The ANC and SACP have agreed to continuous consultation and to strengthening the broader ANC-led alliance
The leadership of the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP) will meet ahead of the governing party’s crucial national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla in January at which it will outline its priorities for the year.
The “crucial” consultation was among a series of steps agreed to by the two parties at a bilateral meeting of their office bearers on Sunday, called to ease tension over the ANC constituting a government of national unity (GNU) with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties.
It will allow the party leaders to give feedback on the outcome of the SACP’s special national congress and the ANC’s final national executive meeting of the year — both of which take place in December — and address criticisms over lack of consultation by the alliance partners.
The decision was described by SACP national spokesperson Alex Mashilo as “crucial” and is seen as consultation among alliance partners being reasserted to address failings identified at Sunday’s meeting.
The SACP has been vocal in its criticism of the ANC’s decision to work with the DA in the unity government, with the issue fuelling debate as to whether it should continue with the relationship — and in backing the ANC at the polls.
The issue is up for discussion at the SACP’s special congress, and the agreement to consult ahead of 8 January — and to the process of reconfiguring and strengthening alliance structures — is clearly aimed at influencing the decision in favour of continuing to support the ANC electorally.
In a joint statement, the parties said the “frank” discussions had been “pivotal” in agreeing to a process of continuous bilaterals, the next of which would take place before the NEC lekgotla.
This would allow the parties to “implement the shared perspectives from Sunday’s meeting” and to “further exchange perspectives on feedback from and the positions adopted internally by each alliance partner”.
The NEC lekgotla has historically been of great importance as it sets the ANC’s policy priorities for the year, which are then fed into the first cabinet meeting for the year.
The bilateral platform allows the SACP a platform to present its congress resolutions so that it can — it hopes — influence the policy discussions taking place at the NEC lekgotla and, in turn, at cabinet level.
In addition to the bilaterals, the parties committed to a broader process of rebuilding and reconfiguring the alliance with labour federation Cosatu and the South African National Civic Organisation.
The parties noted “weaknesses” caused by a lack of finality on reconfiguring the alliance, the finalising of which was essential to strengthening it and securing its future in a changing political landscape and shifting balance of forces.
“Finality on the reconfiguration of the alliance is a key task facing not only the next bilateral meeting between the two alliance partners, building on the perspectives shared on Sunday, but, equally important, also the entire alliance,” they said.
This was a crucial process for the alliance partners individually and collectively ahead of the local government elections in 2026.
They said the parties had been “frank about the weakness that have emerged in the recent period” and agreed about the importance of maintaining bilateral and broader alliance consultative processes.
The alliance’s political council, consisting of the leaders of all its components, would also be strengthened and would meet in the near future in preparation for an alliance economic summit thereafter.
The political council would also consider a political and technical review of economic and social transformation policy as part of this process, they said.
Mashilo said that the platform created by the bilateral process was important in that it provided a structure and an opportunity for consultation between the parties ahead of a key policy forum in the form of the lekgotla.
“It is a significant step. It is also a step in a wider alliance process,” Mashilo said. “This is a reassertion of consultation and joint engagement, something which is quite important.”
The delegates at the meeting had agreed to set up similar forums at provincial, district and regional levels to ensure that their structures were talking to each other and sharing perspectives on key issues.
A meeting of the alliance’s political council is set to be held in KwaZulu-Natal on 2 December, the first since the current ANC leadership was elected in 2022, to try to address tension there.
A source in the SACP said the key issues would be the lack of consultation, the role of the current leadership in the 29 May election debacle, corruption and how to regain ground in the province, now dominated by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party ahead of the 2026 local government poll.