The New Age Newspaper ( *Comment & Analysis*) ‘Wholesale propaganda’ a recurring SACP challenge
*Castro Ngobese* The venomous letters penned by bogus “Letters to the editor activists” flooding various editors’ mailboxes constitute an unwarranted attack on SACP Central Committee member and Limpopo finance MEC, David Masondo. My suspicion is that these attacks are either through wholesale purchase of the propaganda to discredit Masondo, or that these pieces are sponsored from within. Firstly, Masondo represents a vibrant new generation in the SACP and the struggle for an alternative socialist South Africa. This can be confirmed by his popularity in the SACP and the national liberation movement as a whole. At the last SACP national congress in Port Elizabeth, he received the highest number of votes in the election of the committee, making him an essential part of a collective of the SACP and its politburo. It is the very same politburo that has provided strategic perspectives and campaigns, which have led to the growth of the SACP. No individual leader can claim ownership or responsibility for this success. Secondly, there is no shred of evidence that Masondo is opposed to the general secretary, Blade Nzimande, serving in Parliament. What he did was to caution the SACP not to undermine its extra parliamentary work at the expense of its historical mission of building a socialist South Africa, and confront the contemporary challenges faced by the working class post 1994. History is littered with examples of the negative impact of unstrategic deployments on the SACP, including the former general secretary Charles Nqakula having to be replaced when the party was on the brink of collapse due to a leadership vacuum. The recent outcry by the trade union movement, particularly Cosatu, is indicative that the party is now being confronted with a similar challenge it faced 11 years ago under Nqakula. Thirdly, we have seen periodic protests in some parts of the country, mainly led by the working class demanding change and service delivery in the absence of the SACP and similar waves of protests by workers at the point of production for equal distribution of wealth. The party has relinquished its frontline and vanguard role in these struggles. Fourthly, to accuse Masondo of being in the pockets of the ANCYL “African chauvinists” is the worst form of lumpenism. The question of nationalisation and ownership of the strategic sectors of the economy is in fact the historical programme of the SACP. The ANCYL’s call is being rejected because of paranoia and ridiculous conspiracy theories. Fifthly, it is bizarre to expect Masondo to pursue a “radical socialist programme” in Limpopo as this is tantamount to spitting in the face of the ANC. As communists, we should respect the ANC’s confidence in their continued deployment of party activists to serve in the state in the interest of the working class. The conditions for a socialist South Africa will be informed by the material conditions on the ground and the seriousness of the working class to overthrow the bourgeoisie dictatorship and replace it with the working class hegemony. More than ever, this requires strong leadership and commitment from the SACP to galvanise and lead the working class around the struggle for socialism. What is important now is to strengthen the party to be rooted among struggles of the working class – be it struggles to reverse the unemployment rate, skyrocketing prices and declining standards of living, deepening inequalities, our failing health and education systems, and the struggle for a new economic path as reflected in the Freedom Charter. It will be important to remind you of the words of wisdom by comrade Chris Hani, who said, “A new South Africa would be meaningless if the problems of the millions of poor people were not tackled. The perks of a new government are not really appealing to me. For me what is important is the continuation of the struggle – and we must accept that the struggle is always continuing.” If Hani were to wake up for a day from his resting place in Dawn Park, he would be sorely disappointed by some of his comrades with whom he has served. *Castro Ngobese is former national spokesperson of the Young Communist League.* Sourced: http://www.thenewage.co.za/blogdetail.aspx?mid=186&blog_id=%20381 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
