SACP Western Cape post provincial council statement

3 July 2023

Introduction

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape convened its Provincial Council at Khayelitsha Training Centre in Cape Town on 1 July 2023, as mandated by our Constitution as amended and adopted at the SACP 15th National Congress.

The Provincial Council was attended by delegates from branches and districts of the SACP across the province, Provincial Executive Committee and representatives of the Central Committee as well as representatives from our historical ally the African National Congress (ANC).

Delegates in the Provincial Council paid a special solemn tribute to the fallen heroes of our revolution including Comrade Chris Matlhako - former 2nd Deputy General Secretary, Tina Joemat-Peterson – Former NEC member of the ANC and Joe Mpisi – Former Gauteng Provincial Chairperson to mention but a few. Provincial Council delegates bowed their heads in honour of their selfless service and vowed to pick-up the spear and continue to raise the red flag in pursuit of building capacity for, momentum towards and elements for socialism.

The 1st July 2023 marked exactly 3 years since the cowardly assassination of Comrade Siya Siswana, the former District Secretary of Brian Bunting District, and his young daughter. To date, those who committed this heinous crime are still at large as no arrest has been made. The Siswana family has no closure and is denied justice. This is an indictment on the police’s investigating capacity.

Escalating attempts to eliminate Red councillors

Delegates to the Provincial Council were extremely appalled by what appears as attempts to eliminate red councillors in the Western Cape. Our convenor in the Overberg District, ANC Regional Executive Committee member and ward 13 councillor Comrade Mbongeni Nomkoko received death threats via a voice note whilst attending our Provincial Council meeting. We take these threats seriously and urge the municipality to take active steps and further appeal to the Police to provide the required security detail.

In the Western Cape, there has been a trend of these calculated acts of intimidation against many public representatives who steadfastly oppose and fight frontally against corruption and wrong doings in their localities. Many councillors are facing such threats and others have actually survived assassination attempts including comrade Arthur Gqeba from Saldahna in West Coast and Siyabonga Duka in Cape Metro among others. Clearly the lives of our public representatives are at risk and law enforcement needs to intervene decisively. We call on all our leaders and councillors in particular to resist being controlled and accountable to the unelected criminal networks.

Against this background, the SACP’s senior Provincial leadership will convene an urgent meeting with the Provincial Police commissioner to discuss what appears as an escalation of targeting and elimination of public representatives. We will also urgently convene a high-level meeting with SALGA to develop a security regime for councillors within the framework of the law.

SACP congratulates the ANC in the Western Cape for convening a successful 9th Provincial Conference

The Council took place immediately after the successful 9th ANC Western Cape Provincial Conference held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Delegates at the Provincial Council embraced the essence of the message by the representative of the ANC which emphasised the strategic necessity of unity within the movement and all motive forces underpinned by the cohesion of the Alliance.

Delegates further appreciated the emphasis on the need to rid the movement of regressive tendencies of money politics, regionalism, ethnic chauvinism, and factionalism in order to ensure effective renewal of the ANC in particular capable of playing a decisive role towards the 2024 general elections.

Towards 2024 General elections

The Provincial Council received a comprehensive report through the Political Report and Central Committee input about the SACP’s political programme towards the reconfiguration of the Alliance. The meeting raised deep concerns about what appears as slow pace on the work towards the reconfiguration of the Alliance whilst elections are fast approaching.

Therefore, the meeting resolved to intensify the struggle for the reconfiguration of the Alliance within the SACP, ANC, COSATU and on the ground. And as part of our own political work in the province, bilateral meetings with be convened with the ANC and COSATU to discuss important tenets of the reconfiguration of the Alliance as a precondition to win elections in 2024. Such preconditions include an approach to the general elections processes which will need an elections strategic workshop of the Alliance facilitated by experts from different disciplines to present scientific research on trends.

The current political situation in our movement and the state

Our council takes place in the midst of some major political developments in our movement and our country. Recently the Public Protector released her investigative report on the Phala-Phala matter. As the Party we reaffirm the Central Committee perspective that the investigations must run their course in full. The report found that some of the allegations against the current President have no substance in reality, however, there are some irregularities in the actions of the police.

We must remember that the Phala-Phala matter arose from the affidavit deposed by one Arthur Fraser, the former Director-General of State Security. Were his intentions innocent or was he pursuing a nefarious political agenda? Interestingly, the inquiry by the former Deputy Chief Justice relied on hearsay evidence in making its findings but now the Public Protector, after extensive investigation has seemingly exonerated the President.

The criminal investigation by the police as well as the Reserve Bank remains outstanding at this juncture. In this context, the Central Committee perspective to allow all investigations to be concluded and therefore base our positions on tested evidence remains important.

In addition, there have been concerns that the State Capture Report is not being fully implemented. Our expectation has been that many state capture beneficiaries would be dressed in orange overalls, in dark prison cells today. But the National Prosecuting Authority has not moved to arrest and prosecute those implicated. This is untenable and the law enforcement must move with speed and frogmarch the looters to jail.

Coercive neoliberal austerity measures

In our political analysis, the dominant neoliberal tendencies rely on coercive austerity measures which include fiscal, monetary and industrial austerity. Fiscal austerity includes budget cuts particularly public spending which renders workers vulnerable and defenceless against capital. Monetary austerity entails credit curtailment in the economy and interest rate hikes which results in the crisis of the rising cost of living.

Further, there is industrial austerity whose basis for existence is that of imposition of industrial peace characterised by hierarchical relations of production. The constant refusal by industry bosses to increase wages and salaries for workers despite making massive profits. Under these circumstances we ask, labour peace for who? There can never be peace under capitalism, capitalism is barbaric and violent!

