KZN SACP’s Themba Mthembu publicly supports ANC in upcoming elections
Senior South African Communist Party (SACP) member in KwaZulu-Natal, Themba Mthembu, has chosen the ANC over his party and said he would actively campaign for the ANC in the upcoming local government elections.
Mthembu, a former SACP provincial secretary and Cabinet MEC, has heeded the ANC’s call on members with dual ANC-SACP membership to choose one party over the other.
On Thursday, Mthembu said he has made up his mind and decided to choose the ANC rather than the SACP, which he once led in the province.
He stated that his decision was informed by the Black Republic Thesis of 1929, where the SACP took a decision to contest the state power under the ANC banner, adding that this was also confirmed in 1994 during the first democratic elections.
“The ANC is right when it says we must choose between it and the SACP. It will be practically impossible to campaign and vote for two parties; that’s why I support the ANC’s call. I have decided to side with the ANC,” said Mthembu.
He further stated that he is happy things have turned out this way and feels vindicated because his provincial executive committee was disbanded after questioning the practicality of the SACP’s resolution to contest elections independently from the ANC.
“I feel vindicated. We were disbanded because we questioned this decision. We always knew it was not going to work. Look at where we are now,” said Mthembu.
He is the second senior member of the SACP in the province to dump the SACP for the ANC after James Nxumalo, former SACP provincial chairperson, accepted the ANC appointment to lead its election campaign as the provincial coordinator.
The ANC’s decision has caused a major rift with its revolutionary alliance partner, the SACP, which is completely rejecting the call and instructing its members to ignore it, even as others choose to side with the ANC.
In last week’s special national executive committee meeting, the ANC resolved that while keeping the alliance was important, it would not be practically possible for members holding dual membership to both campaign for the two parties.
It directed those members to choose one party they will campaign for, and asked them to submit letters within 10 days to Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula stating which side they choose.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, both parties traded strong words against each other in separate media briefings.
In the SACP media briefing, its Secretary-General Solly Mapaila fired a salvo at the ANC, accusing it of being a stooge of the capitalists, while Mbalula, on the other side defended his party, saying it would never get into mudslinging with the SACP because it respected the alliance.
Mbalula said the ANC understood the SACP’s reason for contesting the elections independently because it wants to destroy capitalism and bring about socialism, which the ANC is not supporting.
“The ANC is a multi-class organisation, and when we say members holding dual membership must choose, we are being enemical, it is because you can’t serve two bosses, so you must choose one. We can’t be like the SACP general secretary, who calls us stooges of the capitalists and all names,” said Mbalula.
