Solly Mapaila at the African National Congress (ANC) 112th anniversary at Mbombela Stadium on January 13, 2024. (Photo by Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is expected to confirm its decision to contest the 2026 local elections independently of the ANC during a tripartite alliance meeting at the end of January.
ANC leaders fear the SACP’s decision to go it alone will further weaken the ANC in the upcoming local government elections. The tripartite alliance includes labour federation Cosatu.
Speaking on the sidelines of Monday’s commemoration of struggle stalwart Joe Slovo, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila continued his criticism of the government of national unity (GNU), describing it as a “strategic error” that undermined the objectives of the “national democratic revolution”.
Slovo was a long-standing leader of the SACP during the exile years and a key part of the ANC’s negotiating team during the transition to democracy in the early 1990s. He died in 1995, not long after the ANC came to power.
Mapaila said the SACP would not support the GNU — which includes the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus — because it allowed reactionary forces to weaken the liberation movement’s agenda.
He claimed the compromise enabled the economic and political elite to influence South Africa’s democracy, stating, “this has led to democracy being commodified by capital”.
Mapaila argued that the unity government “created a platform for counter-revolutionary elements to infiltrate the political system” and singled out the DA as the main beneficiary of this.
He alleged that “capital-driven” forces aligned with the DA had worked to destabilise the ANC-led tripartite alliance.
“The GNU allowed reactionary forces, intent on destroying the national liberation movement, to embed themselves in our political system,” he said.
Mapaila also accused “imperialist forces” of influencing South Africa’s political discourse, claiming they provided substantial funding to newer political parties. He questioned why the SACP’s electoral viability is scrutinised while the financial support of these parties remains unexamined.
“Some of these parties have received millions in funding,” he said. “Meanwhile, the communist party, which played a key role in liberating this country, faces doubts about its ability to contest elections.”
The tensions between the parties escalated in December when the SACP resolved to contest elections independently if the ANC failed to reconfigure the tripartite alliance to give all members equal status.
Mapaila said the SACP was not adequately consulted when the ANC decided to form a government of national unity with other opposition parties.
At a special congress in December, SACP leaders accused the ANC of sidelining them in the 2021 local government nomination.
Speaking on behalf of the ANC at the Slovo commemoration, the party’s and state’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said he was aware of the SACP’s concerns and that the ANC was open to criticism about the GNU, but emphasised the need for unity within the tripartite alliance.
“If we walk separately, we must accept that state power will be diffused,” he said. “Unity is critical for achieving the national democratic revolution.”
Ramaphosa called on the SACP to reflect on the strategic shifts made during South Africa’s liberation struggle, highlighting the adoption of the sunset clause that facilitated a power-sharing arrangement between the ANC and the National Party.
Slovo was one of the ANC leaders who was involved in negotiating and signing off on the agreement.
“This capability is as valuable and as necessary now as it was then when we negotiated the transition from apartheid to democracy. Those were difficult choices, those were almost like impossible choices,” Ramaphosa said.
“In the elections last year, the ANC suffered a great electoral setback. As a consequence, the conditions in which we pursue the NDR [national democratic revolution] today are different from the conditions that prevailed in the first 30 years of our democracy,” he said.
Despite the setback, Ramaphosa said the election results do not represent a terminal outcome for the ANC, but rather sent a clear message for the party to act decisively in restoring public trust.
He said the tripartite alliance must reassess the balance of forces and adjust its tactical approaches.
Ramaphosa called for openness in addressing failures and implementing corrective measures.
“We must also be willing to listen to one another. The ANC must be willing and prepared to listen to comrades who are saying the GNU is a mistake. Similarly, every one of us must also listen to the path being taken and look out for the dangers and make all of us alert to the dangers we are seeing,” he said.
Ramaphosa defended the GNU, describing it as a difficult but necessary decision during the transition to democracy, just as the sunset clause had been. “Those were difficult choices. The conditions we face today require similar adaptability.”
He called for the tripartite alliance to address its failures openly and take corrective action. “We must listen to one another and work together to restore public confidence.”
The SACP’s decision to contest elections independently could have significant implications for the ANC, which is facing challenges from splinter groups, including the uMkhonto weSizwe party formed by former ANC president Jacob Zuma.
Trade unions within Cosatu have expressed mixed reactions to the SACP’s plans. Although some union leaders support the move as a necessary step to reassert working-class interests, others warn that it could weaken the broader alliance and risk further fragmentation of the left-wing political space.
The National Union of Mineworkers, a key Cosatu affiliate, has called for urgent dialogue to resolve the impasse, emphasising the need for unity to confront South Africa’s socio-economic problems.