PRETORIA, Gauteng — The recent NEHAWU endorsement of the South African Communist Party (SACP) for the upcoming Local Government Elections marks a seismic shift in South African politics, threatening to dismantle the historic Tripartite Alliance. Driven by deep-seated frustrations over unfulfilled labor agreements and a pivot toward market-driven policies, the labor movement’s decisive break from the ANC has prompted political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast to evaluate the ideological fracture reshaping the nation’s political landscape.
The Catalyst: Unfulfilled Wage Agreements and Working-Class Frustration
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), a prominent affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), has officially resolved to back the SACP at the ballot box. The union has declared the communist party to be the true “vanguard of the working class.”
This historic defection is largely fueled by a profound dissatisfaction with the ANC. According to the union, the ruling party angered the workforce by failing to fully implement the 2018 public service coordinating bargaining council wage agreement. The unfulfilled pact, which was supposed to guarantee crucial salary adjustments and improved conditions of service for public servants, has become the primary catalyst for this political realignment.
The Ideological Rift: Neoliberalism and the “Betrayal” of the Left
Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast notes that the working class is currently bearing the brunt of neoliberal economic policies, a reality that has sparked widespread resistance through service delivery protests. Consequently, there is a highly receptive audience for left-wing messaging.
However, the analyst points out a deep sense of ideological betrayal within the left wing of the alliance. Breakfast recalls that the left previously supported President Cyril Ramaphosa on two separate occasions, projecting him as a leader who was friendly to workers. Instead, Breakfast argues, the President has pursued distinctly business-friendly, neoliberal frameworks.
This shift is evident in the rolling back of the state and the widespread marketization of public services. Breakfast highlights the outsourcing seen across almost all government departments and the situation at Eskom, where the language of “privatization” has been softened into “public-private partnerships.” Furthermore, he critiques policies like Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), arguing that rather than uplifting the masses, they have merely succeeded in creating a large capitalist class.
Echoing this sentiment, Cosatu President Yame Mandanda has publicly stated that the ANC has drifted far too away from the working class. Breakfast concludes that the era of “class collaborationism”—where working-class and middle-class organizations work side-by-side—is failing, as neoliberal policies continue to be imposed on the vulnerable.
The Leninist Framework and the Collapse of the Alliance
To understand the gravity of this split, Breakfast explains that the Tripartite Alliance was historically bound by the Leninist model of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). Under this framework, a vanguard organization leads the revolution while the working class is prepared to eventually take over.
He notes that as recently as 2017, during a conference at Nelson Mandela University, the SACP resolved to swell the ANC’s ranks by influencing its strategic direction from within. However, Breakfast argues that capitalist interests have since entrenched themselves too deeply within the ruling party. The final straw, he suggests, was the ANC joining forces in coalitions with the Democratic Alliance (DA)—a party viewed by the left as distinctly right-wing.
Breakfast warns that if the SACP and the ANC contest the upcoming elections as separate entities, the Tripartite Alliance will effectively fall apart, as there will be no central group left to hold the factions together. He urges Cosatu to stop “walking on the fence” and decisively assert its position.
The Vanguard Question and Ground Realities
While NEHAWU hails the SACP as the vanguard, Breakfast clarifies that the SACP is not the only entity claiming this role; the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also subscribes to vanguardism as a communist party, while trade unions themselves serve as the “school of the working class.” The SACP’s specific role, he notes, is to provide strategic ideological direction.
Despite this ideological clarity, the SACP faces severe practical challenges on the ground. Breakfast identifies a significant gap between the party’s theoretical stance and the understanding of the masses. He attributes this to a historical failure in political education, noting that the left’s leadership has failed to properly instill Marxist-Leninist class consciousness among ordinary voters.
Furthermore, Breakfast criticizes left-wing intellectuals for “speaking over the heads” of the working class. He argues that while theory is essential, it must be translated into practical, daily improvements. The over-intellectualization of left-wing ideas puts the SACP on the back foot.
Ultimately, Breakfast cautions that having good ideas is not enough to win elections. The SACP must build a solid grassroots base and secure the necessary financial resources to compete. As the political landscape fractures, it will ultimately be up to the working class to decide which party can best address their daily bread-and-butter needs at the ballot box.