SACP Pressures ANC to Abandon Alliance with DA Amid Growing Tensions

The SACP is demanding that the ANC sever its coalition with the DA, citing ideological differences and potential voter backlash. As tensions rise, the SACP threatens to withdraw support if the ANC maintains its alliance. The South African Communist Party (SACP) has intensified its calls for the African National Congress (ANC) to end its controversial alliance with the Democratic Alliance (DA). This demand comes amidst increasing tensions between the long-standing allies, the ANC and the SACP, following the ANC’s decision to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) with various political parties, including the DA, after failing to secure a majority in the May 29 elections.

The alliance, described by the DA’s federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, as a coalition rather than a GNU, has faced significant criticism from the ANC’s traditional partners, particularly the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). The SACP has been particularly vocal, with provincial secretary Themba Mthembu condemning the alliance as “unholy” and inconsistent with SACP values.

Mthembu warned that the SACP might be forced to pivot towards left-leaning progressive parties if the ANC continues its partnership with the DA. He emphasized that the SACP is prepared to instruct its members not to support the ANC in the upcoming local government elections in 2026 if the coalition persists. The SACP is lobbying its national leaders to take decisive action and order its supporters to withdraw their backing for the ANC.

The controversy deepened when SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila publicly criticized the ANC-DA alliance, labeling it as a move to support “white monopoly capital.” Speaking at the SACP’s 103rd anniversary celebration in Cape Town, Mapaila accused the ANC of embracing parties financed by wealthy capitalists, including the Oppenheimers and international investors.

Mapaila’s remarks prompted the ANC’s national working committee to consider disciplinary action, summoning him to the national executive committee (NEC), the party’s highest decision-making body. ANC spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi defended the GNU, arguing that the coalition aims to advance the country’s interests.

The political landscape is further complicated by recent legal developments involving former president Jacob Zuma. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed Zuma’s second attempt to overturn the dismissal of his private prosecution against President Cyril Ramaphosa. Zuma had accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory to violations of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act related to State advocate Billy Downer. Despite the High Court in Johannesburg setting aside the case, Zuma’s legal team plans to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe suggests that the ANC’s alliance with the DA is a strategic move by Ramaphosa to block coalitions involving the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Seepe argues that the ideological differences between the ANC and the DA make their coalition implausible and questions the common ground between the two parties.

As the political drama unfolds, the ANC faces mounting pressure from the SACP and other alliance partners to reconsider its alliances and strategies, highlighting the complex dynamics within South Africa’s political landscape.