Johannesburg – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the SA Communist Party’s special national congress in Soweto on the third day of the conference on Thursday.Other alliance partners, such as Cosatu presidentSdumo Dlamini, are also expected to address the congress of about 700 SACP delegates.
On Wednesday, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande presented his political report.
He addressed a number of issues including the media, judiciary, Marikana, the SACP’s relationship with the ANC and the weaknesses in the ANC Women’s League.
Nzimande slammed the media for being biased in its reporting of what happened in Marikana before and after the shooting of the 34 striking minerworkers in 2012, reducing it to union rivalry.
“[The] capitalist, right-wing story-line has attempted to simply reduce the tragedy to a case of intra-union rivalry – Amcu versus the National Union of Mineworkers,” he said.
“This is a replay of the old apartheid-era ‘black on black’ violence propaganda. It is a story of ‘mindless’ blacks bashing each other. We reject it outright.”
On the judiciary, which the SACP general secretary has been critical of, he said the party was not attacking it but calling for a debate.
Nzimande said the party would convene a summit to discuss the judiciary.
He has accused the judiciary of overreaching into the political sphere through its judgments.
Nzimande urged people not to use the party to settle scores with the ruling ANC.
He said those calling for the SACP to leave the alliance with the ANC and Cosatu were doing it out of frustration.
PH
