With the ANC set to decide the fate of its alliance with the South African Communist Party (SACP) this week, its leagues have raised their voices on the matter.
ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji has called for the mother body to take the nuclear option on the issue.
The league president has sent a stern warning to party members with dual membership to pick a side ahead of the local government elections.
ANC Veterans League leader Snuki Zikalala told Sunday Times that their mediation efforts have failed as the SACP refuses to budge on their pronouncement.
This follows the earlier bold declaration by the SACP in 2024 that it would contest elections independently of their alliance partner ― a move that was cast in stone during the party’s elective conference in 2024, causing an upset within the alliance.
This means that those holding dual membership of the communist party and the ANC must either remain in government as the ANC or vacate their deployment should they opt to campaign for the SACP.
In December 2024, following the SACP’s 5th special congress, party leaders raised concern about the ANC’s constitution, which prohibits members from campaigning for another party. This rule was applied to remove former president Jacob Zuma.
The ANC constitution states that standing in an election for local, provincial or national government, or acting as the election agent or canvasser of a person standing in an election for any political party and in opposition to a candidate duly endorsed by the NEC or PEC, is misconduct and could result in expulsion.
Senior SACP leaders who are members of cabinet and the executive in provincial legislatures could find themselves without a job should the ANC enact this rule.
“The leagues of the ANC do not deploy in government. Sanco [South African National Civic Organisation] does not deploy in government. The SACP does not deploy in government. It is the ANC that deploys in government on behalf of all of us. It is the ANC that contests elections.
“Now anyone else who parallels the ANC can’t be a deployee of the ANC. They must choose to be ANC or resign. Anyone who has a dual membership of the SACP must pick a side, they can’t campaign for the SACP if deployed by the ANC.”
Malatji told the Sunday Times that the decision by the SACP leaves them no choice but to ostracise their ally, like it would any other opponent at the polls.
“You can’t want to contest the elections against the ANC and still want to govern with it. If the SACP is contesting elections, they must do so, and we must treat them like other political parties.
“The people who hold SACP membership and are deployed are deployed because they are in the alliance. If they are no longer in the alliance, they cannot be deployed by the ANC. They must win for the SACP first, then they can deploy them.”
The youth leader paced blame at the doorstep of SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila for the current tensions and fractures experienced by the alliance.
“One day the SACP will get sober and remove Solly [Mapaila] and elect a sober GS. We believe that Solly is behind an agenda to collapse the alliance and is working with other dark forces. Failure to do that will mean that this is no longer the SACP of Chris Hani,” he said.
We said, ‘what are we going to meet about?’ when they said they wanted to meet us again ... [They] are not even considering changing the conference resolution. So it is up to them, there is nothing else to discuss.
— Snuki Zikalala, ANC Veterans League leader
Mapaila has come under fire in the past months, with even his close ally and predecessor Blade Nzimande criticising the decision to contest elections against the ANC.
Zikalala echoed Malatji’s sentiments on the tough choice that potentially faces the likes of higher education minister Buti Manamela and deputy finance minister David Masondo ― who hold dual membership.
Nzimande had encouraged the communist party to go for an early conference where this resolution could be retracted and overturned.
Despite the tension, the veterans league president stated their relationship with the communists has not changed and that they can salvage the situation.
“We are not antagonistic towards them, this is just a consequence of a decision they have taken. It’s a matter of principle. They are campaigning in our voter base, we are fishing from the same pond. It won’t work. They must go to an early conference and overturn this decision if they want to restore order,” Zikalala said.
“The NEC will have to take a decision whether we separate with the communist party. Our view as the veterans league is that we met with the SACP and they are still resolute on contesting power and they are not going to change that resolution as it was taken in a conference and there is nothing they can do.”
He revealed that the SACP tried to convene another meeting with the veterans, but that invitation was declined.
“We said, ‘what are we going to meet about?’ when they said they wanted to meet us again ... [They] are not even considering changing the conference resolution. So it is up to them, there is nothing else to discuss.”
Zikalala said he has made it clear the alliance has not achieved the ideals of the national democratic revolution, therefore the decision to contest independently on a communist mandate would not work.
“We are in this together to build a very strong economy, civil society and government of the ANC. You can’t say that we must part ways, we are not in favour of that. Our people did not fight for communism, they fought for a national democratic revolution.”
SACP spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana said it is not right for an alliance partner to be punished for taking a political decision.
“Our belief is that the alliance must not be broken at this time. The movement has never punished anybody for holding independent political views and opinions on any matter. We cannot anticipate at this time that the ANC will enter into a political witchhunt for individuals who hold particular political positions.”
Mandlana said it was up to the ANC to decide their fate as part of their own internal process and they would not like to pre-empt their discussions.
“It would be unfair for such a thing to happen because we too would not like other organisations, including the ANC itself, to prematurely speak, dictate or influence the outcomes of our meetings. Whatever happens, or motivation they may have, they have a right to make such a determination. The communist party will not dictate as to what the ANC must do.”
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