South African Communist Party
Statement on the occasion of the 107th founding anniversary of the ANC
8 January 2018
The South African Communist Party, the SACP salutes our long standing historical ally, the African National Congress, the ANC for the milestone of 107 years of continuing existence reached today since its founding in 1912 on January the 8th. The ANC is the oldest existing political organisation formed in pursuit of the anti-colonial struggle, the struggle for liberation and independence on the African continent.
The SACP applauds the ANC for the success it was able to achieve – to unite the oppressed African people and for its contribution both to non-racial and non-sexist organisation and outlook in our land. The ANC has contributed to the development, beyond South Africa, of the African liberation movement in pursuit of the African revolution.
Our own alliance as the SACP with the ANC was anchored both in the anti-colonial, including the anti-apartheid, struggle, and equally important in the anti-imperialist struggle. We have fought together with zeal, side by side with the ANC as partners against oppression since our Alliance was formed after the adoption of the Resolution on the South African Question first by the Communist International following discussions at its 6th Congress held in August-September 1928. The resolution – which called for the fight for a South Africa which is a republic with equal rights for people of all races based on a democratic majority rule – was ratified within four months of its first adoption, that is, in January 1929, by the Communist Party.
Our message to the ANC on this important occasion of its 107th founding anniversary is that we should reinforce our work together with other Alliance components, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African National Civics Organisation, Cosatu and Sanco, to strengthen the Alliance through our agreed reconfiguration process to deepen the unity both of the Alliance components and the broad masses and selflessly serve the people wholeheartedly. This requires collective leadership to our shared programme of fundamental change, the national democratic revolution. Democratic consensus seeking consultation before all major policy, deployment and accountability decisions are made cannot be overemphasised as a key ingredient in building our unity of purpose and unity in action. To this end the SACP acknowledges the positive changes that have emerged since the 54th National Conference of the ANC held in December 2017.
Working together we should intensify our collective efforts to move our transition from the colonial and apartheid past and its legacy, from imperialist exploitation and domination, onto a second, more radical phase. This requires focusing more on what our people want, strengthening our collective efforts to radically reduce and ultimately end inequality, unemployment, poverty, social insecurity and monopoly of access to our natural resources, inclusive of land. The importance of radical structural transformation of our economy to eliminate both its colonial and apartheid features, free it from imperialism and end private monopoly domination cannot be overemphasised as a key strategic task.
In order to succeed, we need to deepen our efforts against, and deal decisively with all forms of corporate capture of the state and other acts of corruption both in the state and the broader economy, as well as within the ranks of our own movement. The 107th founding anniversary of the ANC occurs in the context of a period of 12-13 months since its 54th National Conference and 106th founding anniversary paved the way to what should be deepened as the era of decisive self-correction – against the background of the destructive path that was ripping not only the ANC but the Alliance and broad democratic movement apart.
The subsequent nascent achievements in dealing a blow to the capture of the state and other forms of corruption, as well as the associated systematic governance decay, mismanagement and maladministration must be irreversibly pioneered. South Africa needs successful State Owned Enterprises and the expansion of both democratic public control and social ownership in our economy IN order to challenge the stranglehold of private monopoly. All manifestations of the factional fight back reaction, including splinter groupings, must be defeated.
It is crucial to work together to embark on social mobilisation and, in this context, forge a widest possible patriotic front in defence of our democracy, constitutional achievements, non-racialism and non-sexism. The importance of strengthening all democratic mass, community-based and sectoral organisations supporting the success of the national democratic revolution and welding them together in this principled and programmatic unity cannot be overemphasised. This includes the youth and students and building a successful progressive women’s movement.
The importance of the strategic objective to end patriarchy and gender-based abuse and violence cannot be overemphasised. Tribalism, ethnicity and regionalism must equally face the might of our democratic course and thus dismantled wherever they rear their ugly heads.
Forward to selflessly serving our people wholeheartedly, forward!
Long live the ANC, a reconfigured Alliance, long live!
Issued by the SACP, 8 January 2019
