‘It’s insulting’: SACP pleads poverty amid rumours it’s funded by Russia or China
· Citizen
The general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Solly Mapaila, has denied that his party has decided to contest elections without the ANC because it is being funded by foreign governments.
Mapaila briefed the media on Thursday in Johannesburg in response to what he described as a threat by the ANC to their members who hold dual membership of both parties.
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The ANC has given a directive for all members with dual membership to publicly declare which party they will campaign for. Those who fail to declare are expected to face punishment from the ANC, although it is not clear what the punishment will be.
Foreign funding
“We are clear about that. We have no money from Russia or China, it is even insulting to say that… We have no relations with the Russians to an extent that we can receive money from Russia.”
Mapaila said the SACP “likes” the Chinese government but denied that it is receiving money from the country.
“We are struggling ourselves. For instance, we just postponed our People’s Red Caravan in the Free State because we did not have money. How stupid is that? We did not have money, that is why we postponed it.”
‘Living from hand to mouth’
However, Mapaila said, like all political parties, the SACP receives money from donors and through fundraising activities.
“The most important thing is donations from our members and from the trade union movement. It’s not even big,” he said.
He described the SACP as “living from hand to mouth”.
“But we survive, we are a part of the working class, we survive… We are not a party of money, we are a party of progress for the working class,” he said.
Congress decision to run against ANC
Mapaila has also been accused of being personally responsible for the SACP contesting against the ANC in the upcoming local government elections, but he denied that it was his personal decision.
He said the SACP understands the gravity of the decision its congress took in 2022 to contest elections independently. However, he said the party has been in discussions with the ANC since then.
“The SACP decision to contest elections should have started six months after our congress in 2022. We were given a deadline. The first thing we did after that was to meet with the ANC.”
Mapaila said the party decided to avoid contesting the 2024 elections and contest the 2026 local government elections to give the alliance space to discuss its reconfiguration.
He said even though some ANC leaders had become hostile and even accused the SACP of trying to “liquidate” the ruling party, they remained faithful and campaigned for the ANC in 2024.
He described the SACP’s decision to contest elections as a “tactical issue” that can always be reconsidered at its next congress.
Instruction to dual members
He said the SACP had told its members not to leave the ANC because it is the instrument of the oppressed people of South Africa.
“We have to rescue it; we have to rescue the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and get this leadership to understand the damage they are causing to themselves too.
“We will still maintain the necessity for dual membership with the conditions of our country,” he said.
However, he said the SACP still maintains its independence.
Mapaila said the party has not received communication from any of its members wishing to resign following the ANC’s directive for dual members to choose between the SACP and the ANC.
He said SACP members who are deployed to government should not leave their positions because they are ANC members too.
He said the SACP will not respond in a hostile way to the ANC’s ultimatum. Instead, he said they will redouble their efforts to ensure it becomes victorious in the upcoming local government elections.
“The answer to intimidation is not paralysis, it is organisation. Every branch must strengthen local campaigning, must contact voter engagement,” he said.