Gwede Mantashe removed from SACP central committee: Here's why

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has confirmed that African National Congress (ANC) national chairperson Gwede Mantashe is no longer a member of its Central Committee, after missing multiple meetings without apology.

However, the party clarified that Mantashe remains a member of the SACP.

Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Sunday, SACP First Deputy General Secretary Madala Masuku said Mantashe was removed due to non-compliance with the party’s constitutional requirements.

“Yes, it’s true that comrade Gwede Mantashe is not part of the Central Committee anymore. But he is still a member of the party,” Masuku said.

He explained that the SACP constitution states that members of the Central Committee who fail to attend more than three consecutive meetings without valid reasons or formal apologies are disqualified from continuing in their roles.

“Comrade Mantashe consistently missed meetings. When spoken to, he explained he was dealing with a complex situation within the ANC. We understood that. But the issue was that he was not sending any apologies,” Masuku said.

He added that the party made attempts to persuade Mantashe to stay engaged, but the efforts were unsuccessful.

“Even after several attempts to persuade him, there was no change. As a party, we are taught to respect the collective. Because he did not honour that principle, the Central Committee had no choice but to release him so that he could focus on his responsibilities in the broader liberation movement,” said Masuku.

The SACP said that Mantashe's roles as ANC national chairperson and Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources within the Government of National Unity (GNU) leave him with little time.

“He has a lot of challenges in the liberation movement and in government. Let’s give him that space…but this was not a political purge. We don’t operate like that,” Masuku said.

The decision to remove Mantashe comes amid growing tensions between the SACP and its long-time ally, the ANC.

The SACP recently confirmed that it will contest the 2026 local government elections independently and will not support the ANC.

The party has been openly critical of the ANC’s decision to enter into a GNU with the Democratic Alliance (DA), which the SACP argues does not represent the interests of black South Africans and the working class.

According to reports, Mantashe’s removal was influenced by broader disagreements over ideology and electoral strategy. 

However, the SACP has insisted that his dismissal was purely procedural.

On Saturday, IOL News reported that SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila criticised the ANC’s "arrogance" and failure to take the alliance seriously.

Speaking at the Central Committee meeting in Braamfontein, Mapaila said the decision to contest elections independently was made at the party’s national congress - and is irreversible, even by him or the Central Committee.

“We had an opportunity to manage things differently, but the ANC was arrogant. Even in meetings, they didn’t take our proposals seriously,” Mapaila said.

He said the SACP had been pushing for a “reconfiguration” of the alliance with the ANC and COSATU since 2019 - calling for a more equal, respectful partnership, but those calls were repeatedly ignored.

“They accused us of trying to destroy the ANC just because we wanted to change how we work together. That shows they weren’t serious about the alliance,” he said.

Mapaila admitted that contesting elections will be financially challenging for the SACP.

“We don’t have money, and that’s the reality. But we’ll still run. The people will respond to this challenge. We’ll focus on community-based campaigns,” he said.

He said the communist party remains optimistic that support from working-class communities will help the SACP make electoral gains, even without significant funding.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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