IMRAAN BUCCUS: SACP at a crossroads after misstep with EFF

The SACP finds itself at a political crossroad. The shifting terrain of SA politics has placed significant pressure on the party, forcing it to reconsider its traditional alliance with the ANC.

This rethink comes in the wake of the ANC’s decline, particularly under the weight of internal factionalism, corruption scandals and the erosion of public trust. But as the SACP re-evaluates its role, its opposition to the government of national unity (GNU), while understandable, has led it towards a problematic political decision: viewing the EFF as a potential partner for the ANC.

While the SACP’s concerns about the GNU have merit, this attempt to align itself with the EFF represents a grave miscalculation. The real task at hand for the SACP should be to finally sever its long-standing ties with the ANC and work towards building an independent left alternative, alongside other mass-based progressive forces, that can reorientate SA’s political landscape. 

In this moment of crisis the SACP’s future — and that of left politics in the country more generally — depends on breaking free from the entanglements of ANC politics and moving towards the construction of a new left party.

Justifiable opposition to the GNU

The SACP’s opposition to the GNU stems from concerns that it will inevitably take a neoliberal direction. This is not unreasonable. It is quite likely that the ANC, DA and other centrist forces will align on a platform of austerity and neoliberal reforms that could harm SA’s most vulnerable citizens. The SACP rightly understands that any meaningful change for the working class will not come from an elite pact, but through mass mobilisation and radical restructuring of the economy and state.

However, while the SACP’s opposition to a GNU is defendable, it is on shakier ground in its embrace of the EFF as a potential political partner for the ANC. The EFF has positioned itself as a left-wing alternative, but its politics are marred by populism, authoritarianism and racial nationalism.

The SACP will have to think carefully about the costs of associating itself with such a force, which while rhetorically radical has shown itself to be opportunistic and inconsistent in practice.

EFF’s pseudo radicalism

At first glance the EFF may appear as a natural ally for the SACP. Its rhetoric is filled with calls for radical economic transformation, land expropriation without compensation, and a break from neoliberal orthodoxies. Yet a closer inspection reveals a party whose politics are deeply contradictory and often dangerously authoritarian. While the EFF taps into legitimate grievances of the marginalised, its approach is ultimately about consolidating power through spectacle, populism and coercion, rather than building genuine grassroots movements for transformative change.

Crucially, the EFF has never demonstrated a consistent interest in supporting working-class and grassroots struggles on a day-to-day basis. Despite its fiery rhetoric, the party has been largely absent from the kinds of community struggles and worker-led initiatives that are essential for building long-term political change. While it is adept at capturing headlines with dramatic parliamentary actions or protest spectacles, it has failed to embed itself in the slow, often thankless work of grassroots organisation. This lack of sustained engagement with the working class and poor is a serious problem for the credibility of any party that claims to be a vehicle for the oppressed.

EFF leader Julius Malema champions radical nationalism, but his record is one of opportunism. The EFF's alliances in various municipalities, including with the DA, suggest that the party is willing to shift its political allegiances for the sake of short-term power. Its internal culture has also been marked by autocratic decision-making and intolerance of dissent. This is hardly the kind of partner the SACP should consider.

Moreover, the EFF’s crudely racialised politics threaten to deepen divisions in a country already marked by social fragmentation. The party’s embrace of race-based nationalism, which is often just plain chauvinism, can only be socially destructive. 

Independence from ANC

Given these realities, the SACP should reconsider its stance and look beyond the ANC and the EFF. Continuing to support the ANC, particularly with the possibility of an alignment with the EFF, would only further entrench the SACP in a political quagmire where it is forced to compromise its principles for the sake of proximity to power. The longer the SACP remains within the ANC fold the more it risks becoming irrelevant to the broader struggles of the working class.

SA is ripe for the emergence of a new left political force rooted in democratic socialism, antiracism and the struggles of the poor and working class. The SACP, with its rich history and organisational infrastructure, should be at the forefront of building such a force. But this requires a decisive break from the ANC, a turn away from elite alliances and a focus on building alliances with grassroots movements, independent trade unions and other progressive forces that share a commitment to socialism.

Viable left 

Building a new left party will not be easy, and will require a clear and coherent political programme that goes beyond slogans. The party must take seriously the lessons of the global left, learning from both the successes and failures of left movements in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere. It must focus on issues that resonate with the lived experiences of the poor and the working class: land reform, housing, healthcare, education and, above all, jobs. Additionally, this new formation must prioritise internal democracy and accountability. 

In this moment of crisis and opportunity the SACP faces a choice. It can either continue its long-standing but increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the ANC, or it can break free and join other independent left forces in the urgent task of building a new political project. The future of the left in SA depends on making the right choice.

For the sake of the working class and poor, and for the future of socialism in SA, the SACP must seize this moment and finally take the bold step of independence.

• Dr Buccus is a political researcher and consultant.