The meeting considered Political and Organisational reports, which served as the strategic guide in the political and ideological deliberations by the Party leadership. The meeting had robust and frank discussions on the developments within the spectrum both globally and nationally, the discussions were anchored on an honest assessment of the strength and weaknesses of our party as an instrument at the hands of the working class.
Internationally
The financialised capitalism has produced a situation of the majority of humans living under conditions of extreme poverty, hunger, homelessness and diseases. The global capitalism is inherently constituted by a persistent inequality - of massive global wealth and income inequality, oligarchy, rising authoritarianism and militarization. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more than 61 million jobs have been lost since the start of the global economic crisis in 2007/2008. This means an estimated of more than 200 million people are currently unemployed, globally.
Nationally
Our meeting was convened at the time our country is confronted with tough times of a limping economy, the country entered into a technical recession during the second quarter of 2018 following two consecutive quarters of negative growth. These realities have bearing on the socio-economic conditions of the South African working class.
The meeting noted with great concern the mushrooming reckless calls for the privatisation of the strategic state owned enterprises. The SACP rejects these attempts to privatise state owned enterprises for it is just a knee jerk solution to systemic and structural challenges. The attempts of back door privatisation is as the results of a subtle re-emergence of the 1996 class project into strategic decision making echelons. To this end, the SACP will mobilise workers and the poor to confront this phenomenon and wage a struggle for building adequate state capacity capable of responding to the aspirations of South African working class.
The meeting observed that the working people in our country continue to subsidise the rich and in many occurrences pay for the sins of the parasitic bourgeoisie that have looted our state coffers and state institutions in the past few years. We reject the consistent proposed solutions by some sections of the government leadership to the problems confronting our government and state apparatus as retrenchments and cutting down on the wage bill while Executives in the State Owned Enterprises continue to receive perks of bonuses and other related benefits that are of huge costs to the tax payer.
We firmly join the millions of workers who correctly stand opposed to the retrenchments, privatisation and the commodification of basic needs. This moment requires the SACP to consolidate the left forces in the immediate. To this end, the meeting resolved that the Party will mobilise the broader working class and other progressive social forces to take on these campaigns such as the intended retrenchments of SABC workers.
Provincially
The party is of the firm view that there is a need for the leadership of the alliance to be more focused on unifying the alliance in action, for it to be able to lead the transformation of the lives of the Eastern Cape populace. We are of a considered view that the functioning and unity of the revolutionary alliance should be reflected on how we respond to the socio-economic challenges of the people and not be about how leaders relate. It is in this context that the alliance leadership should be unified in attending to all identified hotspots as part of reconfiguration of the alliance from below.
The SACP is of the view that as part of the strategic response to the apartheid spatial planning which kept large part of the Eastern Cape under developed, the ANC alliance led government should consider establishing an infrastructure development agency. Such an agency would be seized with the responsibility to build the road infrastructure as part of consolidating affordable integrated public transport and many infrastructural needs of the province. Such an institution would have to ensure that it ends the outsourcing of infrastructure development.
As the SACP, we note and welcome the court judgement on the renewal of the employment contract of the City Manager of the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality in Joe Gqabi. The court decision not to automatically renew the contract of the Municipal Manager in the Walter Sisulu Municipality provides a necessary clarity that all posts of Municipal Managers ought to be advertised once expired and a process of a competitive recruitment be followed as per the Municipal Systems Act.
The SACP noted the developments around the proposed mining at Xolobeni in the Alfred Nzo District. The SACP fully support the people of Xolobeni in their position as it relates to the proposed mining. We are of the firm view that any development should be anchored on the will of the people and not imposed upon the people by the leadership, and that there ought to be consideration of all factors including the environmental impact of the proposed mining.
The SACP District in Alfred Nzo will continue to work with the people of Xolobeni in their resolve to reject the imposed mining. The Party has learnt that there are allegations of criminality, intimidation to enforce acceptance of the proposed mining. It is in this context that we are calling upon law enforcement authorities to conduct an investigation into veracity of those allegations and appropriate action to be taken thereof.
The SACP is calling for insourcing of the security services in all the government departments, including the ministerial residence in the Eastern Cape as part of detenderisation of the state and building the state capacity to adequately deliver services to the people.
The meeting noted that our province is one of the leading provinces in terms of the reported forms of gender-based violence incidents directed on women, it therefore resolved that the Party structures take up campaigns to this front. The SACP fully supports the COSATU Day of Action against gender-based violence and calls on all its members and supporters to join the COSATU planned activities.
The PEC meeting expressed its dim view on the recent announcement by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) to spend more than Eight Million Rands on the festive season entertainment. The decision is insensitive and borders on recklessness considering the adverse poverty, rising unemployment and squalor conditions confronting the people in the area. It is our considered view that the leadership at all times should put the people and the delivery of the services at the centre of the decision making process.
Conclusion
The SACP PEC meeting adopted a clear program of action for the year 2019 buttressed on the consolidation of the left popular front of progressive forces. We closed our meeting in high spirit, once more committing ourselves as the leadership and membership of the party to work tirelessly in the struggles of the people.
Everything for the revolution and nothing against it!
Issued by the SACP Eastern Cape
Contact:
Siyabonga Mdodi
SACP Provincial Spokesperson
Mobile: +27833588070
Email: simdodi@gmail.com
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