By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) and South African Community Party (SACP) have agreed to set up a joint alliance consensus mechanism to speed up their reconfiguration programme.
The two parties held a bilateral meeting on Monday, led by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa and SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila.
Calls for the reconfiguration of the alliance have been on the table for several years.
The Tripartite Alliance is made up of the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the SACP.
The SACP previously threatened to pull its support for the ANC if it failed to include it and COSATU in policy decisions.
The reconfiguration of the alliance includes being consulted on who is hired or fired from the Cabinet.
Both sides discussed how domestic, continental and global developments affect the lives of South Africa’s working class and poor minority, with an emphasis on economic and social transformation to tackle the country’s challenges.
“This strategic task requires a united, strong revolutionary movement,” the parties said in a joint statement.
“We discussed the implications for the alliance and reviewed the state of the National Democratic Revolution – our shared strategy of the struggle for liberation and emancipation, through transformation and development.”
The SACP has expressed huge disappointment over the GNU, stating that it does fails reflect the historical experiences of black people.
However, the parties emphasised the need to build unity among revolutionary forces and the broader democratic movement.
“The foundation of our constructive discussions is that the ANC and the SACP share common strategic objectives defined by the National Democratic Revolution and the need to defend, advance and deepen the revolution towards completing it,” the statement added.
The bilateral meeting reaffirmed both parties’ commitment to the National Democratic Revolution and the alliance, a relationship forged in over more than a century of the struggle.
“The meeting agreed to establish a structured process to reassert the imperative of moving the National Democratic Revolution into a second, more radical phase – as part of our strategic objectives to defend, advance and deepen the revolution.”
The ANC and SACP agreed to initiate a joint alliance consensus-seeking democratic consultation, which included concerning alliance political council study sessions in economic policy, including fiscal, monetary, trade and industrial policy, and social policy.
These sessions are expected to culminate in the alliance summit later this year.
“The agreement to set in motion joint alliance consensus-seeking democratic consultation will cover – and thus take forward – the outcomes of our engagements on the reconfiguration and renewal of the alliance.”
The parties agreed that electoral strategy and tactics should be further considered by both the ANC and SACP, as well as the entire alliance.