South Africa and indeed the world is in a class war. We have to therefore fight on one front. It is the National Treasury that is determined to auction this country’s economic prosperity and sovereignty.

Our Provincial Council understands that the inherent logic of neoliberal austerity is to disarm the working-class and its organisations. The present neoliberal restructuring of work and workplace which gave birth to stratification of the workers and the broader working-class are hard evidence of the disarming agenda. A stratified workforce, for instance, is constitutive of two sections of workers, namely, core as permanent workers, and the precarious section of the workers (casual workers, contract workers and including Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The present form of stratification has eroded solidarity amongst workers and thus an injury to a core worker, is an opportunity to a casual worker.

Forward to the resuscitation of our Financial Sector Campaign Coalitions

As a consequence of monetary austerity measures, the working-class is drowning in debts as some are losing their properties. Therefore, we call on Banks to stop repossession of people’s property because the workers and the poor are not responsible for the present economic crisis. We also call for credit amnesty for the workers and the poor as a relief for indebted working-class families.

Against this background, the SACP resolved to resuscitate our effective Financial Sector Campaign Transformation including credit amnesty to provide relief for indebted working-class families.

Forward to the full implementation of the National Health Insurance

An important development which is a product of struggle is the recent adoption of the National Health Insurance Bill by the National Assembly which is due for concurrence by the National Council of Provinces. This is a positive development which did not fall from the sky but is a product of relentless efforts despite major opposition from neoliberal forces such as private health providers and medical aid schemes. This is a victory for the working-class and we know the right-wing forces will do everything in their power to undermine this development. We have to remain resolute and not allow our detractors to succeed.

The benefits of the NHI will ensure universal access to healthcare which is a fundamental right in terms of the constitution. This will alter the current illogical expenditure in the two-tier health system that is the well-resourced private health for a few and underfunded public health which caters for the majority. Further, this will begin a process of de-commodification of healthcare.

The SACP Western Cape Provincial Council resolved to mobilise all progressive forces in the province to stage a picketing on the day of the concurrence by the National Council of Province in support of the Bill.

Nicole Barlow’s threats on the life of Minister Gwede Mantashe a sign of an emboldened right-wing forces

The Provincial Council welcomed the decision by the SACP Central Committee to lay criminal charges against the racist and right-winger Nicole Barlow. Her statement confirmed the extent with which the right-wing forces are emboldened in this country. The targeting of Minister Mantashe is well orchestrated and is based on the fact that he is a communist and stands opposed to the agenda of international capitalist market forces and their local proxies who are hellbent to capture the energy sector for private profit.

Therefore, Minister Mantashe is facing these orchestrated attacks on the basis that he is a communist and his commitment to defend our national policy sovereignty from international capitalist market forces presents a threat to their interests. Nicole Barlow must be arrested and charged.

The worsening suffering of the working-class in the Western Cape

In the current conjuncture the working-class in the province has been battered by a cold front which caused flooding in many working-class communities with poor storm-water drainage systems. Our people are knee-deep in water-logged settlements. They are effectively displaced and their belongings completely destroyed in areas such as Paarl and Cape Metro, in particular.

The foregoing situation is precisely because the racist DA government has deliberately put brakes on housing provision and infrastructure rollout in working-class areas. This DA government continues to return money to the fiscus while people suffer on the ground. It is high time we say enough is enough! It is high time we show this anti-poor government the door!

Infrastructure is in a state of disrepair in the province due to lack of planning and maintenance of stormwater and road infrastructure networks. This deliberate neglect further compounds the challenge of lack of service delivery infrastructure particularly in underdeveloped townships and squatter camps.

An important point to underlie further is the pervasive presence of extortionist criminal syndicates that have arrested development and continue to terrorise communities in the Western Cape. The recent operation led by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the province where 900 illegal guns were confiscated from criminals point to the extent of the drive by criminals against citizens. Thus, every week victims of extortion who are trying to make their lives better get buried.

The hybrid proxy war between the West and Russia

In considering the international situation, the Provincial Council recalled Gramsci’s poignant observation which says: “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time for monsters”.

The start of NATO’s proxy war between Russia and Ukraine as provoked by the USA, set in motion the excuse to launch what we call “hybrid war”. The fundamental basis for such a war is nothing but creation of conditions for regime change agenda in Russia. The ultimate intention is to bring the Russian Federation under the collective Western imperialist control and lay the ground to wage war against the People's Republic of China.

We must condemn the United States’ aggression on other countries and intensify the call for the uplifting of the Cuban economic blockade so that Cubans can be able to freely trade with any country. Also, we must intensify our solidarity work with the people of Palestine who are oppressed by apartheid Israel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the SACP Western Cape Provincial Council appealed to the movement to summon the spirit of the United Democratic Front as we commemorate its 40th Anniversary in August this year, 2023.

In line with this revolutionary spirit, we commit to:

- Embark on working assemblies jointly with recently established COSATU locals.

- Embark on an anti-war march to the United States Embassy, and in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and against the illegal economic blockade of Cuba.

- To picket outside Sara Baartman Hall at UCT on the occasion of the graduation of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro medical graduands on 7 July 2023 calling for the National Department of Health to make laws that make it possible to select potential students from the Western Cape to be deployed to Cuba to study medicine.

- Intensify any attempt to make the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) a new form of cheap labour. Therefore, EPWP to become permanent employment opportunities to realise the objective of the right to a decent and living wage.

- Engage the police and SALGA on the security regime for councillors facing death threats and intimidation.

Issued by Benson Ngqentsu, SACP WC Provincial Secretary, 3 July 2023