Liu Xiangyang: The Continuously Growing and Strengthening South African Communist Party
The Republic of South Africa is situated at the southernmost tip of the African continent, possessing both the beautiful reputation of being the "Rainbow Nation" and the infamy of apartheid. From its founding in 1921, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has been dedicated to the struggle against racism. With the establishment of the Government of National Unity in 1994, the SACP, as a member of the Tripartite Alliance, became a "party participating in state management." In recent years, the SACP’s membership has grown steadily, and its influence over South African political affairs has continuously expanded. The SACP continues to consolidate and deepen the achievements of South Africa’s national democratic revolution while exploring a future path of socialist development for the country.
I. The Landscape of South Africa's Political Ecosystem
South Africa covers a land area of 1.22 million square kilometers and is rich in natural resources; its mineral wealth is world-renowned for its variety, vast reserves, and high output. As the largest and most developed economy on the African continent, South Africa’s relatively free and open economy has made it a hotspot for international capital investment. South Africa performed the world’s first heart transplant in 1967. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, South Africa began producing 20,000 non-invasive ventilators domestically in August, becoming the first country in Africa capable of independently designing and producing such equipment. South Africa’s agriculture, industry, finance, and infrastructure are highly modernized, and the country is capable of producing Cheetah fighter jets, Olifant main battle tanks, and warships, and has even possessed the capability to manufacture atomic bombs. On the African continent, South Africa truly lives up to its reputation as the "Rainbow Nation."
At the same time, the residual toxins of apartheid, the disparity between rich and poor, and various contradictions and conflicts have become the norms of South African political life. According to projections by Statistics South Africa in 2020, the national population was 59.6 million, with Black people making up the vast majority at over 80%. A poverty and inequality report released by the World Bank in 2018 showed that South Africa has the largest wealth gap in the world. The wealthiest 10% of the population holds 71% of the wealth, while the poorest 60% holds only 7%. Most of South Africa’s arable land remains in the hands of white people; making up 7.8% of the population, white South Africans own 72% of the country’s land, while Black people, who constitute 80.8% of the population, own only 4%. Having long occupied a disadvantaged position, Black South Africans today—after the abolition of the apartheid system—remain a group characterized by low assets, low skills, low wages, and high unemployment, making racial contradictions increasingly prominent. Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of the SACP, pointed out in his speech at the 19th International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties that the deep distortions within South Africa's capitalist political-economic structure include: highly concentrated capital monopolies; an economic structure based on racism that is as entrenched as the social structure of the apartheid era; and South Africa remaining a semi-peripheral commodity exporter within the global capitalist chain. The corresponding results of these structural features are that race-based unemployment, inequality, and poverty persist.
In South Africa's sixth national general election in 2019, 48 parties participated in the race, representing different races and classes. There were 26.757 million registered voters, with 17.672 million actual participants, a turnout rate that continued to decline to 66.05%. The "3+1" campaign alliance led by the African National Congress (ANC) [1] received 57.5% of the vote, though its support has continuously declined. The Democratic Alliance (DA) maintained its position as the second-largest party with 20.77% of the vote. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), participating in its second national election, received 10.79% of the vote, maintaining its position as the third-largest party in the National Assembly with a marked increase in political influence. The fourth-ranked Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) saw its support decline to 3.38%. The SACP participated in a joint campaign led by the ANC and did not have an independent vote share, but it is generally recognized as the fourth-largest political party in South Africa.
The ANC has occupied a dominant position in the South African political landscape since the democratic transition in 1994. Most Black South Africans support the ANC, first due to racial identity and second due to the ANC's achievements in improving the marginalized economic status of the Black masses. Furthermore, the support of political forces such as the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is an important reason for the ANC’s long-term governance. Before South Africa’s democratic transition, the ANC was deeply influenced by the SACP; today, the political alliance between the ANC and the SACP remains consolidated, with many SACP members holding positions within the ANC and various levels of government. However, contradictions and differences between the two have become increasingly evident, as the SACP accuses the ANC of being elitist and "living off its past glory" [2], internal factionalism, and intensified internal friction within the alliance.
