July 13 2022 is a very important day for the SACP. It is a day where the SACP commenced its 15th National Congress and Blade Nzimande stepped down as the party's general secretary. But was he really stepping down, because he has since been elected the party's chair?
However, the congress itself was very important for the country as a whole because we want to see what the new leadership is bringing to the table.
The most important thing is expected to be giving us direction and clarity on what the party is planning to achieve or fight for. We are expecting the party to continue to be vocal on issues that affect the poor. We expect it not to keep quiet when there are fuel hikes, perpetual load-shedding, rising cost of living and inflation.
But talking about the issues alone is not going to help, the party needs to show us that it is serious about fighting for the poor through campaigns that will put pressure on the government to implement policies that are pro poor.
We have a government that has already lost the confidence of the people on the ground. It is therefore very important that this new leadership must try to do things differently. They must be seen to be concerned about the poor and they must not be afraid to confront the ANC as the ruling party whenever it puts its foot wrong.
It is clear that the ANC doesn’t listen to the opposition but can surely listen to the alliance partner in fear of losing electoral support.
Tom Mhlanga, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
New SACP leaders must continue to fight for poor
July 13 2022 is a very important day for the SACP. It is a day where the SACP commenced its 15th National Congress and Blade Nzimande stepped down as the party's general secretary. But was he really stepping down, because he has since been elected the party's chair?
However, the congress itself was very important for the country as a whole because we want to see what the new leadership is bringing to the table.
The most important thing is expected to be giving us direction and clarity on what the party is planning to achieve or fight for. We are expecting the party to continue to be vocal on issues that affect the poor. We expect it not to keep quiet when there are fuel hikes, perpetual load-shedding, rising cost of living and inflation.
But talking about the issues alone is not going to help, the party needs to show us that it is serious about fighting for the poor through campaigns that will put pressure on the government to implement policies that are pro poor.
We have a government that has already lost the confidence of the people on the ground. It is therefore very important that this new leadership must try to do things differently. They must be seen to be concerned about the poor and they must not be afraid to confront the ANC as the ruling party whenever it puts its foot wrong.
It is clear that the ANC doesn’t listen to the opposition but can surely listen to the alliance partner in fear of losing electoral support.
Tom Mhlanga, Braamfontein, Johannesburg