The South African Communist Party (SACP) is forging new allies in the left movement, a move seen as another step towards broadening its ideological base away from the ANC.
Questions have been raised about whether this marks the beginning of a permanent break from the ANC, with which it has been allied for decades during the liberation struggle.
SACP invites Azapo and others to May summit
The party believes it is an autonomous organisation and is entitled to join forces with any leftist party while remaining within the ANC-led alliance, a move some analysts consider politically unsustainable.
The SACP, one of the ANC’s two key allies, alienated itself from radical left forces by aligning with the ANC, a nationalist movement that adopted neoliberal policies after attaining freedom in 1996.
Now, the SACP, which shares power as part of the ANC, has decided to contest the upcoming local government election independently of the ANC.
It accuses the ANC of betraying the working class by embracing liberal and right-wing parties that promote capitalism under the government of national unity.
Recently, the SACP invited the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) to discuss the consolidating of the left. Both parties agreed on holding the SACP-initiated Conference of the Left on 29-31 May.
As Azapo president, Nelvis Qekema said in a recent Facebook post the bilateral meeting was seen as “historic and long overdue” by both organisations.
‘Historic and long overdue’ bilateral meeting
“It was a politically vibrant, warm and cordial session anchored on a strong ideological bias towards the working class and the masses,” Qekema said.
The objectives of the conference would be a “political convergence” to bring together the left forces and “cure the present fragmentation”. It also envisages establishing a Council of the Left, tasked with driving joint left campaigns beyond the conference.
A declaration will be adopted at the conference that articulates the political commitments of the formations.
While Qekema led the Azapo delegation, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila led the SACP delegation. The two sides briefed each other on their parties’ political lines and perspectives on the country’s political landscape.
“It was noted that the democratic dispensation has sadly fallen short of fulfilling the aspirations of the working class and the people, more so the poor.
“The high level of structural poverty and inequality are entrenched and almost permanent, corruption in both the public and private sectors rubbed salt into an unhealing wound,” Qekema said.
Political lines and perspectives
Despite the introduction of formal democracy in 1994, the economic power structures of apartheid and exploitation remain and the land, which was the basis of the struggle, is still largely privatised and in white hands.
As Qekema noted, the left conference is planned to include trade unions, community and civic formations, women and youth organisations, cooperatives, social movements, intellectuals and political organisations.
It is unclear which other parties have been invited to the Conference of the Left or its pre-consultation process.
Besides Azapo, other left parties in SA include the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the EFF and a large number of community-based, civic and socialist-orientated parties.
The uMkhonto weSizwe party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, though proclaiming a radical transformation agenda, is not recognised by many as a left organisation because Zuma was never a left-leaning leader but a former ANC cadre who followed a centrist line.
Civil society and trade unions are also expected to participate in the discussion and upcoming summit. Cosatu, as an ANC and SACP ally, will likely be invited.
Civil society, trade unions expected to participate in discussion
It remains to be seen whether the ANC itself, other left organisations such as the South African Federation of Trade Unions, and its radical Marxist affiliates, such as the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), will participate.
Some observers believe any conference of the left that excluded certain left organisations would likely fail.
They said that if the SACP was selective in its initiatives, it risked diminishing its influence within the left and in the country’s political landscape.