The DA, the EFF, and the IFP are the three main opposition parties in South African political life. The DA was formed in 2000 through the merger of the Democratic Party, the Federal Alliance, and the New National Party; its members are primarily white, representing the interests of Boer (Afrikaner) farmers and the English-speaking white industrial, commercial, and financial sectors, though it also opposes racism. The DA has long governed the Western Cape and has gained control of many municipalities through direct governance or coalition. To dilute its image as a "white party," the DA has continuously recruited Black members, and its current party leader is also Black. The EFF was established in 2013 by Julius Malema, who formerly served as the president of the ANC Youth League and was expelled from the party due to political differences with former President Zuma. The party advocates for thorough economic liberation, such as the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks controlled by white people. The IFP is a Black nationalist party primarily composed of the Zulu people from the KwaZulu-Natal region; it has significant policy differences with the ANC and promotes a federal system centered on regional autonomy. This party once served as a bargaining chip for the white racial government against the ANC and later joined forces with the DA to participate in local elections.
The SACP maintains its nature as a socialist working-class party and has formed a political alliance with the ANC, growing in strength through the struggle for national independence and against racism. When the party’s 13th National Congress was held in 2012, there were 154,220 members; by the time the 14th National Congress was held in 2017, the number had reached 284,554. As of December 2019, there were nearly 320,000 members with numerous branches and a sound organizational structure, and a reasonable demographic composition in terms of gender and age. Data from the organizational report of the SACP’s 14th National Congress shows that female members account for 45% and members aged 20 to 59 account for 82%. The SACP believes that South Africa is a highly dependent capitalist society developed through "colonialism of a special type," and its current task is to advance the national democratic revolution with the goal of the thorough liberation of Black people.
In terms of ideology, the ANC positions itself as a "social democratic party" determined to follow the path of constitutional democracy. The DA leans toward "liberalism" while carrying social democratic colors. The EFF claims to be Marxist-Leninist and Fanonist (a form of Pan-African socialism emphasizing Black supremacy); however, after the 2016 local elections, the party joined forces with the DA against the ANC, even calling for "taking up arms to overthrow the South African government." The IFP was once a target the SACP strove to win over and unite, but because its regionalism and tribalism resist the tide of history, it has little future in South Africa. The SACP pursues class revolution and advocates for unity between Black and white comrades. Conversely, the EFF pursues a racial revolution and is a Black supremacist party that completely excludes white people. The EFF accuses the SACP of shielding white people, while the latter refers to the EFF as spokesmen for capitalist interests and calls Malema a "fascist" of (Black) racism. Within the landscape of South Africa’s political ecosystem, differing interest demands between the ruling and opposition parties, among opposition parties themselves, and within the ruling alliance make contradictions and conflicts inevitable. Real-world political life in South Africa is quite complex; it is difficult to generalize by distinguishing based on ideology alone.
II. A Review of the SACP's Century of Struggle
Having long existed in a severe and complex environment of struggle, the SACP has assessed the situation and participated in the leadership of the South African national democratic revolution with flexible strategies and tactics, maintaining a powerful influence over the movement. The SACP has strengthened its own unity and is committed to joint action among South Africa’s democratic and progressive forces, organizing a united front against racism. Prioritizing the overall situation, the SACP exerted every effort to bring about peaceful negotiations among all parties, playing an important role in the process of South Africa’s democratic breakthrough.
