SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila needs no reminder that talk is cheap in South African politics. If he stands by his word, then it should be followed by action.
Otherwise, his lambasting of alliance partner the ANC becomes nothing but more rhetoric.
Mapaila called out the ANC for ‘selling out’ and opting to enter into the so-called Government of National Unity with the DA while overlooking like-minded parties such as the EFF.
“The day after the elections were announced, we met as the alliance secretariat (and) said at this moment the critical point is that the liberation forces must secure political power.
“We anchored this on the basis not with the neo-liberal forces of the DA and not with the counter-revolutionary forces of MKP. In that process we were then left with engaging possibly (with) the forces of the EFF and others to set up a minority government.
“I took the initiative, I called the EFF, I had several meetings with them. I went to meet comrade Floyd (Shivambu) the day after I buried my brother. I went to the ANC, it was back and forth begging people to focus on the possible revolutionary path.”
Those following the ANC and its alliance partners would have seen this movie unfolding before. At some point the SACP had even considered abandoning the ANC to contest the elections.
The SACP knows very well that moaning in public about the gaps between itself and the ANC is not going to change anything. Why would it act now when it did not action its threat to challenge the party at the polls? It first made this threat in 2007.
Unless the SACP follows its word with action, it will continue being irrelevant in the alliance. But it won’t take any action because it also benefits from the ANC being in power.
The ANC has the upper hand and it has repeatedly demonstrated, especially during the Ramaphosa era, that Cosatu and the SACP do not shape its direction.
So Mr Mapaila, unless the SACP is prepared to demonstrate to the public that it means what it says, it will continue being that alliance partner that complains about being left out.
Cape Times