MUKONI RATSHITANGA: The problem with Jeremy Cronin and the SACP

There is a Tshivenda idiomatic expression, “Vhatali vha milingoni,” whose translation approximates to “misfortune favours the crafty.” One must hasten to add that crafty maneuverers in public life can be calamitous not only to the confidence tricksters, but to whole collectives and nations. I was reminded of the expression when I read last Sunday’s SACP first Deputy General Secretary, Jeremy Cronin’s rejoinder to my brief commentary – published on the Sunday Times the week before – on the Party’s less than red posture in recent years. Cronin evades and fudges my central contention, which is about the Party’s opportunism and inconsistencies, both of which have helped to produce the perilous political situation the country faces today. He claims that my comment is due to “irritation” with “the prominent role the SACP has been playing in the critique against state capture.” I have no qualms with the SACP or anybody who would be party to the resolution of our national nightmare. I nonet...