(i) Participating in the Leadership of the National Democratic Revolution
In 1921, several white revolutionary groups in South Africa held a joint meeting in Cape Town to form the Communist Party of South Africa. By 1928, Black members constituted the vast majority. During World War II, the SACP opposed international fascism and the fascist tendencies of the South African government, winning support from the white petty-bourgeoisie and many trade union activists, which led to a recovery of the party’s strength. In 1946, the SACP organized the Witwatersrand (Rand) miners' strike, demonstrating the great power and fighting spirit of the working class under the party’s leadership. Following the strike, the South African government arrested the SACP General Secretary and all members of the Central Committee, subjecting them to a trial that lasted two years. In 1949, the SACP participated in the South African federal parliamentary elections for the first time, and two members were elected as MPs, an event that caused great panic within the white racial government. In May 1950, the South African ruling authorities promulgated the Suppression of Communism Act, declaring the Communist Party an illegal organization. This act identified nine categories of people within the Union of South Africa, including both actual communists and non-communists, as "communists," and specifically stipulated that persons accused of communist activities were presumed guilty until they proved their innocence. From then on, the SACP lost the conditions to openly and legally conduct the struggle against racism. Facing this grave situation, the SACP Central Committee, without consulting the primary-level organizations, passed a resolution to dissolve the party; however, many members continued to engage in struggle under the cover of legal organizations such as the ANC. In early 1953, the SACP secretly rebuilt its underground organization and changed its name to its current form. The secretly reconstructed SACP adopted both open and underground methods of struggle. However, as the white racial authorities continuously increased their crackdown on the SACP, more leaders were arrested, underground organizations were increasingly disrupted, and most leaders were forced into long-term exile abroad. Despite this, the SACP maintained a strong influence over the national democratic movement. In February 1990, the South African authorities announced the unbanning of the SACP. In December 1991, the SACP held its 8th National Congress in Johannesburg—the first legal activity conducted domestically since its banning 41 years prior—marking the entry of the SACP into a new stage of development.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) participated in leading South Africa's National Democratic Movement, providing theoretical, programmatic, and tactical guidance for the South African people’s struggle against racism. Even during difficult periods of bloody suppression by the South African authorities, the SACP directly participated in leading mass anti-apartheid movements among students and workers by secretly sending Party members back to the country and establishing underground organizations domestically. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was established under the influence of the SACP; the vast majority of its anti-racist struggles were launched under the direct or indirect leadership of the SACP, its primary leaders were SACP members, and many leadership members of its affiliated industrial unions were also SACP members. In November 1962, the Fifth National Congress adopted a new Party program, "The Road to South African Freedom," which pointed out that the basic content of the National Democratic Revolution was the "national liberation of the African people (in South Africa)." In November 1979, an enlarged meeting of the Party Central Committee proposed that the Party's current task was to establish a broad front including all patriotic and anti-racist forces and to strengthen the Party's ties with the masses, emphasizing that the Party is an "essential component of the revolutionary alliance led by the ANC [3] exploring national liberation." At the end of 1984, the Sixth National Congress emphasized that the Party must integrate with the workers' movement in practical, political, and ideological terms to ensure that the South African working class "can shoulder the mission of seizing power from the bourgeoisie and further building socialism." In June 1989, the Seventh National Congress's new program, "The Path to Power," proposed strategic guidelines for eliminating national oppression and striving for the socialist struggle, emphasizing that the SACP is the political leading force of the South African working class. The Eighth National Congress pointed out that the outcome of multi-party constitutional negotiations with the white ruling authorities would not depend on the negotiations themselves, but on the respective strength of the negotiating parties. The basic guideline for constitutional negotiations was to actively create opportunities to participate in state management and seize the strategic initiative in negotiations by uniting various progressive forces. Through the programs and strategies of successive Party congresses, the SACP provided timely guidance for the development of the South African people's anti-racist struggle, inspiring and strengthening their confidence and determination.
(2) Persisting in Solidarity and Cooperation Against Racism
From its early days to the present, the SACP has been committed to the joint action of South Africa's democratic and progressive forces, organizing a united front against racism. In 1929, at the SACP's initiative, the "League of African Rights" was established; the President of the ANC served as the League's Chairman, and the Party's General Secretary served as the League's Secretary. During the period when it was banned by the white racist government, the SACP continued to unite with other progressive forces in South Africa to promote the in-depth development of the anti-racist movement. In 1955, the SACP, together with the ANC, the South African Indian Congress, the South African Coloured People's Organisation, and the Congress of Democrats (white counterparts), jointly established a united front—the "Congress Alliance" [4] movement—to collectively oppose white racist rule. The jointly drafted struggle program, the Freedom Charter, stipulated that the goal of the anti-racist struggle was to establish a representative democratic government in South Africa, ensuring that all adult citizens have the right to vote and stand for election granted by the national legislature, and achieving equality for all citizens regardless of race, color, or gender. The SACP maintains that the Party is an essential component of the revolutionary alliance led by the ANC exploring national liberation. In addition to long-term cooperation with the ANC and COSATU, the SACP also cooperates closely with organizations such as the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), the South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO), and the South African Indian Congress. Regarding the former enemy, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the SACP adopted an attitude of solidarity and cooperation rather than confrontation at its Eighth National Congress in 1991, leading the IFP to support the establishment of a new government. Furthermore, the SACP has established links with many progressive organizations abroad and developed relations of solidarity and cooperation with various social movement organizations, community organizations, NGOs, and religious organizations.
