Sechaba ka’Nkosi
The South African Communist Party politburo this week failed to reconcile its young radicals and its old guard on split nominations for the party’s highly contested leadership positions.
On Tuesday, the politburo failed to come up with a single name for the party’s most contested position, that of the general secretary, between the incumbent, Charles Nqakula, and MP and chair of the parliamentary standing committee on education, Blade Nzimande.
The SACP’s 10th national congress takes place in less than two weeks’ time. More than 600 delegates are expected to attend.
SACP deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin dismissed claims that there are factions in the party. Cronin said the politburo did not only discuss nominations for key party positions, but looked at issues such as the postponed tripartite alliance summit.
He admitted, however, that the nomination process was a contentious issue and that members have different views on who should lead the party. “The deadline for nominations is the end of this month, so the whole process is not yet completed. Obviously those of us who are current office bearers expect to be evaluated on our performance and we expect comrades to be involved in that as well,” Cronin said.
Sources say Nzimande is willing to step down as an MP and assume full-time responsibilities within the party should he be elected. Nzimande has the backing of the young radicals in the SACP and of influential communists in the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Contacted for comment Nzimande said he will make himself available if the branches so wish. “I have been approached to stand by some members. My position has always been that if the party wants to deploy me as general secretary, I am not averse to that,” said Nzimande.
A front runner for the position of the deputy chair at the moment appears to be Minister of Welfare and Population Development Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
Although all the groups in the party agree there is no leadership crisis at present, there are growing concerns about the ability of the party to advance its position. “It is not that we are not happy with the current leaders at a personal level. It’s about politics. We need heavyweights who will re- orientate the party back to its socialist roots. At the moment we do not see that,” says an insider.
The left-wing bloc in the party received a major boost last month when a committee appointed by the SACP to investigate a “communist plot” at the African National Congress’s national conference last year found no proof of misconduct against the radicals because of lack of evidence.
Since last year, the young radicals have been involved in concerted efforts to wrestle control from the current leadership and shift its focus more to the left of the political spectrum. An argument often raised by the radicals is that since national elections four years ago, the SACP has failed to provide leadership that can unite the forces of the left and strike a separate identity from that of the ANC.
Cosatu’s deputy general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, denied claims that the federation would back individual candidates at the congress. He said while individual members may participate in the congress in their capacity as SACP members, Cosatu will be represented by an official delegation.
He admitted, however, that there are growing concerns within Cosatu about the party’s failure to provide direction and leadership among left-wing forces.
“In my view the party congress is a do-or- die affair. While the SACP takes stock of its strength and weaknesses over a period of time, it will also need to come up with programmes and campaigns that are relevant to the current situation, and take a leadership role on community struggles around poverty, development and job creation,” Vavi said.
“Workers expect to see a party that will speak out on behalf of the working class and the poor in particular, without apologising for its positions. That will make it attractive to ordinary people.”
The Eastern and Western Cape delegates at the conference represent a smaller membership, but they are expected to be influential in key policy debates. Most of these delegates will be young, current and former student leaders and trade union activists.
In the early 1990s, the SACP was reported to be the fastest-growing communist party in the world, with an estimated membership of 80 000. Under its current leadership, this has dwindled to about 14 000.
The biggest provincial battalion at the congress will come from the Northern Province, which is guaranteed to make up nearly 50% of the total number of delegates, despite being considered a less politically sophisticated region within the SACP.
Gauteng, once considered among the leading voices in the party, is said to be rocked by internal divisions that have left it in disarray.
However, the Gauteng delegation expects to sway the conference into electing Nqakula to the figurehead position of national chair, and recalling Nzimande from Parliament to take over as general secretary.
Nzimande featured prominently in the “communist plot” investigation as one of the key figures in the radical left faction within the party – alongside fellow MP Phillip Dexter, SACP national organiser Langa Zitha, Vavi and Mbuyiselo Ngwenda of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.
Cronin is currently guaranteed election as he is the only nominee for the position of deputy general secretary.
There also appears to be consensus that Dexter will take over from ageing outgoing treasurer general Kay Moonsamy.