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The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State notes the ANC Free State provincial list conference held in Bloemfontein on 10 December 2018. The SACP in the province did not participate at the list conference and duly submitted its reasons for not attending the conference to the ANC leadership.
 
The SACP received feedback on the status of the work of the Provincial List Committee (PLC) at its special Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) on 9 December 2018. The PLC is charged with the responsibility to administer and implement the list guidelines in relation to the selection of public representatives. At the time the special PEC intended, amongst others, to agree on a broad framework to guide Party delegation to the list conference, the following came to light:
 
1.    There was no consolidated report for adoption by the PLC on all work performed from the start, including an account on the BGMs held, individuals nominated, objections and disputes handled, etc., in implementing the list guidelines. Such a report should be presented to the list conference with PLC recommendations;
 
2.    At the initial screening of lists where candidates were interviewed by the PLC, the SACP representative raised reservation on continuing with the process without a final list from the electoral body, IEFSA, especially in light of several conflicting lists attributed to IEFSA doing rounds in social media. Although IEFSA promised to deliver the final list, it was never submitted until the screening process concluded;
 
3.    The Provincial List Committee members, inclusive of the SACP representative were not furnished with the final list of candidates duly nominated from properly constituted ANC branch general meetings (BGM);
 
4.    The SACP received communication originating from the ANC Deputy Secretary General (DSG), in accordance with the guidelines, allocating the SACP seven (7) delegates to the provincial list conference. However, the ANC Provincial Secretary has subsequently sent a provincial letter indicating changes to the delegation, and that the SACP delegation has been reduced to two (2) delegates to the list conference.
 
In light of the absence of a list of candidates available to the SACP, a day prior the list conference and the lack of a report on the overall work of the PLC, which would have enabled the SACP to gain valuable insight to contribute, including evaluating adherence or lack thereof to the list guidelines, it became evident and impossible for the SACP PEC to formulate a framework approach to guide its delegates to contribute meaningfully. The unilateral reduction of the SACP delegation by the ANC Provincial Secretary further paralysed any possibility of effective participation by the SACP, as envisaged by the list guidelines.
 
The guidelines require thorough evaluation of the candidates in accordance with a set criterion, in order that the list conference becomes a democratic platform on which the best representatives are selected rather than a gladiatorial battle of numbers where delegates are reduced to voting fodders. The SACP felt timely availability of the above relevant information, as dictated by the list guidelines, was indispensable if the letter and intent of the guidelines and the seriousness of this process were sufficiently appreciated.
 
The SACP accordingly wrote to the PLC chairperson who is also ANC Provincial Secretary expressing reasons for its reservations, the decision not to participate at the list conference and its readiness to engagements with the ANC on this and other pressing matters.
 
 
Issued by the SACP Free State Province