{"id":458,"date":"2014-11-30T08:57:15","date_gmt":"2014-11-30T08:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/2014\/11\/30\/sacp-stands-to-lose-most-terry-bell-2014\/"},"modified":"2014-11-30T08:57:15","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T08:57:15","slug":"sacp-stands-to-lose-most-terry-bell-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/2014\/11\/30\/sacp-stands-to-lose-most-terry-bell-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"SACP Stands To Lose Most – Terry Bell (2014)"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nSACP STANDS TO LOSE MOST IN UNION FRACAS
\n<\/strong>
\nby Terry Bell<\/strong>
\nPolitically, the biggest potential loser in the ongoing and increasingly bitter fracas
\nwithin Cosatu and its affiliates is the smallest member of the ANC-led tripartite
\nalliance, the South African Communist Party (SACP). That party\u2019s Medium Term
\nVision (MTV), described in some party documents as a \u201cten-year plan\u201d looks close to
\nbeing in tatters.
\nThis \u201cvision\u201d calls for the creation of \u201csocialism\u201d which the SACP describes as a
\nmixed economy, multi-class \u201c\u201ctransitional social system\u201d. It is a goal that can be
\nattained by bringing \u201call key sites of power and influence\u201d under \u201cworking class
\ncontrol\u201d.
\nHowever, since the SACP describes itself as THE party of the working class, this
\nimplies SACP control. Here the trade union movement is vital. In the the words of
\nthe MTV, \u201cbuilding working class power in the workplace is a key dimension\u201d.
\nThe SACP was particularly successful in this: until very recently, almost every
\nmember of the Cosatu executive was a party member. The same applied to the
\nleaderships of the biggest unions. Critics maintain that this is an authoritarian, \u201ctopdown\u201d
\napproach.
\nBut it has led to much of the tension and backstabbing between Cosatu leaders and
\namounts, in fact, to an acrimonious divorce between former comrades who once
\nshared the same vision. The dissidents, led by Numsa, argue that the SACP has
\n\u201cgone off track\u201d and been \u201cabsorbed into the ANC\u201d to support anti-working class
\npolicies.
\nLoyalist elements within the SACP are understandably outraged, so it is unsurprising
\nthat some of the most vitriolic attacks on Numsa have come from unions such as the
\nNational Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and the major public sector union, the
\nNational Education, Health and Allied Workers\u2019 Union (Nehawu).
\nFrans Baleni, general secretary of NUM, serves on the central committee (CC) of the
\nSACP. His Nehawu counterpart, Fikile Majola, sits on the even more powerful, 11-
\nmember SACP poliburo where he serves with Cosatu president S\u2019dumo Dlamini and
\nthe ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, a former general secretary of NUM.
\nNUM\u2019s immediate past president, Senzeni Zokwana, who this year moved into
\nparliament as agriculture minister, is the national chairperson of the SACP. He is the
\nlatest of a number of leading SACP unionists to have moved into politics at both
\nprovincial and national level. Prominent among them is SACP deputy chairperson,
\nThulas Nxesi, former general secretary of the Democratic Teachers Union and now
\npublic works minister.
\nSince parliament is obviously also a \u201ckey site of power and influence\u201d it is not
\nsurprising, given the MTV goal, that the SACP is disproportionately represented
\namong ANC MPs. This, according to Numsa general secretary, Irvin Jim, is the
\nparty\u2019s reward from the ANC for \u201cdelivering\u201d Cosatu to the governing alliance.
\nA loss of influence, let alone control, over Cosatu would almost certainly mean a
\nsevere loss of influence with the ANC, certainly in terms of parliamentary positions.
\nAs matters now stand, the SACP general secretary, Blade Nzimande, is higher
\neducation minister, while his party deputy serves as deputy public works minister.
\nAmong other SACP CC members in the national parliament are minister in the
\npresidency, Jeff Radebe, his trade and industry counterpart Rob Davies and deputy
\nminerals minister Godfrey Oliphant. One of the best known faces of the current
\nparliament, deputy parliamentary speaker Lechesa Tsenoli also serves on the CC
\nalong with former communications minister Yunis Carrim and former energy minister
\nBen Martins.
\nThe targets of the ire of this faction are Cosatu\u2019s beleaguered general secretary,
\nZwelinizima Vavi, and Irvin Jim. Both, until fairly recently, were members of the
\nSACP.
\nHowever, although the squabbles at leadership level have tended to dominate the
\nnews, the main driving force behind the turmoil seems to be the widespread demand
\namong rank and file members for a return to democratic control of the unions. This
\nwould mean a loss of influence and financial support, especially for the SACP, but
\nmight, in the longer term, make for a larger, healthier and more vibrant trade union
\nmovement.
\nTerry Bell
\nwriting, editing, broadcasting
\nspecialising in:
\npolitical\/economic analysis and labour
\nP.O Box 373, Muizenberg 7950
\nSouth Africa
\nTel: +27 +(0)21 788 9699
\nSkype: belnews \u2022 Twitter: @telbelsa
\nBlog: terrybellwrites.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}