JOHANNESBURG, August 16 (ANA) – The African National Congress (ANC) was not a structure of the South African Communist Party (SACP), the ruling party said on Wednesday, adding that it would not be dictated to.
This comes after the SACP criticised the ANC on Wednesday morning, after ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the ruling party would discipline party MPs who are confirmed to have voted with the opposition parties in the motion of no confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma on August 8. The SACP called on the ANC to focus on the real problem and recall Zuma and rejected a “witch-hunt against” MPs.
ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said that the SACP statement was “extremely ill-advised” and “gravely unfortunate”.
“The ANC respects the right of all Alliance Partners to hold independent views which may differ from ours on various matters. This respect, which we expect to be reciprocal, demands that on points of divergence there is thoroughgoing engagement and where necessary an agreement to disagree,” Kodwa said.
“The ANC is not a structure of the SACP and as such shall not be dictated to, via media releases, by the SACP. As leader of the Alliance, we have consistently created platforms for robust engagement; each party has had ample opportunity to present their viewpoints and seek to influence one another in our thinking.”
He said the issues raised by the SACP have been exhaustively debated and said that it was “extremely undemocratic and arrogant for the SACP to believe its view must now be decreed”.
The ANC reject with contempt the notion that acting against ill-discipline of the worst order in its ranks is factionalism and the ruling party would not allow complete collapse of political and organisational discipline in the fear of being perceived as being factional, Kodwa said.
“While we appreciate the SACP’s position on matters relating to ANC President, Comrade Jacob Zuma, the ANC is under no obligation to act merely on the instructions of the SACP,” he said.
“The road to socialism cannot be paved with venom and obsessive politics on personalities. The ANC remains confident that the SACP will appreciate the recent National Policy Conference’s injunction to never tolerate ill discipline within our ranks and at all times, not to delay to take appropriate action to restore party discipline.”
The SACP said the ANC’s witch-hunt against MPs was a “myopic campaign clothed in the name of discipline” and was nothing but a “factionally-charged agenda”.
“Revolutionary discipline is consistent. It would have long ago decisively acted against the rot of corporate capture of the state and sections of our movement and its leaders. Revolutionary discipline would have long ago acted without fear, favour or prejudice against corruption,” the SACP said in a statement.
“It would have long ago acted against deployed office bearers, including President Zuma for making decisions without consultation. Such poorly considered decisions, taken in violation of the democratic, revolutionary discipline of our movement, plunged our country into a financial crisis.
“Our country has lost a massive amount of capital due to widespread governance decay and siphoning of public money through illicit tenders and tender practices, corruption and maladministration. This is the money South Africa direly needs to uplift the quality of life of the workers and the poor and deepen democratic transformation and national development.”
The SACP said that South Africa was plunged into recession; the cost of borrowing has shot sky-high; national debt has become worse; and inequality, unemployment and poverty remain persistently high.
The party called for Zuma to resign and if he failed to do so, the party called on the ANC to recall him and hold Zuma accountable.
“The recall of the President alone will not solve the many systemic and structural problems facing our movement and country, but it will go a long way in building the basis for solving the problems associated with his failed leadership,” the SACP said.
On August 8, Zuma survived a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly, but the result indicated that a significant number of African National Congress (ANC) MPs broke ranks to support the opposition motion.
Speaker Baleka Mbete announced that 177 MPs voted in favour of the motion and 198 against it. There were nine abstentions.
– African News Agency (ANA)
