provided by government, including FET colleges and learnerships.
• The SACP pledges to support government's programme in making affordable and quality health care accessible to all. The health campaign will continue to be one of our major focus for 2010. We will campaign for preventative health care as well as support government's plans to introduce a National Health Insurance. We are determined to mobilise working class power to ensure that we defeat all those opposed to the introduction of the NHI.
• The ANC can be assured of our full support to its campaign to mobilise our people to fight against crime. We have already been in the trenches together in building street committees. The SACP is also escalating the campaign against corruption both in the public and private sectors. We call upon the public sector to lead by example by supporting the call by the President's call to fight corruption wherever it occurs and whoever is involved. Corruption is theft from the poor and pose a serious threat to our democracy and must be fought at all costs
• The SACP has for years now been engaged in a campaign for land and agrarian transformation and for rural development. We will continue to contribute to the Manifesto commitment to rural development by seeking to build people's land committees and support FAWU's efforts to organise the farmworkers.

In order to achieve all of the above, it is important that ANC structures on the ground are strengthened and focused on these priorities. We expect the ANC to lead, and as the SACP we shall remain a dependable revolutionary ally in these struggles.

Much more importantly we need to mobilise our people from the ground, from the branches, as part of building a strong alliance from below. Therefore the unity of our alliance in this period is something that must be treasured, protected and defended at all costs.

The biggest enemy of the apartheid regime was always our alliance. In order to try and defeat our revolution the apartheid regime always sought to implant suspicions amongst the allies. Our enemies and detractors today are also seeking to do the same by trying to sow suspicions amongst the allies.

We also want to say to the bourgeoisie that our alliance is not for sale. This country still needs our alliance just as dry soil needs rain. The media is continuing to pursue the agenda of sowing suspicions amongst ourselves by trying to present our alliance as if it is in perpetual conflict. At no stage in the recent period has our alliance been functioning so well, especially at national level. We of course have a lot of work to do to strengthen our alliance at all other levels, especially at branch level. Such strengthening must not be done only in boardrooms, but principally through concrete campaigns rooted in our five key priorities.

As the SACP we also wish to urge all of our alliance formations to minimise debating internal matters through the media or to be used by the media to project a divided alliance. Media is currently suffering from withdrawal symptoms on how to cover an alliance that is functioning better since Polokwane.

As communists we have a long-standing relationship with the African National Congress and the progressive trade union movement today as represented by COSATU. We shall do nothing to endanger this relationship, but instead we shall do everything to protect it. But we have not only been allies to the ANC, communists have also been loyal members, cadres and leaders of the African National Congress. Most of these communists like Chris Hani, Joe Slovo, Dora Tamana and many others served the ANC with distinction.

Let this occasion be an occasion to take our Alliance relations to even higher levels.

Our country is hosting the most premier sports event the world, the FIFA World Cup. We call upon all our people to make this a huge success. We also call upon employers and other service providers not use this cup to exploit the workers. As the SACP we say, just we are for a better life for all, we also want to see a World Cup for all! Let's go out and support Bafana Bafana, our senior men football team, as they take part in the world cup.

A happy 98^th anniversary!!

Statement issued by the SACP, January 9 2009

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