12.12.2025
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Dual member Ramathuba caught in the middle as ANC, SACP clash over election roles

8 mins



  • Dr Phophi Ramathuba.

Amid escalating tensions within the tripartite alliance, friction between the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) has sparked debate over the future of Communist Party members deployed in government by the ANC.

With the SACP set to contest the upcoming municipal elections independently, questions have emerged about which party these dual members should support on the campaign trail.

Dr. Phophi Ramathuba is one such figure at the center of this dilemma. She serves simultaneously as the SACP’s Deputy Chairperson in Limpopo and as a member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC). She also holds high office as Premier of Limpopo, an ANC deployment.

Pressed on where her political loyalties lie ahead of the elections, Ramathuba was notably circumspect.

“Where I am now, I am the face of the ANC-led government and that is an honour given to me by the ANC because I am equally a PEC member, who also grew up (through) the ranks of the African National Congress. So, I should be the face of the ANC-led government,” said Ramathuba.

Her stance, however, stood in contrast to the reality of recent by-elections in Limpopo, where the SACP directly contested against the ANC.

“We have been busy with the by-elections as the ANC in the province and of course, at the same time, the SACP has targeted Limpopo where by-elections were contested by the South African Communist Party. I can tell you we have been working very well as the African National Congress-led government hence you have seen us winning all our by-elections, because we still believe that the ANC can still lead us into the NDR (National Democratic Revolution). We are saying it is only when we arrive there that we will think let’s take our path,” she said, adding that the Cyril Ramaphosa-led party “is still the leader towards the NDR and the SACP will take you to socialism”.

The NDR, initially adopted by the SACP in 1962 to confront white minority rule and entrenched discrimination, later became central to ANC strategy when it embraced the framework in 1969. Since then, it has served as a key ideological pillar of the alliance, shaping policy in the democratic era.

When asked who “owns” the NDR today, Ramathuba maintained that it belongs to both parties.

“We were supposed to own it together. My understanding is that we own it together. We are moving together towards the NDR. It’s only towards socialism where we have probably different paths.”

She rejected claims that the ANC had abandoned the NDR’s principles—among them political and economic emancipation—arguing instead that the party has merely been slow in implementing them.

Political analyst Dr. Levy Ndou believes that leaders in dual roles, such as Ramathuba, will ultimately be forced to choose between the two organisations.

This view was echoed by ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, who told the media on Wednesday, “What we are saying is that the National Executive Committee will process the practicality of that decision (as to) how we are going to handle the Communist Party that is contesting in the elections, not in the fold of the alliance. Because it has got implications on the issue, in particular of dual membership. Communist Party members now will have to choose between the ANC and the Communist Party.”

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