JOHANNESBURG — The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) has officially resolved to endorse the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the upcoming Local Government Elections, a historic shift that threatens to fracture the decades-old tripartite alliance. Driven by growing working-class dissatisfaction with the African National Congress (ANC), the political realignment has sparked intense debate over the future of South Africa’s ruling bloc and the ideological direction of the country.
NEHAWU, a prominent affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), has declared the SACP the true “vanguard of the working class.” This resolution stems directly from the union’s frustration with the ANC, specifically its failure to fully implement the 2018 public service coordinating bargaining council wage agreement, which was meant to deliver salary adjustments and improved service conditions for workers.
Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast notes that the SACP currently has a highly receptive audience, as the working class bears the brunt of neoliberal policies and increasingly turns to service delivery protests. However, he clarifies that while the SACP provides strategic ideological direction, it is not the sole vanguard. He points out that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also subscribe to vanguardism as a communist party, and trade unions themselves serve as the “school of the working class.”
A major point of contention highlighted by Professor Breakfast is the ideological betrayal felt by the left wing of the alliance. He recalls that the left previously supported President Cyril Ramaphosa, believing him to be worker-friendly. Instead, Breakfast argues, Ramaphosa has pursued distinctly business-friendly, neoliberal policies. He points to the rolling back of the state, widespread outsourcing across government departments, and the privatization of state-owned entities like Eskom—now softened under the lexicon of “public-private partnerships.”
The tripartite alliance has historically been bound by the Leninist model of the National Democratic Revolution, where a vanguard organization leads while the working class is prepared to eventually take over. Professor Breakfast recalls that as recently as 2017 at Nelson Mandela University, the SACP resolved to swell the ANC’s ranks by influencing its strategic direction from within. However, he notes that capitalist interests have since entrenched themselves too deeply within the ruling party.
Furthermore, the ANC’s recent coalition agreements with the Democratic Alliance (DA)—viewed by the left as a right-wing party—has been described as the “straw that broke the camel’s back” regarding ideological differences. Echoing this sentiment, Cosatu President Yama Mandanda has publicly stated that the ANC has drifted too far from the working class. Policies like Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) are criticized for merely creating a large capitalist class rather than uplifting workers, while “class collaborationism” between middle-class organizations and the working class is no longer yielding results.
According to Professor Breakfast, if the SACP and ANC contest the upcoming elections separately, the tripartite alliance will effectively collapse, leaving no central group to hold the factions together. He urges Cosatu to stop “walking on the fence” and decisively pick a side.
Despite the ideological justification for the split, the SACP faces significant practical hurdles on the ground. Professor Breakfast points out a severe lack of “class consciousness” among the masses due to a historical failure in political education. There remains a distinct gap between what the SACP stands for and the understanding of ordinary voters.
Furthermore, he criticizes the left’s intellectual elite for “speaking over the heads” of the working class, relying too heavily on Marxist-Leninist theory without translating it into practical, daily improvements. While theory and practice must go hand-in-hand, the over-intellectualization of left-wing ideas puts the SACP on the back foot.
“You don’t win elections because you have ideas,” Professor Breakfast cautioned, noting that the SACP currently lacks the financial resources, grassroots machinery, and practical application required to secure a significant victory in the local government elections. Ultimately, it will be up to the working class to decide which party best serves their daily bread-and-butter needs at the ballot box.
