The decision by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to partner with the SACP, which will stand independently from the ANC in the 2026 municipal elections, signals critical new breakaways from both the ANC and Cosatu — with both getting smaller.
The NUM, in its latest secretariat report, has called for the creation of a “popular front of the left” against the government of national unity (GNU). The report said the GNU has replaced the ANC-SACP-Cosatu tripartite alliance as the “strategic centre” of power. With the ANC as part of a multiparty GNU, tripartite alliance members have less influence on the ANC and the government, and fewer positions. Policies of the ANC and its tripartite allies are not those of the government any more, as the ANC has now come up with policies which its GNU partners agree with.
The formation of the GNU triggered the SACP move to seek independence from the ANC. Its decision, and the NUM’s decision to back it, is an unintended consequence of the GNU, in which the ANC has partnered with the DA, IFP and FF+.
The ANC is divided between two major factions: that of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who supports the GNU, and a populist wing centred on the ANC’s Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provincial branches, Cosatu and the SACP.
The NUM is the largest affiliate of Cosatu. Both the ANC and Cosatu have become smaller after various breakaways. The SACP decision to stand on its own is likely to realign parties and trade unions on the ANC’s left flank and could also splinter Cosatu. The NUM over the long-term might not remain inside Cosatu — which electorally supports the ANC — while the union supports the SACP as an electoral competitor to the ANC.
This is the second mainstream left breakaway from the ANC. In 2014, Cosatu expelled the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), then Cosatu’s largest affiliate, and Numsa left to form the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu). Numsa also went on in 2019 to form a political party, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP), which failed to win a seat in elections.
The NUM saw a breakaway with the formation of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in 1998, when some members outraged over the leadership of Gwede Mantashe formed a rebel union. Amcu saw itself as “non-communist” and formed the Labour Party, which contested by-elections in December 2024, winning a ward from the ANC.
The past few years have seen various populist breakaways from the ANC, including the EFF and the populist MK Party after Jacob Zuma’s fallout with Ramaphosa.
The past few years have seen various populist breakaways from the ANC, including the EFF and the populist MK Party after Jacob Zuma’s fallout with Ramaphosa.
In the first two decades of the post-apartheid era the ANC experienced centrist breakaways, such as the formation of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in 1997 and the Congress of the People (COPE) in 2008.
Getting votes is not going to be easy for the SACP/NUM. Populist and centrist breakaways from the ANC, such as the EFF, MK, COPE and UDM, have done better in elections than left breakaways such as the Numsa party.
The SACP, despite having had no proven electoral support, has up to now enjoyed generous political, cabinet, state and tender patronage from being part of the tripartite alliance. Many SACP leaders have been in national and provincial cabinets and municipal councils, such as Blade Nzimande, Rob Davies and Jeremy Cronin. Many SACP members also joined parliament as part of the ANC candidate’s list.
With the SACP now going it alone, its leaders in cabinets and municipal councils are likely to be put under pressure to choose between the ANC and the SACP. Many will choose the ANC — with guaranteed jobs, rather than the insecurity of an electorally untested SACP.
The SACP does not have a large membership. Electoral campaigning needs many feet on the ground. The party will have to lean heavily on NUM members to mobilise for it in areas where the NUM is strong, mostly mining areas.
Running elections in South Africa is expensive. The SACP may not have the deep financial pockets to finance election campaigns. The party has an investment arm, which has not delivered huge dividends. In the past, BEE tycoons such as Patrice Motsepe funded SACP gatherings. The SACP also depended on Cosatu donations and will heavily depend on the NUM for financial contributions. The party will not find many sources enthusiastic to fund it.
• Gumede is professor of practice, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg)
For opinion and analysis consideration, e-mail Opinions@timeslive.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.