SACP in war of words with DA over allegations of racism

Cape Town - The DA’s acting Western Cape (WC) leader, Albert Fritz, has slammed the SACP in the province for using racial rhetoric against it.

The SACP in the province criticised the DA’s leadership and the DA for not placing all children in schools, saying the opposition party was facing “imminent implosion”.

This was after the SACP in the province held a virtual meeting of the augmented provincial executive committee was on April 17 and 18.

Provincial secretary Benson Ngqentsu said the DA could not hide its “racist attitude” in handling internal contradictions.

“The DA is facing imminent implosion, and its retreat into white racist conservatism is being exposed daily. It cannot hide its racist attitude in handling internal contradictions. We have long observed that the DA is a party of white privilege that uses selected African opportunists as puppet leaders, who get dumped as soon as they want to contest space.

“History is littered with examples of such leaders, from Joe Seremane, Lindiwe Mazibuko, Patricia de Lille, Mmusi Maimane, and the latest victim is Bonginkosi Madikizela – the so-called Western Cape DA leader – now suspended leader,” said Ngqenstu.

Fritz, who has been acting leader since Madikizela’s suspension, said: “The SACP is one leg in a broken tripartite alliance, along with the ANC and Cosatu, who have no substance except for the use of their racial nationalist rhetoric. The SACP and the entire alliance has failed South Africans, especially black South Africans, through their coalition of corruption, which has accelerated the poverty and plight of the poorest of the poor rather than alleviate it.

“The DA remains the only hope for South Africa, in order to build a truly non-racial one South Africa for all, and the DA won’t be deterred by the SACP or the ANC, who have clearly chosen to be the successors of the apartheid National Party’s racialist ideology.”

Fritz added: “Where we govern or are represented, we remain the most diverse and inclusive political party, and operate strictly according to the rule of law. And in our democratic organisation, everyone is free to come and go, and will be treated fairly.

“The day the SACP has the guts to contest the DA in any election is the day it can comment on our operations. For now, it must continue running its quasi Marxist organisation, which has more elite capitalists in it than socialists.”

On the issue of access to education for all, Ngqenstu said it was an indictment on the opposition that hundreds of learners remained unplaced.

“The DA government maintains its posture of neglecting the educational needs of poor black learners precisely because it has no interest in empowering working-class children. They continue to perpetuate the violation of the basic right to education by employing exclusionary devices, using the flawed catchment area logic and maintaining disparities between township schools, at the bottom rung of the ladder, then former model-C schools and ultimately private schools.

“How long will national government tolerate this violation of the basic right to education for working class children in the Western Cape? The SACP will work tirelessly with progressive civil society and education alliance components to fundamentally alter the illogical position of the WCED (Western Cape Education Department) and guarantee full exercise of the right to learn by working-class children,” said Ngqenstu.

Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer’s spokesperson, Kerry Mauchline, also hit back at the SACP and said its claims were baseless.

“The SACP has provided no basis for their claim other than a vague reference to ‘catchment areas’, which is nonsensical, as the WCED has not declared any feeder zones or areas for schools. The party knows very well that the actual reason for having unplaced learners is the persistent underfunding of education by their alliance partners in the national government.”

tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za

Political Bureau