‘Our trust has been broken’
SACP abuse must end – Nzimande
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande has accused President Jacob Zuma of betraying them.
Although Nzimande did not mention Zuma by name, this was a clear reference to the president who the party has asked to step down.
“We feel betrayed in terms of the understanding we had in Polokwane,” Nzimande said yesterday at the party’s national congress in Boksburg.
“Our trust has been broken. We can’t freely give our trust when things go haywire.”
The SACP played a vital role in Zuma’s rise to power but the party was now unhappy with his leadership style, especially his relationship with the Gupta family. Nzimande also said the SACP was tired of being abused by the ANC.
“The abuse of the SACP must come to an end,” he said.
Nzimande said the Polokwane conference that saw Zuma elected ANC president delivered a marriage of convenience. He also warned of growing authoritarianism under the Zuma administration.
“Assassination of ANC and alliance cadres often goes unsolved and an emerging pattern of intimidation is apparent. The growing authoritarianism at the top has its complementary counterpart at regional and local levels,” he said.
He also warned of the brazen abuse of presidential deployment prerogative into sensitive institutions such as SARS and the State Security Agency.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte told Sowetan that the governing party was happy that Nzimande had mentioned the way the SACP and the ANC should relate.
Gauteng premier David Makhura said: “The ANC is losing moral authority because of being tolerant of crooks.
“We can’t have radical economic transformation if the state is captured.”