Jaspreet Kindra
Moves are afoot to force two top South African Communist Party officials, general secretary Blade Nzimande and his deputy, Jeremy Cronin, out of the African National Congress’s national executive committee (NEC).
A senior SACP central committee member, who asked not to be named, said the ball was set rolling at the ANC’s inner leadership core, the national working committee, last week. The source said the committee had recommended that members of the national executive with “dual mandates” should choose between representing other parties and the ANC.
The source said the move was being viewed as a clear attempt to exert pressure on Nzimande and Cronin, who, as the SACP’s public face, have supported the anti-privatisation campaign aimed at the ANC-led government. Nzimande and Cronin are also elected ANC NEC members.
The source predicted the alliance members the ANC, SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions would soon part ways.
An ANC source confirmed that the national working committee had discussed the dual mandate issue last week, but that the discussions had not reached finality. The issue is likely to be put before the ANC’s national executive committee next week.
Nzimande said yesterday he was not aware of any move to oust him. Neither Cronin nor ANC spokes- person Smuts Ngonyama could be reached for comment.
A senior tripartite alliance insider said tempers flew at the national working committee meeting over the issue of communist support for the Cosatu-led anti-privatisation campaign.
There have been heated debates in ANC leadership circles throughout the year over Cosatu’s “radical” anti-privatisation stance. The alliance source said at a national executive committee meeting earlier this year, eight and a half hours were devoted to criticising the leadership of Cosatu president Willy Madisha and general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
The source named national executive committee members Dumisani Makhaye, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Peter Mokaba as being among the vociferous critics of Cosatu and the SACP.
Seen as themselves being on the right of the ANC, these have often branded the labour movement and the SACP right-wing because of their opposition to government policies. They say such opposition plays into the hands of right wing, anti-goverment forces outside the movement.
Mapisa-Nqakula is the wife of SACP national chair Charles Nqakula, who sits in the national executive committee alongside other senior communists, including Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe, Minister of Local Government Sydney Mufamadi and Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Ronnie Kasrils.
These figures are said to have kept a low profile during debates on positions taken by Cosatu and the SACP.