21st July 2002
The South African Communist Party (SACP) appreciates the massive media and public interest in its 11th Congress. However, we are acutely aware that what underpins some of this media exposure is often an agenda which seeks to drive a wedge in the SACP and the alliance as a whole. Today's editions of the Sunday Times and the City Press fail to inform the South African public about the issues which the SACP congress will address. As a matter of fact, over the last four weeks, the Sunday Times has made it its core business to spread conspiracies about the SACP in an attempt to hopefully create a sense siege in the SACP first and foremost, and in the alliance as a whole.
The Sunday Times misleads the public with a front-page article ANC top brass to walk SACP plank without any substantive content elaborated in the article to actually justify such a headline. As if the headline was not enough, the article goes on to deliberately misrepresent SACP positions to the effect that:
For the record, SACP positions in this regard are:
As if not to be outdone by the Sunday Times, the City Press completely misunderstands the content of its interview with SACP Deputy General Secretary, Jeremy Cronin, and SACP congress discussion documents. In doing this, the City Press article displays a thorough lack of grasp and ability to present complicated discussions in a simple way to the public. In its interview with the City Press, the SACP underlined that it is a party of the workers and the poor aligned with the ANC which is a multi-class formation. This implies that there are other class forces in our broad movement. On many issues, as the SACP and the broad working class forces, we will agree with other class forces and on other issues we will not agree. This perfectly healthy and normal in the broad movement led by the ANC. The aim of the SACP and the broad working class movement will be to ensure that the working class, its interests and programme remain dominant in the ANC.
This basic and long-standing approach of the SACP was today reduced by the City Press to pinpoint individual ANC members as capitalists, etc.
The SACP congress is about reviewing progress and achievements made, and challenges which have arisen since 1998. The draft political programme of the SACP emphasises the mobilisation of our people led by the ANC based on refining and elaborating a growth and development strategy in order to grow our economy and meet the basic needs of our people. The key question for the SACP Congress is that of how do we build on our successes and continue driving popular campaigns and a working class programme. This is what the Sunday Times and the City Press have failed to report to the South African public. We call on the Sunday Times and the City Press to allow the SACP its right to reply to these articles.
The SACP calls on its members and guests to the congress not to play to this agenda and to focus on the core tasks of our congress.
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel 011 339 3621
Fax 011 339 4244
Cell 083 651 0271
Email mazibuko@sacp.org