By Mawande AmaShabalala and Queenin Masuabi
The SACP’s decision to contest the ANC in the November municipal elections has run into a leadership crisis, with the Reds’ most senior office-bearers abandoning the communist party’s campaign and choosing to campaign for the ANC.
Sunday World can reveal that senior SACP leaders serving in government have overwhelmingly remained with the ANC after its national executive committee ordered dual members to choose which party they would campaign for.
Among them is Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela, Science and Technology Minister Blade Nzimande and Deputy finance Minister David Masondo.
Our sources say Masondo, who is also the SACP’s deputy general secretary, has allegedly stopped attending the party’s central committee meetings and has been campaigning for the ANC.
Masondo and Manamela are also members of the all-powerful ANC national executive committee.
A senior alliance leader said no high-ranking SACP leader serving in government had so far chosen to campaign against the ANC.
“All high-ranking leaders of the SACP have pledged allegiance with ANC and been hard at work campaigning for the ANC even during the election registration weekend,” an insider said.
Only a few “low-ranking SACP members with nothing to lose” had shown the ANC the middle finger in favour of the Reds.
In the provinces, some two months ago, when the SACP had its provincial congress in Limpopo, former SACP provincial deputy chairperson Dr Phophi Ramathuba, who was earlier this year elected ANC chairperson, dumped the Reds and did not even attend the party’s gathering.
She has since fully aligned herself with the ANC and is leading its municipal elections campaign in the province and continues as premier.
What happened in Limpopo was repeated in North West barely a fortnight ago when Madoda Sambatha chose not to contest for re-election as provincial secretary of the SACP during the elective congress.
In the Eastern Cape, SACP provincial secretary Xolile Nqatha, who continues to serve as MEC in the ANC-led provincial government, was the only one to off-ramp, choosing to rightly campaign for the SACP.
“I do not know why he has not been fired as MEC. That man was straightforward that he was going to campaign for the SACP, the only one to do so.”
In Gauteng, the situation has been a little different, with ANC and SACP leaders working together, albeit not on an election strategy.
Senior leaders in the ANC provincial task team said theirs was a special case, as they could not afford to show SACP leaders the door given the ANC’s untenable electoral support prospects.
SACP Gauteng secretary Jacob Mamabolo is an MEC in the ANC-led provincial government and some sections of the ANC provincial task team (PTT) are understood to have exerted pressure on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to axe him.
Lesufi is said to have resisted the pressure, arguing that he cannot be expected to fire SACP comrades when those serving in national government remained
in the national government.
“The SACP comrades in Gauteng have not been openly campaigning against the ANC; they are cooperating with us,” said a member of the ANC provincial working committee.
“Cosatu has requested we formulate a delegation to meet all our national leaders’ structures to formulate what they call “a Gauteng exception”.
The alliance meetings are on to discuss how best to do this.
“The reality is that Gauteng will be worst hit if we insist on taking a hard line that says SACP leaders must choose between the two.
“But there are individuals who call themselves SACP leaders who are impatient
and they are starting to raise their names.”
ANC Gauteng PTT members are adamant that the “Gauteng exception” manoeuvre that is being devised will still respect the centrality of the ANC NEC decision for SACP leaders to be excluded from ANC election strategy meetings, as they have become an electoral opponent by choosing to contest elections independently.
The general sentiment in ANC circles in Gauteng is that they do not want to antagonise the SACP because they believe the will need the Reds after the November 4 elections in instances where coalitions must be formed.
The SACP had not responded to questions at the time
of publication.
- Senior SACP leaders serving in government, including Buti Manamela, Blade Nzimande, and David Masondo, have chosen to campaign for the ANC instead of the SACP in the November municipal elections.
- David Masondo, SACP deputy general secretary and deputy finance minister, has reportedly stopped attending SACP central committee meetings and is campaigning for the ANC.
- In Limpopo and North West, prominent SACP leaders have abandoned the party to fully align with the ANC, with some leading the ANC municipal election campaigns.
- In Gauteng, ANC and SACP leaders are cooperating despite the SACP contesting independently, with some ANC leaders resisting calls to remove SACP members from government positions.
- The ANC Gauteng provincial task team is working on a "Gauteng exception" plan to manage the alliance with the SACP while respecting the ANC NEC decision excluding SACP leaders from their election strategy meetings.
