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ZIWAPHI • VOL 4 NO 11 • 21 - 27 May 2010

The South African Communist Party in Mpumalanga Province held its Provincial General Council in Nelspruit over the weekend and it was characterised by some of the most militant statements to date from its provincial secretary, Bonakele Majuba.

Addressing hundreds of communist delegates, Majuba decried the lack of action in fighting corruption in Mpumalanga to the extent that the province is now made reference of, when talking of people who are killed for speaking out against corruption.

“The image of the province is tattered. We are known as a corrupt province, but the majority of the people of this province are not corrupt. Now of late we are known as killers. Patrick Craven, the spokesperson of COSATU, when asked if they are not worried about the death threats to COSATU’s General Secretary, he said they are not taking the threats lightly because in Mpumalanga people are being killed,” Majuba said.

The SACP is the first formation of the Tripartite Alliance to pronounce that the killings that are taking place in Mpumalanga province recently were politically motivated.

“I am saying these are political killings, because those who are being killed are politically active people. They don’t just pick anybody, but they select who is to be killed,” he said.

Last month, a leading SACP member, Bomber Ntshangase from Bethal was killed outside his house, while last year, another SACP member, Jimmy Mohlala, was also killed under similar circumstances. Both were very outspoken against corruption.

Majuba himself had to increase his security after it was discovered that there was a vehicle that was always tailing him, and it also was reported that province’s only directly elected member of the SACP’s Central Committee, Madala Masuku, who is also a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlements, was also followed by strange characters.

“We are made examples of as killers while the majority of people of Mpumalanga are peace-loving, but few thugs have decided to spoil the name of this province because they are politically malnutritioned,” Majuba said.

He, however, cautioned against the claims of the alleged Hit-List of political activists, that it may be used to tarnish the image of other people. He expressed concern that while its credibility is being questioned, people were being killed.

“But as we said, the problem is that people have died. So far the police are failing to come up with conclusive arrests. Prominent murders for now are unexplained. The question is, Who is killing these people? We can’t live like this in this province.”

“This province is in the spotlight, but sooner than later, those who are responsible for that thuggery will have to be arrested. They should rest assured wherever they are that they are not going to intimidate us from fighting against corruption in this province and the country,” he said.

“Something must be done in the province of Mpumalanga so that all of us can say that we want to live in peace with our children. Let us expose corruption. Let us not be intimidated by thugs, Majuba said.

Majuba also criticised those that he referred to as anti-communist elements who blamed the recent service delivery protests on the SACP. He was, however, more scathing on Julius Malema, the anti-communist President of the ANC Youth League’s.

“Julius Malema attacked the general secretary of the SACP, he called him a drunkard who is drinking red wine. He attacked the National Chairperson of the SACP, Gwede Mantashe and even threatened that he was going to be removed as the General Secretary of the ANC. He attacked the National Deputy Secretary of the SACP and called him a white-Messiah. Because he lacks content, he could not even create his own words, he resurrected Dumisani Makhaye (the late ANC NEC member who was a devout anti-communist).”

“Julius Malema attacked all communists in South Africa and called them yellow communists. You are not red, but you are all yellow, according to Julius Malema,” said Majuba.

He criticised the members of the SACP in Bohlabela district for inviting Malema to that district and called for the verification of communist credentials in that district and all the levels of the organisation.

“It is not all the communists in Bohlabela who welcomed Malema, but they are being misled by others who are indicating left and turning right. It is high time that ourselves as communists we will have to check who are the real communists. We want to swell the ranks of the ANC as the liberation movement, but we don’t want bourgeois agents to swell the ranks of the SACP” he said.

“We are going to defend the SACP and COSATU against bourgeois agents who are sent to infiltrate the SACP and COSATU,” he said.

Majuba also warned against patronage and factionalism and that those who make promises usually fail to honour them, once they occupy centres of power.

“In this province, in order to survive politically, you have to belong to a faction. Based on patronage, promises of jobs, deployment and many other political reasons. There are many people who were promised jobs before the last (ANC provincial) conference. When I meet them, they are crying. Actually they are angrier than me who was promised nothing.”

“They promise forty people jobs, while they know very well that there are ten opportunities. The whole thirty would be off-loaded. When you meet them they are singing a different tune, because they chose to think through their stomachs instead of their heads. They swapped the stomach for the head and the head for the stomach, Majuba said.”

The provincial council was also used as a platform to launch the province’s anti-corruption campaign, called the “Red Card Against Corruption”. The council identified  tenderpreneurship as the biggest threat towards the attainment of the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), the organisation’s medium term route to socialism.

The general council was also attended by Madala Masuku, a central committee member, Charles Makola and Lucky Ndinisa, ANC provincial deputy chairperson and provincial secretary respectively and representatives from the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO).