9th+Congress,+Political,+3+of+8,+The+SACP+and+State+Power

Draft Adopted Resolutions of the 9th COSATU National Congress

 * (For advance study purposes only. Wait for the printed edition, or refer to the official [|COSATU web site]for the authoritative version)**

Political Resolutions, 3 of 8
=1.3 **The SACP and the state power:**=


 * Noting:**

1. The 8th National Congress resolution on building the SACP.

2. The lack of resources in the SACP makes it difficult for it to conduct its political affairs effectively.


 * Resolve:**

1. To reaffirm the 8th National Congress resolution on building a strong, independent SACP as an instrument of the working class, including through the provision of resources by affiliates.

2. To create clear mechanisms to synergise the SACP’s medium-term vision and COSATU’s 2015 Plan, and to locate any decision on the SACP’s participation in the elections in that context. The SACP should engage other alliance partners to determine the manner in which it will enter the electoral processes.

3. To call on the SACP to unite the progressive left formations, including left-wing political formations committed towards a radical transformation and socialism. Part of the work to achieve the above requires the following:

> a. The SACP needs to initiate the unity of the left movements as part of a process of building a popular movement towards socialism, including the Conference of the Left. > b. The SACP need to work hard in its work to transform trade union consciousness into working-class consciousness. > c. The SACP must link the working-class political consciousness with other forms of social consciousness.

4. The Alliance should be engaged to determine the manner in which the SACP should enter the electoral process, and mobilise the electorate in that eventuality.

5. The SACP must now begin to develop policy positions on the following key areas of state power: the nature of the developmental state; land redistribution; developing fundamental basic necessities; deployment of Communist Cadres in strategic centres of power; contesting elections; and commitment of resources for recruitment on SACP 2015 program.

6. COSATU and SACP must have a clear program on the path to socialism that would encourage individual members to make financial contributions to the SACP. The CEC to ensure a systematic campaign/ strengthen debit order campaign. Contributions from workers and affiliates to the SACP should be voluntary.

7. COSATU leadership must lead by example and be card-carrying members of the SACP.

9. COSATU will set up its own task team constituted by affiliates’ General Secretaries and NALEDI to conduct a detailed and deep but urgent global survey of the prospects for socialism in South Africa. The survey must. > a. seek to establish how much support among South African workers of all races exists for the SACP to contest political power towards a Socialist South Africa. > b. ways to forge direct working relationships with progressive working people and political formations throughout the world. > c. culminate in a draft Manifesto of the Working Class in South Africa that will inform all the campaigns of the Federation and the SACP.

10. COSATU must design a short, medium and long term sequenced political and education programme of action for its members to ensure that by the time of the Fourth Central Committee it has concrete proposals on the way forward towards a socialist South Africa, and can lay them before the SACP. COSATU must develop programmes and activities that expose the agenda behind the post-1996 class project and its present threat to our NDR.

11. The NOBs must table at the first CEC in 2007 a time-bound programme of work with clear allocation of responsibilities for achieving these resolutions on socialism.