-
[File photo] ANC veteran Joel Netshitenzhe
African National Congress (ANC) veteran Joel Netshitenzhe says the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) need to negotiate to stop the SACP from contesting elections alone.
Netshitenzhe, who was the keynote speaker at the ZF Matthews Memorial Lecture in Kimberley, Northern Cape, says the SACP is leaving the ANC when it’s at its lowest.
The SACP announced earlier this year that it will contest local government elections on its own.
Netshitenzhe believes that the SACP contesting elections alone will lead the ANC support further eroding.
“It is at this moment when we are being targeted by white racists, in South Africa, and some of these racists in the US. At this moment when there are major challenges to service delivery that we have to deal with. At this moment, when the ANC has to strengthen its political education and strengthen its renewal efforts, it is not the moment for communists to part ways with the ANC.”
The ANC saw a major electoral loss during last year’s elections, forcing it into a Government of National Unity (GNU) with nine other parties.
Netshitenzhe believes this is due to the ANC losing the trust of the electorate, and with it the hope they had of a better future.
Netshitenzhe has described the GNU as merely a detour in the ANC’s journey. He believes getting the basics right will see the ANC regaining lost ground.
