A public spat erupted on Saturday between ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and SACP boss Solly Mapaila over Mapaila’s criticism of the ANC-led government of national unity.
Mbalula reacted angrily to an interview Mapaila gave to a podcast where he labelled the decision to enter into the GNU with the DA as a “betrayal” and a “sell-out of the aspirations of our people”.
Mbalula fired off a series of posts on social media and told the Sunday Times that Mapaila had crossed the line and his outburst was ‘ “disrespectful”.
“These outbursts are shocking. Nothing wrong if Solly doesn't agree with the GNU, but calling names is really crossing the line and casting aspersions on ANC leaders. I find it disrespectful coming from an ally.”
In an interview with podcaster Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Mapaila said : "... the political choice the ANC made, it's a gross error. A serious mistake. I believe it's a political choice because there were other possibilities for the ANC not to collaborate with the DA, because the DA doesn't represent an iota of the interest of our people. It's a party of white interest, of the white minority. It has inherited the colonial regime's interest, the imperial regime's interest, the apartheid regime's interest. It is not intended by any measure to bring our country together and to build a united South Africa.
“It just wants a black person to remain subservient to white people. This is the deepest pain one feels every day because our leaders, the political elite, committed this criminality of joining forces with the DA. I think they'll be judged harshly by history and I call on history to judge them badly for the betrayal of our people. It's a sell-out of the people's aspirations for political convenience.”
Mapaila was unbothered by Mbalula's response. He said he had written to Mbalula suggesting a meeting to ventilate the matter.
Mapaila has been vocal about his opposition to the ANC choice of GNU partners since the new government was formed. He has said the ANC would have been in a better position if it had worked with other parties such as the EFF.
Commenting on the row with Mbalula on Saturday, he said: “I don't really care about what he [Mbalula] said. I stand by what I said. There is nothing untruthful about what I said. If the SG is unhappy with my comments he can call me but I don't care much about that, I need to meet him in a meeting so that we can finalise this issue.”
Mapaila said there had been no political discussion among the alliance partners over its way forward after the electoral loss and that the ANC took the decision for the alliance.
“It's he and his team that have defined this moment on their own without engaging with their partners — that is part of the problem. The political council was an agreement before the GNU was adopted. The alliance raised sharply that it is necessary to come to a political discussion at this moment,” he said.
Clarifying his characterisation of the GNU, the SACP leader said the ANC's actions indicated a party beholden to capital, not to the people.
“It's an ideological position. It's a political choice; there is nothing that compelled the ANC to go this route except to sustain the status quo, which cannot be changed by any niceness to capital that has denied us to transform this country properly through threats.
“Threats ... to remove this movement's political power. We were now in a position to deal with those threats, because now we should have no obligation whatsoever and we should not be beholden to capital in any way.”
Mapaila added that when the ANC “so desire” the alliance is open to meaningful discussion as “we cannot just be taken to meetings which are of no consequence but used to justify the wrong things that are being done in our name — that is what we are rejecting completely”.
Asked if the SACP, as an alliance partner, held any responsibility for the ANC’s electoral loss, he said their ideas on social and economic transformation fell on deaf ears.
“The issue has been that we don't provide options but we have provided options on every aspect of transformation in this country. The ANC in government arrogantly, either intimidated or on the basis of whatever unknown agreement they may have with capital, they have gone ahead to implement the opposite,” said Mapaila.
Several high profile leaders of the SACP serve in the GNU. They include SACP national chair Blade Nzimande, as minister of science, technology and innovation, second deputy general secretary David Masondo, as deputy minister of finance, and deputy higher education minister Buti Manamela, who is a prominent member of the central committee.
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