(3) Exercising Force in the Struggle for South Africa’s Democratic Breakthrough
The SACP led the ANC's "uMkhonto we Sizwe" (MK) [5], and through a combination of propaganda, agitation, and armed struggle, closely linked the SACP with radical workers and youth. In March 1960, large-scale demonstrations by Black South Africans against the Pass Laws [6] were bloodily suppressed. The South African racist government decided to use all means, including naked force, to suppress the non-violent struggles of Africans, making it impossible for peaceful and legal struggles to exist in South Africa. The ANC and the SACP were forced to consider new strategies and modes of struggle, calling for the overthrow of the South African reactionary regime through armed struggle. In February 1961, the ANC authorized Mandela to form the armed force "uMkhonto we Sizwe," whose core leadership included communist members such as Joe Slovo and Chris Hani, both of whom later served as General Secretary of the SACP. The leadership group of "uMkhonto we Sizwe" believed that "weak links" existed in South Africa and that modern infrastructure was vulnerable to sabotage—for instance, large-scale power outages and transportation disruptions would paralyze economic life. Consequently, they prioritized a "sabotage scheme." Sabotaging economic facilities, such as the organized and planned destruction of energy plants and the disruption of railway transport and telecommunications, would scare away foreign capital and inflict serious losses on the South African economy. This massive depletion of the country's economic life would undoubtedly prompt the electorate to reconsider their situation and force the white government to rethink its racial policies. With assistance from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, the combat effectiveness of "uMkhonto we Sizwe" increased significantly, launching a powerful offensive against the South African authorities and forcing the white ruling class implementing apartheid back to the negotiating table. Although the importance of "uMkhonto we Sizwe" always resided more in the political than the military realm, it nonetheless dealt a heavy blow to the reactionary apartheid forces. The national liberation movement represented by the ANC increasingly gained broad support from various domestic democratic forces and foreign progressive forces, consolidating the anti-racist social foundation for the victory of subsequent constitutional negotiations and democratic elections.
As a major force in the constitutional negotiations, the SACP played an important role. During the South African constitutional negotiations, the struggle was exceptionally intense and cruel. On April 10, 1993, SACP General Secretary Chris Hani was assassinated in front of his home at the age of 50. Hani enjoyed high prestige among ordinary members of the ANC, especially Black youth, due to his fighting spirit and radical rhetoric against the apartheid regime. After being elected General Secretary of the SACP, he participated in peace talks with the government and adopted a much more moderate stance than before. The assassination of Hani nearly triggered a civil war in South Africa, but the SACP persisted in its established policy and did its utmost to facilitate peaceful negotiations among all parties. Before the South African democratic elections, after intricate struggles, the negotiating parties finally reached an agreement on an interim constitution. In December 1993, the South African Parliament passed the interim constitution, and in April 1994, South Africa held the first equal, democratic, and multiracial election in its history, which the ANC won by an absolute majority. According to the new interim constitution, the ANC was responsible for forming a cabinet and establishing a Government of National Unity. The establishment of the South African Government of National Unity marked the complete end of more than 300 years of apartheid and the decisive victory of the South African people's struggle against racist rule, creating favorable conditions for the SACP’s revolutionary mode of striving for socialism "primarily through peaceful means."
III. Achievements and Challenges of the South African Communist Party
Since South Africa achieved its democratic breakthrough, the SACP has attained many significant achievements through practical activities such as participating in state management, leading mass movements, and assisting vulnerable groups. First, the scale of the organization has continued to expand; second, its influence over South African political affairs has steadily grown; third, it has formed a socialist theory with South African characteristics; and fourth, it has created certain conditions and opportunities for a future socialism. At the same time, the SACP faces many difficulties and challenges, primarily the widespread anti-communist tendencies in South Africa and across the African continent, the multi-layered nature of the South African working class, the weak foundation for socialism in South Africa, and the Party's own internal problems.
(1) Recent Achievements of the South African Communist Party
1. Participating in State Management For the SACP, the transition from an illegal status to a legal one, and then to participating in state management, represents a qualitative leap. Since the establishment of the South African democratic government in 1994, the SACP has become an important partner in the governing alliance led by the ANC, becoming a "party participating in state management." It plays an important role in social life and has laid the political foundation for the South African people to strive for democracy and initiate the cause of socialism.
