SACP+Gauteng+Provincial+council+statement,+22+May+2007

22 May 2007

GAUTENG PROVINCE TAKES FORWARD THE RESOLUTIONS OF ITS 9TH CONGRESS HELD ON 24-25 MARCH 2007
The Gauteng Province of the SACP held its 1st Provincial Council after its successful 9th Congress, on May, 20, 2007, in Johannesburg. The purpose of the Provincial Council (PC) was to:
 * Finalise outstanding work of the Congress, including Resolutions and the Programme of Action
 * Prepare for the 12th Party Congress to be held in July 2007 in Port Elizabeth
 * Deal with current developments in Merafong
 * Get briefing and take a position on the impending public sector strike

The Council was attended by PEC members, leaders of Districts and delegates from branches drawn from all the six districts, representing about 7000 members of the Party in the province. We had also invited the Gauteng Province of COSATU to brief us on the impending public sector strike.

Some of the most important outcomes of the Provincial Council included the following: 1. Building a strong Communist Party in the province with particular and dedicated focus on our Programme of Action, mainly focusing on campaigns such as the Financial Sector Campaign, Know Your Neighbourhood Campaign, Public Transport Campaign, Political Education, Crime Prevention and Public Safety Campaign, Land Campaign, International Solidarity and building the Young Communist League. The Council-approved sub-committees are dedicated on each of the above areas of work. We believe that by focusing on campaigns we will build a Party that truly represents the aspirations and interests of the workers and the poor and transcend dry methods of Party building that are detached from the people and their concerns.

2. The SACP will be holding its 12th National Congress in Port Elizabeth, from 11-15 July 2007. This is an important Congress that is expected to shape up the future of South African politics //in the interests of the workers and the poor//. As part of our conviction that workers and broader sections of the working class believe in, and appreciate, our vanguard role as the SACP, we need to take this further, even under post-Soviet Union conditions, by continuously imbuing the workers and the toiling masses of South Africa with class consciousness and socialist ideology, strengthen their orgnanisations and raise their fighting capacity in order to defeat capitalism and construct socialism. After all, as the Party we do not have interests of our own other than those of the workers and the poor. From 2004, as this Province, we have been seized with the question of the Party' s attitude to state power, including electoral tactics. We are satisfied with the amount of political and ideological work that has taken place in our branches and districts. The recent Provincial Congress held on 24-25 March 2007 also deliberated on this matter and agreed that the first Council after the Congress should finalise it.

In any event, many of our lower structures had already resolved on this question of whether the SACP should independently contest elections or not. As a result, many questions regarding the consequences of this question on our strategy and tactics have been responded to. Therefore, the Council overwhelmingly resolved that the SACP **must contest elections from 2009 at all levels by fielding its own candidates**. Delegates at both the Provincial Council and our 9th Provincial Congress felt that this is one of the key questions that the forthcoming National Congress must resolve. We **cannot** continue outsourcing this important function of the Communist Party. Furthermore, we are aware of the implications and impact this Resolution will inevitably have on our revolutionary alliance led by the ANC. We further believe that this is an historic and important alliance that should be preserved. However, with the passing of this Resolution by the National Congress, the workings of the alliance will have to be greatly restructured. From now onward to the 12th Congress, the Provincial leadership will be approaching other provinces and other structures to persuade them to adopt this position.

3. We also got an opportunity to deal with the situation and developments in Merafong. The Communist Party is deeply concerned about the current state of affairs in Merafong, particularly in Khutsong. Our Dr Yusuf Dadoo District, in the West Rand, and our Khutsong branch have been at the centre of this crisis since 2005, and we are worried about the perpetual inability to resolve the matter in the interest of the people in that area despite numerous attempts and calls by community representatives to government leaders to resolve the matter. There seems to be a lack of political will to adequately attend to this issue. The Council resolved on calling all Party branches and other structures in the province to pledge their support to the people of Merafong. The struggle of the people of Merafong hinges around democratic principles in that the people were led to believe that their voices and wishes would be listened to when taking the final decision on the matter of redetermining the provincial boundaries. The struggle is not just about this or that province, but at the core, are democratic views of the people, which must be respected.

We call on the Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Cde Sydney Mufamadi and the President of the Republic, Cde Thabo Mbeki, to urgently look into the matter. Communities are prepared to engage with government, and government must respond accordingly. The continuous disruption of schooling in Khutsong is a serious concern to us. However, we understand that such problems arise from the bigger issue where the community (learners, teachers, parents, churches and businesses) feel very strong about – the fact that government refuses to listen to them on the issue of demarcation. The SACP supports the abolition of cross boundary municipalities but we feel that this must be done democratically, taking into account the wishes of the people.

4. As part of our continuous work in the labour movement, we got a briefing from the trade union movement about the impending public sector strike which has got a potential to have devastating effects on our lives if the concerned parties do not find one another around the issues in dispute. The Council resolved that the SACP must support this strike and all other related activities to ensure that the strike is effective. We are calling on our structures to participate in preparatory processes and give unreserved support to the workers. We also call on negotiating parties to try to speedily resolve the dispute in the interests of the public sector workers and the masses at large. The Council observed that the impending public sector strike is not merely about bread and butter issues, but fundamental transformation and improvement of the conditions of the workers in the public service.

SACP Gauteng Provincial Secretary
 * Contacts**
 * Zico Tamela**


 * 083 437 8654**

SACP Gauteng Provincial Chairperson
 * Nkosiphendule Kolisile**


 * 082 939 4035**

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