Alliance partners welcome new leader
THE election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the new president of the ANC has ushered in new hope for the revival of fraught relations between the ruling party and its alliance partners, the SACP and Cosatu.
It also appears to have stopped – at least for now – plans by the SACP to dump the alliance and contest the 2019 elections against the ANC.
Tripartite alliance relations were at an all-time low in the run-up to the ANC national elective conference after the two organisations called for President Jacob Zuma to step down.
“It is no secret that over the recent period the effectiveness of the alliance has declined and the ability of the ANC to provide unifying and strategic leadership to our alliance has diminished. Organisational renewal and the strategic reconfiguration of the alliance are imperative, if we are to collectively achieve our historical mission of carrying forward a second radical phase of the national democratic revolution,” SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo said.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said the federation welcomed Ramaphosa’s election even though it was not expected.
“We welcome the new leadership of the ANC. As Cosatu we are prepared to work with the new leadership of the ANC on strengthening the alliance and implementing policies that will take the country forward,” Dlamini said.