The strident tune of a one-man band

[Sithembewena tsembeyi]

The strident tune of a one-man band

RAPULE TABANE: POLITICS - Aug 01 2011 14:43.

 One of the many casualties of a spat with South African Communist Party 

general secretary Blade Nzimande wrote this parting shot: "You have won the 
party. Your victory is complete. I am not planning to settle scores or 
planning a guerrilla war. You and all those around you have won. 

You're the most politically savvy, intellectually advanced and, of course, 
powerful in the SACP. In my defeat, I accept all of this and this war is 
over for me. But I would like you to know that you and all those loyal to 
you are not the SACP. For what it's worth, we are all the SACP." 

These deeply felt and bitter words were written by former SACP Gauteng 
secretary Vishwas Satgar in 2006 as he was leaving the party after clashing 
with Nzimande. He had sent copies to Nzimande's chief allies -- national 
organiser Solly Maphaila and Young Communist League national secretary Buti 
Manamela. 

Satgar and others, including Mazibuko Jara, deputy national ­secretary of 
the Young Communist League at the time, were among the activists who were 
questioning the strategic political wisdom of supporting Jacob Zuma, then 
ANC deputy president, after he was fired from the government and while he 
was fighting rape and corruption charges. 

I recall these events because, as the party celebrates its 90th anniversary 
on July 30, the intolerance and unnecessary crackdowns continue to blight 
what has been a great 20 years since its unbanning in 1989. 

One of the few growing communist parties in the world, the SACP has much to 
be proud of. One of its recent victories include returning to the table the 
issue of willing buyer, willing seller, at the land summit. Its financial 
campaigns also led to the Mzansi bank account for poorer people and it can 
take credit for the debates that led to the creation of the National Credit 
Act. I have a personal recollection of how the party helped the ruling party 
when it "infiltrated" the people of Khutsong's struggle against the ANC and 
essentially put their votes into "an SACP trust account" until the 
demarcation issues were sorted out. 

So why must I be a spoilsport at celebration time by harping on the 
negative? Because this week I discovered that of the top five officials 
elected by the SACP's Gauteng congress about four years ago only one still 
occupies his position. The others have either been suspended or removed from 
their positions, and one has resigned. This is disturbing, considering the 
province is one of the few that has perpetually challenged the party's 
national office. The provincial conference is long overdue and the suspicion 
is that a "clean-up" is taking place in advance of it. 

Gauteng provincial secretary Zico Tamela, who has been banned from holding 
any leadership position, is remembered as the man who meekly tried to 
challenge Nzimande at the 2007 conference and failed. Provincial chairman 
Nkosiphendule Kolisile, a long-time critic of Nzimande, was recently 
suspended in what resembled the use of a hammer to kill ants. 

Deputy chairwoman Meisie Sekaledi resigned because of her unhappiness with 
organisational issues. Treasurer Alfred Nkabinde was removed by the 
provincial executive committee. Only deputy secretary Jacob Mamabolo who 
remains in his post -- the rest of the posts are filled by acting 
incumbents. 

Is this a mere coincidence? And how do we explain a similar situation in 
Limpopo, where the party's provincial leadership was getting closer to the 
Julius Malema-Cassel Mathale grouping and subsequently "disbanded"? 

The SACP has not spared its youth either, suspending about seven members who 
were part of a group that tried to oust Manamela at their conference late 
last year. Apart from the beleaguered Inkatha Freedom Party no other 
political party has suspended or expelled leaders this often. 

I respect Nzimande for his razor-sharp intellect, fearlessness and 
streetwise combativeness. I respect his commitment to shaking things up and 
jolting people from their comfort zones to fight for the poor. We owe him a 
debt of gratitude for breaking rank and challenging former president Thabo 
Mbeki, who was presiding over an increasingly sycophantic ANC leadership. 

But Nzimande can do with a bit more openness, tolerance and an accommodative 
attitude to intellectual rivals. He should be open to taking criticism on 
the chin. 

A popular mantra among progressive forces all over the world is former 
Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong's "Let a thousand flowers bloom, 
a hundred schools of thought contend" -- and so it should be. 

Nzimande risks being remembered as the man who brooked no dissent and who 
crushed opponents in a desperate bid to remain in power. And he should 
remember that when the bell tolls for such leaders, the result it will not 
be pretty.

Source:http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-01-the-strident-tune-of-a-oneman-band 

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Hasta Siempre la comandante

Sithembewena Tsembeyi

Socialismo o Muerte...

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