SACP+Extended+Politburo+Statement+on+Alliance+developments

South African Communist Party Media Release, Monday, October 16, 2006
=Statement of the extended Politburo of the SACP on recent Alliance developments=

The Politburo (PB) of the SACP met in Johannesburg today on 17 October 2007, in an extended form, joined by the Provincial Secretaries of the SACP, to discuss recent developments arising from the last NEC of the ANC. The Politburo re-affirmed that the speeches given by our General Secretary at the SADTU and COSATU Congresses, and generally in all his public utterances, articulate the policy positions and perspectives of the SACP. Nothing that our General Secretary, including at the said congresses, is by any stretch of imagination at variance with the programme, policies, constitution and perspectives of the SACP.

To this end the SACP Politburo regards as very unfortunate and disturbing the personalised attacks directed at its General Secretary, as emanating from the October 2006 ANC NEC. The extended Politburo re-affirmed its belief that much as robust debate is necessary in our intra-alliance engagements, nevertheless these must not be personalized or seek to question the integrity of any partner and its leadership. To this end the extended PB was unanimous in expressing its full confidence in the ability and capacity of the General Secretary to continue articulating the positions of our Party, and called upon all alliance partners to observe the protocols of intra-alliance engagement and relations as contained in many of our alliance resolutions.

The Politburo especially underlined the necessity of upholding the protocols of engagement within our Alliance as contained in our two Ekurhuleni Summits. On managing intra-Alliance relations the Ekurhuleni Summit Declaration of 7 April 2002 stated, inter alia:

“Our organizations, though profoundly interdependent, are separate organizational formations with their own identities, policy-making mechanisms and internal organizational arrangements. In this regard, each of components respects the independence of its allies.

“Having examined the causes and the impact of the recent (2000-2002) intense public discord among some components of the Alliance, the Summit concluded that this was an unfortunate development which we must not allow to recur… Where there are areas of difference, we are committed to resolving them through ongoing constructive debate”

The extended PB further endorsed the decisions and statement of the Alliance Secretariat issued on 11 October 2006, calling upon the recent public spats to come to an end. In addition the Alliance Secretariat committed itself to arrange an urgent 10-a-side meeting to address pertinent matters affecting the movement. The extended PB re-affirmed that at the heart of the many challenges facing our democracy is the fact that, in class terms, the first ten years of our democracy has disproportionately benefited the bourgeoisie and the middle classes, despite the many welcome and significant government resource transfers to the poor during this period.

The extended PB also expressed its very serious concerns about the role that the media is playing in intra-organisational and intra-alliance dynamics in our country. The extended PB noted that given the capitalist character of South African media, such media is more guided by imperatives of making money than by a need to objectively inform the public about what is going on in society. Of even more serious concern is that sections of the media have become so involved in internal political dynamics of our movement, that some of the media can now be regarded as acting like factions inside our movement. Much as this is common across a wide spectrum of media, the extended PB expressed its most serious concerns about the manner in which the City Press newspaper and its editor are positioning themselves in debates and disagreements inside our movement in a factionalist and often provocative manner.

The extended PB also briefly discussed the recently held 85th anniversary dinner, and congratulated the role of the Gauteng province in this regard.

The extended PB also reaffirmed the decision of the SACP to register as a political party with the IEC, as purely based on financial considerations, and not because the SACP has already decided to contest elections in its own right. We have already also informed our alliance partners on this decision.

The extended PB re-affirmed the SACP’s commitment to the strengthening of the Alliance and all its components as a necessary weapon in the hands of our people to deepen and consolidate the national democratic revolution. The PB remains convinced that our alliance is indispensable during the current phase of our revolution.

Issued by the Extended Politburo of the SACP

For further information, please contact:


 * Malesela Maleka**
 * SACP Spokesperson**
 * Tel: 011 339 3621**
 * Fax:011 339 4244**
 * Cell: 082 226 1802**
 * Email: malesela@sacp.org.za**
 * Web portal: [|www.sacp.org.za]**