SACP firmly opposes ANC's proposal to abolish dual membership
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila shakes hands with ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa at Cosatu's 40th anniversary event. A proposal has been made at the ANC NGC that dual membership of the ANC and SACP being removed.
Image: Cosatu/X
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has warned that it will reject any attempt to do away with dual SACP and ANC membership.
The party spoke out amid revelations that the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) has rejected dual membership after the SACP resolved to contest elections on its own.
Previously, an SACP member held ANC membership.
Mbulelo Mandlana, the SACP spokesperson, stated that doing away with dual membership is wrong.
He noted that they are aware that such a decision had taken place at the ANC's National General Council (NGC) that is currently underway, but no formal pronouncement has been made from the NGC.
He added that they will formally wait for that pronouncement to be made.
“But as the SACP, we reject any idea that the long-standing tradition of shared membership between the Trade Union, the SACP, and the Communist Party should be violated in any way. If that tradition is violated, communities will reject it,” he said.
“Our members present at the NGC are reporting to us that a discussion of this sort has been had but is still subject to commissions, and we will wait for the commission to complete that discussion before we express our opinion about the outcomes,” he added.
Mandlana added that there are serious implications if dual membership is removed as there are many members of the South African Communist Party who are also members of the ANC.