The SACP's influence over South African political affairs is increasingly evident in its significant number of parliamentary seats, the appointment of Party members to key positions at all levels of government, and Party members joining the ANC and mass organizations in their individual capacities to hold high office. In South Africa's first democratic election and the first democratic government, SACP members held about one-fifth of the parliamentary seats; the General Secretary was elected Minister of Home Affairs in the Government of National Unity, and seven other Party members served as ministers in the central government. SACP members account for one-third of the ANC National Executive Committee, and both the General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary of the ANC have been SACP members. The current President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was once a leader in the SACP; he believes the SACP should be the "ideological leader" within the governing alliance, attracting activists with strong ideological inclinations. SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande serves as the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation in the Ramaphosa government. In December 2020, Central Committee member Dr. Mashilo was appointed as a special advisor to the Premier of Limpopo Province; the SACP issued a special statement of congratulations and encouragement, hoping he would adhere to Party principles in his work and perform every task with due diligence.
The SACP exerts influence on the ANC within the governing alliance primarily through three channels. First, it participates in the ANC's decision-making process. Many SACP members hold positions in the ANC's power and decision-making bodies; the Party requires these members to actively participate in discussions and strive to implement the Party’s line, principles, and policies. Second, it holds regular alliance summits with the ANC and COSATU to communicate and coordinate on the country's development direction and major policy principles, clarifying the Party's position. Third, it requires Party members holding positions in various levels of government and parliament to influence government decision-making through their own efforts.
The SACP exerts influence on the ANC-led government from the outside primarily through two means. First, the SACP publicly states its position on major national issues and important government policies, offering opposition or criticism to constrain and influence the governing behavior of the ANC government. Second, alongside mass organizations such as COSATU, it applies pressure on the ANC-led government through demonstrations, strikes, and mass rallies to change decisions that are unfavorable to the working class and the broad masses of the poor. Through these channels and methods, the SACP continuously expands its influence over the entire state and society.
2. Leading Mass Movements Under the leadership of the SACP, mainstream mass movements in South Africa have applied pressure on employers and the government without causing serious disruption or destruction to South Africa's economic and social life. For example, in September 2017, the SACP and COSATU launched nationwide demonstrations calling for Zuma to step down; nearly ten thousand people expressed their "demands" through singing and dancing.
Labor strikes have become an integral part of daily life in South Africa. As one of the countries with the most severe wealth disparity in the world, extreme poverty is widespread. Since the end of the apartheid system [7], the South African people have not seen the arrival of the better life they anticipated. Severe social inequality and poverty are the primary reasons for the active labor movement in South Africa. In 2020, despite being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa continued to experience numerous major strikes, as in previous years. On October 7, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) jointly held a nationwide general strike against corruption and unemployment; the immediate cause was the collapse of wage negotiations between the South African government and trade union organizations. Due to the pandemic, COSATU requested its members to stay home to support the action. On the same day, four South African trade union alliances joined forces for a nationwide strike, demanding the government crack down on corruption and violent crime, address employment issues, and increase wages. This march affected many sectors and industries in South Africa, including parts of the government administration, schools, transportation, non-ferrous metal smelting and manufacturing, and the automotive industry. On November 26, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) held a general strike, accusing Finance Minister Tito Mboweni of completely reversing the hard-won benefits of workers and stating they would never accept the resolution to freeze wages. The demands raised by South African labor strikes mainly concern wage increases, opposition to inequality, opposition to corruption, and combating crime. However, with the pandemic improving and the South African economy in urgent need of recovery, the cost of such frequent large-scale strikes is excessively heavy. From the government's perspective, recurrent strikes for wage increases are detrimental to South Africa's efforts to create a safe and stable business environment, thereby harming the country's long-term development. For the South African Communist Party (SACP), which participates in national governance, and the ruling African National Congress (ANC), supporting or opposing labor strikes presents a dilemma. In reality, excessively frequent strikes have threatened the normal functioning of South African democratic politics. As South African scholar Wesley Hill pointed out when criticizing the Hong Kong riots: "As one of the countries with the most liberal systems in the world, the South African public enjoys an excessive degree of freedom but lacks an understanding of the responsibilities and obligations corresponding to their rights. Twenty-five years since the founding of the New South Africa, South African democracy is facing a 'time-bomb' threat."
