PRETORIA, Gauteng — In a direct appeal ahead of the November elections, South African Communist Party (SACP) First Deputy General Secretary Madala Masuku has challenged COSATU to align its electoral support strictly with working-class interests. Speaking following a pivotal Central Committee meeting, Masuku argued that the trade union federation faces a straightforward choice between the SACP and the ANC, one that must be dictated by which entity genuinely champions the economic survival and dignity of workers.
Masuku emphasized that this decision should not be complicated for labor leaders. With workers currently grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis and rampant retrenchments, the SACP insists that COSATU must evaluate political partners based on tangible commitments to decent work. This includes demanding concrete municipal plans for prompt infrastructure service delivery, equitable land division for settlement, industrial development, and leisure, and the establishment of safe, sustainable communities.
A cornerstone of the SACP’s local government vision is the eradication of tender corruption. Masuku highlighted widespread community frustration over infrastructure sabotage, citing specific instances where water systems are deliberately broken just to create supply contracts. He asserted that municipalities must become entirely tender-free and immune to state capture, requiring councilors who actively collaborate with residents rather than dictate to them.
When pressed on the practical viability of this platform—noting that past labor movements like NUMSA struggled to translate rhetorical support into actual votes, and that current polling data shows minimal traction for the SACP—Masuku remained steadfast. He clarified that the party’s decision to contest the elections independently was not a top-down maneuver, but a direct response to grassroots pressure.
To bridge the gap between political theory and lived reality, the SACP launched the “People’s Royal Caravan.” This initiative involves party leadership bypassing hotels to live and plan directly within communities, co-creating localized solutions. This approach has yielded an overwhelming response. While the party initially anticipated contesting only a handful of the country’s 4,400-plus municipal wards, Masuku revealed the SACP is now preparing to field candidates in 4,418 wards. These candidacies are being driven by community development activists and rank-and-file SACP members specifically chosen by local residents.
Masuku expressed that the party is deeply humbled by this mandate, which comes with a strict community demand: residents expect to actively supervise their elected councilors.
Reflecting on the weekend’s Central Committee gathering, Masuku described the prevailing atmosphere as one of sober responsibility, dominated by a “fear” of failing the public. Communities have explicitly framed the SACP as their “last hope,” a designation that Masuku warned cannot be taken for granted. He stressed that wielding this responsibility requires a strong moral conscience, shifting the focus away from party ego and toward the developmental promises outlined in the Freedom Charter.
Addressing the potential fracture of the historic Tripartite Alliance, Masuku stated that if COSATU chooses to maintain the status quo with the ANC, it would expose a profound leadership vacuum within the alliance. However, he clarified that the alliance was originally founded on a programmatic commitment to total emancipation, not mere electoral convenience. He argued that true equality and the transfer of national resources to the majority cannot be achieved under a capitalist framework, necessitating that the SACP, rather than the ANC, take the lead in driving this socialist agenda.
Concluding the discussion, Masuku affirmed that there were no dissenting voices or regrets within the Central Committee regarding the decision to contest the elections independently. The party remains entirely united, driven by the conviction that the communities have spoken, and it is now the SACP’s duty to practically demonstrate how socialist principles can transform local governance.
