By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) commemorated the 30th anniversary of the passing of struggle stalwart comrade Joe Slovo at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto.
Slovo, a prominent anti-apartheid leader and the first General Secretary of the SACP after its unbanning in 1990, is celebrated for his contributions to the liberation struggle against apartheid.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, alongside SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila and Cosatu leader Duncan Luvuno, paid tribute to Slovo’s contribution as an anti-apartheid activist and one of the architects of South Africa’s democracy.
Ramaphosa said the ANC and SACP needed each other, arguing that one without the other would weaken the National Democratic Movement.
He said splinter parties had weakened the ANC, adding that if the alliance is serious about winning state power it has to be united.
If we walk separately, we must then accept that state power is going to be diffused and will no longer reside in the mass democratic movement.”
He said the government was committed to changing the lives of South Africans but admitted that hurdles including corruption had hampered this ambition. The liberation movement needed to revive the culture of political thought and understand political, social and cultural forces that shape society.
The alliance had to demonstrate intellectual honesty that characterised the work of Slovo. Ramaphosa said Slovo understood the value and task to liberate the people of SA and did not try to elevate his own status.
Today we find ourselves in an environment where positions of responsibility are often affiliated with access to power and resources. We have unwittingly elevated the status of responsibility within the state to the detriment of building our movement as a powerful instrument for social and economic change.”
He said Slovo’s exceptional attribute was his ability to appreciate changing conditions during the struggle and anticipate the need for new approaches.
The deteriorating relations between the ANC and the SACP have been expressed by Mapaila who has claimed that the party was not properly consulted in the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Mapaila did not shy away from criticising the Democratic Alliance (DA), labelling them as ‘hyenas gunning to finish off the ANC’.
He warned Ramaphosa of the potential threat the coalition poses to his party’s stability.
“We are aware of the reversals that are taking place at the strategic level,” he said, expressing that the struggle against poverty is a significant challenge for the ANC.
Mapaila asserted that the SACP remains committed to contesting the 2026 local elections independently from the ANC, emphasising that this decision is aimed not at weakening the alliance but at strengthening it.
“We want working-class representation, that’s why we are contesting the 2026 elections,” Mapaila declared emphatically, reinforcing the importance of interdependence within the alliance without compromising the SACP’s autonomy.
The two alliance partners are set to hold a bilateral later this month on the matter including the over 22-year-old alliance reconfiguration debate.