3. Assisting Vulnerable Groups Since 1999, the SACP has launched the "Red October Campaign" every October, using the method of a nationwide mass movement to push the government to resolve quality-of-life issues and provide relief to the unemployed, the poor, and the lower-middle class. The goal of the "Red October Campaign" is to strengthen the influence of the working class in South African political, economic, and social life, and to strive for the early realization of democracy and socialism in South Africa. The theme for 2020 was the elimination of hunger, health, housing, and clean water; the basic survival of vulnerable groups in South Africa was severely threatened during the pandemic, making the proposal of such a theme timely. South Africa was one of the African countries hardest hit by the pandemic; during this period, high-ranking government officials, including three ministers, two deputy ministers, and three provincial premiers, were infected, and even the President self-isolated after coming into contact with a confirmed case.
President Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown starting March 26, 2020. On the same day, the SACP issued an appeal requesting the government to take practical measures focusing on the unemployed, the poor, and the lower strata of the middle class. The SACP believes that the COVID-19 pandemic caused negative impacts not only in the field of public health but also in the economic and social spheres. There is an urgent need for a set of measures to assist the poor, the unemployed, wage laborers, and the lower-middle class—such as providing emergency income and food security for the unemployed, with particular attention to peripheries, informal settlements, and townships. They also proposed mobilizing more unemployment insurance funds and repurposing them to compensate for income losses caused by the pandemic; deferring repayment periods for mortgages, housing loans, car loans, and other debts; the South African Reserve Bank further easing monetary policy to provide direct financial support to workers' and community cooperatives, as well as small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs); and providing clean drinking water to all areas, especially peripheries, informal settlements, and townships. These suggestions reflect the SACP’s pragmatic spirit, providing the government with rational recommendations while leaving flexible room for operation. To counter the impact of the pandemic, the Ramaphosa government also implemented measures to restore socio-economic development, such as the emergency deployment of various medical resources; providing social relief and strengthening the social security safety net to alleviate hunger and social distress; and providing economic support and tax relief to help businesses and employees through the difficult times. These measures basically aligned with the SACP's appeals. With the joint efforts of all sectors in South Africa, the severe pandemic situation was quickly turned around after July. In mid-December, a more infectious variant of the coronavirus, 501Y.V2, appeared in South Africa, showing signs of a resurgence.
4. Striving for a Socialist Future The SACP maintains that the nature of the South African revolution remains a National Democratic Revolution (NDR) [8], which is in the process of transitioning toward socialism. The main task of the revolution at this stage is to defend, advance, and deepen the achievements of the democratic breakthrough. They have put forward the political program: "The future belongs to socialism; building it begins today." The SACP advocates for "revolutionary reforms" to gradually transform South African society from being dominated by national-democratic revolutionary elements to being dominated by socialist factors across all aspects of politics, economy, culture, society, and daily life, continuously creating favorable conditions for a socialist future.
The SACP actively explores the development path of South African socialism from both theoretical and practical dimensions. On one hand, the SACP expects and requires thousands of Party members to accept management challenges in institutions at all levels, uniting with alliance partners without losing their communist identity and observing the discipline, principles, and ethical codes of the ANC. At the same time, it specifically expects and requires all members—whether they are ministers, senior members, or ordinary workers in the public sector—to become model communists within state institutions. Through the exemplary role of Party members, the SACP aims to expand the influence of its socialist ideals and enhance ordinary South Africans' understanding of and enthusiasm for socialism. Therefore, the SACP emphasizes the vigorous strengthening of members' capacity-building, enabling them to contribute more effectively to governments and organizations at all levels, thereby creating conditions for deepening the NDR and advancing socialism. On the other hand, the SACP believes the South African working class is the leading force of the revolution at this stage and the decisive force for achieving the total victory of the NDR and building a socialist South Africa. Establishing working-class hegemony in the workplace is the key to establishing working-class hegemony throughout society. To strive for a socialist future, given the reality of the fragmentation of working-class labor, establishing strong grassroots organizations in various South African workplaces will be a long-term and arduous task. The SACP believes that any industrial development model must center on a developmental human resource strategy to protect the economic interests and political rights of the vast working class in vulnerable positions. It emphasizes utilizing the trade union movement to promote the organizational development of marginalized and informal working-class strata, while pushing for the development and transformation of public and private sector workplaces, supported by working-class unity to seize leadership. These action programs aim to enhance working-class leadership in the workplace. Only by going deep into the workplaces of workers can the SACP effectively play its role as the vanguard party of socialism.
