/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Mpumalanga held the augmented Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting on 6 June 2021. The meeting was attended by SACP Central Committee members, PEC members, district executive committee members, YCLSA, sub-district secretaries and COSATU leaders.

The meeting engaged on a variety of political and economic issues facing our people in the province and the country, in particular the COVID-19 resurgence and the ongoing economic meltdown worsening the triple crisis of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

The PEC believes that the neo-liberal approach adopted by the National Treasury including austerity measures are worsening the already bad economic situation. The PEC calls on the President to heed the call to have a state led recovery plan anchored on a massive investment in economic infrastructure development, skills development for young people and re-industrialisation through state led local procurement. The PEC also calls for measures to be put in place to direct private sector procurement to prioritise locally produced goods.

The PEC calls for the implementation of the basic income grant as part of a social security net to cushion against rising poverty and food insecurity facing many working-class communities.

The PEC condemns the reckless union bashing behaviour of the state in reneging from implementing the three year wage agreement and the current heavy handed approach to wage negotiation with public sector unions.

The PEC rejects the opportunistic and divisive behaviour of the so called “RET” forces, whose objective is to undermine the unity of the movement and derail the renewal process adopted by the Nasrec Conference.

The PEC calls on the national leadership of the Alliance to conclude on the process of reconfiguration of our Alliance in order to effectively respond to contemporary challenges facing our revolutionary movement, the working class and the masses of our people.

The PEC believes that the unity of all the Left forces, in particular worker unions, is critical to the implementation of the radical socio-economic transformation which can decisively change the colonial and apartheid economic architecture which is the chief reason for the continued inequality and exclusion of the majority of our people from economic participation and ownership.

The PEC calls on all our people to participate in all processes of the upcoming local government elections as part of their civic responsibility and an opportunity to elect their preferred local leaders and further call on the masses of our people to vote for the ANC headed people's Alliance.

The PEC calls on our comrades in the ANC to abandon slates politics inspired by formalised factionalism for the upcoming conferences in the province. Instead, efforts must be channelled towards the renewal process and building a consensus which will unite the movement and strengthen its capacity to implement the national democratic revolution and create an environment for building a better life for all our people.

International

The PEC condemns vaccine nationalism particularly by rich western capitalist countries whilst most countries are struggling to vaccinate their citizens due to unavailability of Covid-19 vaccines.

The PEC further condemns the savage bombardment of Palestinians by the apartheid Israel state. Apartheid Israel’s attacks on Palestine killed women and children, destroyed important infrastructure as part of collective punishment for the resistance against Israel’s illegal occupation and land grabs in Palestine.

The PEC calls on the South African government to support the democratisation of Swaziland and end the disastrous feudal system which continues to deny democratic rights to the people of that country.

Issued by SACP Mpumalanga