The African National Congress (ANC) has ruled that its members may belong to both the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP) but are barred from campaigning for both parties in elections.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the position was finalised after the party’s recent special National Executive Committee meeting, during which the matter was discussed with alliance partners ahead of the upcoming local government elections.
Mbalula confirmed that after a series of meetings between the ANC and the SACP, the ANC has now taken a formal stance on the SACP’s resolution to contest the local government elections as a separate party.
“We are not going to chase communists out of the ANC because the alliance is not broken,” he said. “The SACP have simply taken a decision to stand as a party in the coming local government election and that is why we are saying to our members we must not understand that as inimical or something compared to other opponents. They have taken a decision but they are not out of the alliance.”
Mbalula added that several government leaders who hold dual membership must now decide which party they will campaign for. These include current Finance Deputy Minister David Masondo, Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela and Justice Deputy Minister Andries Nel, together with many other dual membership holders. They have been given 10 days to choose a side.
“You can’t campaign for both,” Mbalula emphasised. “I can’t be [in the] communist party [in the] afternoon [and the ANC in the] morning… It’s a practical question.” He explained that dual members will not be in a position to attend meetings of both parties and cannot campaign for the SACP while serving as a minister, deputy minister, MMC or mayor.
The ANC is gunning for absolute power beyond the upcoming local government elections, Mbalula said.
He added that revelations emerging from the Madlanga Commission should serve as a lesson to both voters and political parties, citing instances of alleged “smash and grab” corruption in local government structures.
The ANC’s local government election programme will be fully rolled out in July.