Furthermore, to strive for a socialist future, the SACP actively develops "economic forms with socialist inclinations" in the economy, laying the necessary material foundation for future socialism by promoting the development of state-owned enterprises, supporting cooperative banks, and advancing urban and rural cooperatives.
II. Current Problems and Challenges Facing the SACP
1. Financial Difficulties Restrict Future Development The SACP suffers from financial stringency and a harsh survival environment. The SACP is a "poor party of the poor"; it does not have its own independent office building and rents office space within the COSATU headquarters. Its main source of income is donations from COSATU; relying solely on membership dues, it is difficult to achieve true economic autonomy. First Deputy General Secretary Solly Mapaila once publicly admitted that the SACP is not well-off and its funds are pooled by members. According to the membership data in the organizational report of the SACP's 14th National Congress, only 38% of members own their own homes, while the unemployment rate among members is as high as 66%. Only 2,383 members—less than 0.01% of the total membership—can pay more than 100 Rand (approximately 43 RMB) in monthly dues. Due to a lack of activity funds, many Party branches cannot conduct regular organizational activities or provide routine education and training for members, making it difficult to improve members' political consciousness and work capabilities. Furthermore, the SACP hires a large number of bodyguards, further tightening its finances. In 2017 alone, the SACP spent at least 2 million Rand to protect its leaders. In 2012, spending in this area was only 270,000 Rand. Several Party leaders have faced successive death threats; hiring bodyguards is a choice made out of necessity. This shows that the political ecosystem in South Africa is not peaceful. On July 1, 2020, Sivana, a leader of the Western Cape Provincial Party Committee, was shot and killed at home along with his daughter, while three others were wounded. The deceased's wife stated that Sivana was a selfless leader who had always dedicated his strength to community affairs. On December 12, the Pretoria High Court ordered Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola to rescind a previous decision denying parole to Janusz Waluś (the killer of Chris Hani) and to reconsider the parole application within two months. Leaders such as Blade Nzimande, Solly Mapaila, and Treasurer General Joyce Moloi-Moropa have all received death threats. The above situations indicate that the SACP's survival environment is quite severe. However, Nzimande stated: "Regardless, the SACP will persist in the struggle against monopoly capital and corruption; we will absolutely not back down."
The social foundation for the Party’s survival has serious flaws. The proportion of worker members is only 10%, and professional talent accounts for less than 3%. This current situation does not align with the SACP's political positioning as the vanguard of the working class. The SACP has made a plan to require Party organizations at all levels to actively recruit workers and professionals. By the time of the 15th National Congress, these two categories of members were targeted to reach 30,758 and 4,600 respectively. Judging by the rapid increase in total membership in the past, the growth rate of these two categories has been very small; completing the established goals as scheduled will be an arduous task. Generally speaking, professionals and those who can pay monthly dues of over 100 Rand represent advanced productive forces. For a communist party pursuing the cause of human progress, if it cannot attract the attention and participation of large numbers of ideologically advanced young intellectuals, its future development prospects are worrying. In short, financial difficulties and a thin social base are long-term problems and challenges facing the SACP.
2. Participation in Government and Independence Need Strengthening Currently, the South African ruling alliance faces multiple challenges. The SACP believes it has long played the role of a "governing party" (in a management sense) rather than a "ruling party" in its own right. In the political report of its 12th National Congress, the SACP proposed three guiding principles for participating in elections as a partner in government: first, the SACP is a socialist vanguard party and is not formed based on narrow electoralism; second, at the current stage of struggle, the SACP's electoral approach is guided by the overall strategy of defending, advancing, and deepening the NDR (South Africa's road to socialism); third, the SACP's strategic goal regarding state power is to ensure the state implements a dictatorship of the working class rather than party politics. However, the ANC's ability and willingness to lead the national democratic movement have been questioned due to factional infighting and corruption; the unity of the working class is threatened by the split in South African trade unions; and external shocks are being brought by the growth of populist forces with strong Africanist inclinations. These are the challenges facing the South African ruling alliance and the dilemma the SACP faces in exploring its strategic path toward a future socialism.
