SACP STATEMENT ON THE RESIGNATION OF CDE SOVIET LEKGANYANE

The SACP has in the recent weeks kept its silence over a clear campaign mainly orchestrated from within our ranks in relation to the PEC of the SACP in Limpopo and the resignation of former SACP Provincial Secretary Cde Soviet Lekganyane.

We have kept our silence and did not agree to play to the media gallery given our firm belief that matters involving individual members of the SACP must be dealt with confidentially within the organisation, so that such members are not prejudiced nor dealt with in the court of public opinion.

In the last few days Cde Soviet Lekganyane has gone on a media offensive and has intensified his campaign of lies, slander and malicious distortions intended to inflict maximum damage and to create confusion within the ranks of the SACP and beyond (see Sowetan report). Since his election as Provincial Secretary in August 2008 he has never conducted so many media interviews on any single campaign of the SACP.

At no stage during the process of political engagement with the PEC of Limpopo, at least from August 2010, wherein the Central Committee raised a number of very serious concerns about the state of the organisation in that province, did Cde Soviet Lekganyane raise the kind of issues he has raised in the past four days in the media. As a former Provincial Secretary of the SACP, Cde Soviet should know better that the SACP abhors the use of political office for personal enrichment. No member of the SACP has a right to compel or intimidate any member of the SACP, ANC and COSATU to employ them or award them tenders.

In his capacity as the former Provincial Secretary Cde Soviet Lekganyane had a right to prefer disciplinary charges (and even report the matter to the police) against those who sought to use the SACP for such activities but chose not to do so.

The SACP has now formally extended an invite to Cde Soviet Lekganyane to submit to the National Disciplinary Committee the names, together with the necessary evidence, of those who sought to pressurise him to award them tenders or give them employment so that this matter can be fully investigated internally. The SACP has also invited Cde Soviet Lekganyane to submit the name of the PEC member who owns the company referred to in the Sowetan article of today so that the organisation can act accordingly.

Contrary to his claims, the SACP has actually found out in its interaction with the SACP and alliance structures in the province that our former Provincial Secretary used his office to employ SACP members in a factionalist manner and wanted to use his government office to solicit political support for himself.

The SACP's tolerance and constructive approach has been mistaken for weakness by Cde Soviet Lekganyane. Our principled decision not to comment in the media has apparently strengthened his resolve to spread further slander and conduct himself in a way that can be understood as that of a person who is hell-bent on bringing the entire organisation into disrepute. It is this that has compelled us as the SACP to come out and speak out against one of our members.

The SACP further dismisses with the contempt it deserves the allegations that the Limpopo Province is a target because of its harmonious relationship with the ANC and the ANC YL. The SACP is committed to building a strong and united alliance and would therefore never ever target any of its structures for building such relationships. Cde Soviet Lekganyane is fully aware that the issue that has arisen in the numerous consultations the National Office had with the PEC has been the perception that the SACP's political programme was subject to the whims of particular individuals in the ANC thus effectively decimating the independent existence of the SACP as the political vanguard of the working class in the province. This issue was a subject of continuous political discussion until the sudden resignation of Cde Soviet Lekganyane.

The SACP reaffirms its principled stance that matters of who should lead the ANC must be left to members of the ANC. Members of the SACP who participate in the ANC in their own right as ANC members should never do so in a factional manner.

We also wish to caution the media broadly that it must guard against being used for agendas aimed at destroying the unity of the SACP, by elements who seek to thrive on disunity within the ranks of our Party and our alliance.

The SACP will, going forward, handle all matters in relation to the resignation of Cde Soviet Lekganyane, which has been accepted by the Central Committee, internally and with the relevant dignity that we normally accord to our members.

Statement issued by the SACP, March 8 2011

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