How to maintain independence within the governing alliance. Due to the influence of capital forces with vested interests over the ANC, cadres of the South African Communist Party (SACP) have been forced to stay outside the core leadership of the ANC, a phenomenon particularly evident in provincial and district-level alliances. Consequently, the SACP faces the question of "how to effectively maintain independence" to realize the Party's goals and tasks. To maintain its independence within the governing alliance, the SACP adopts a method of both uniting with and struggling against the ANC, explicitly demanding a specific quota for the SACP in parliaments and executive bodies at all levels, over which the SACP retains direct control. The SACP requires cadres participating in government to consciously seek various forms of support, including creating the necessary conditions for social organizations to enter parliament. SACP members serving as ministers or members of parliament must follow the Party's principles and discipline and must participate in mass movements without hesitation, even when these movements are directed against the government or parliament. In its 2019 year-end statement, the SACP stated that enriching the working class and the poor requires sustained and active mass action, progressive trade union unity, and the strengthening of the struggle against capitalist exploitation and the neoliberal policy regime. The SACP must further deepen this struggle, an important part of which involves fighting state capture [9] and other forms of corruption, crime, patriarchy, and gender-based violence. Therefore, the SACP needs to build itself into an adaptable and flexible party capable of responding to all possible contingencies.
The possibility of the SACP governing through independent elections. In its 13th Congress Political Report, the SACP emphasized: "For the SACP to think of itself as the ruling party would be no different from suicide. The only motivation for the SACP is to make the people prosperous and strong after establishing a socialist regime." The SACP's method of participating in and deliberating on state affairs is determined by South Africa's political realities; the primary reason the ANC became the leader of the alliance is the actual existence of narrow nationalism and anti-communist trends of thought on the African continent. Furthermore, the weak social foundation of the SACP and South African socialism is another significant factor. The proportion of workers and intellectuals among SACP members is small, and the proportion of members with dual identity managed by the ANC is as high as 48%, a segment that is highly volatile. In particular, SACP members account for only 0.5% of South Africa's total population and less than 1.2% of registered voters, indicating that the SACP has not yet gained recognition from the majority of the South African working class, let alone representative status of the will of the entire nation. If the SACP were to campaign independently, the localized impossibility of its independent rule would be self-evident. Based on these reasons, the SACP deepens and strengthens the Tripartite Alliance [10] and continues to participate in and deliberate on state affairs while maintaining its own independence. Only through this path can the SACP find opportunities and conditions to further propagate socialism.
Conclusion and Implications
Compared to communist parties in other capitalist countries, the SACP exists in a more severe and complex environment of struggle due to South Africa's specific national conditions. However, the SACP adheres to an independent path of development, insists on integrating the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with South African realities, and persists in continuously strengthening its own self-building to maintain Party unity and unification, thereby becoming a relatively mature Marxist party. Rooted in South African society, remaining down-to-earth and assessing the situation [11], the SACP has successively adopted tactical methods including petitions and demonstrations, non-violent non-cooperation, armed struggle, dialogue and negotiation, and participation in government to carry out the struggle against racism and explore a socialist path for South Africa. Throughout the SACP's growth, despite various shocks from both inside and outside the Party, the SACP has insisted on unity over division and has avoided major errors. It has become one of the very few communist parties in capitalist countries to have developed and expanded since the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, serving as a banner for non-governing communist parties in the world today that promote domestic socialist development through participation in and deliberation on state affairs. From the SACP's successful experience, one can conclude that communist organizations in capitalist countries are not academic salons for a few advanced intellectuals; as long as they remain firm in their convictions, advance with the times, maintain unity and unification, and stay down-to-earth, they can still accomplish much.
Peace, development, and cooperation are the mainstream of the 21st century and the themes of a community with a shared future for humanity. The international environment and domestic situation dictate that the SACP will continue to consolidate the governing alliance led by the ANC, continuously expand its organizational scale, and further improve its capacity to participate in and deliberate on state affairs while adhering to communist ideals, thereby creating more conditions and opportunities for future socialism in the struggle to eradicate the poisonous remnants of apartheid.
(The author is an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Marxism Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Web Editor: Tongxin Source: Report on the Development of the International Communist Movement (2020-2021), Social Sciences Academic Press, June 2021, pp. 314-330.