Political Resolutions of the COSATU 9th National Congress, 18-21 September 2006

1-3 The SACP and state power

This Ninth National Congress notes:

1. The Eighth National Congress resolution on building the SACP.
2. The lack of resources in the SACP makes it difficult for it to conduct its political work more effectively.

Therefore this Ninth National Congress resolves:

1. To reaffirm the Eighth National Congress resolution on building a strong, independent SACP as an instrument of the working class, including through the provision of resources by the Federation and affiliates.
2. To create clear mechanisms to synergise the SACP’s medium-term vision and COSATU’s 2015 Plan, and to locate any decision on the SACP’s participation in the elections in that context. The SACP should engage other Alliance partners to determine the manner in which it will enter the electoral processes.
3. To call on the SACP to unite the progressive left formations, including left-wing political formations committed towards a radical transformation and socialism. Part of the work to achieve the above requires the following:

a. The SACP needs to initiate the unity of the left movements that believe in socialism as part of a process of building a popular movement towards socialism, including convening the Conference of the Left;
b. The SACP needs to work hard in its work to transform trade union consciousness into working-class consciousness;
c. The SACP must link working-class political consciousness with other forms of social consciousness.

4. In the event the SACP deciding to contest political power as the independent working class party, the Alliance should be engaged to determine the manner in which the SACP would enter the electoral process, and mobilise the electorate for that eventuality.
5. The SACP must now begin to develop policy positions on the following key areas of state power: the nature of the developmental state; land redistribution; developing fundamental basic necessities; deployment of Communist cadres in strategic centres of power; contesting elections; and commitment of resources for recruitment to take forward the COSATU’s 2015 Plan and the SACP’s Medium Term Vision.
6. COSATU and the SACP must have a clear programme on a path to socialism that would encourage individual members to make financial contributions to the SACP. The CEC must ensure a systematic campaign to strengthen the debit order campaign. Any contributions from workers and affiliates to the SACP should be on a voluntary basis.
7. COSATU leadership must lead by example and be card-carrying members of the SACP.
8. COSATU will set up its own taskteam, constituted by affiliates’ General Secretaries and NALEDI, to conduct a detailed and deep but urgent global survey of the prospects for socialism in South Africa. The survey must.

a. Seek to establish how much support among South African workers of all races exists for the SACP to contest political power towards a socialist South Africa;
b. Identify ways to forge direct working relationships with progressive working people and political formations throughout the world;

9. The process must culminate in a draft Manifesto of the Working Class in South Africa that will inform all the campaigns of the Federation and the SACP.
10. COSATU must design a short, medium and long term sequenced political and education programme of action for its members to ensure that by the time of the Fourth Central Committee it has concrete proposals on the way forward towards a socialist South Africa. These proposals should be placed before the SACP. COSATU must develop programmes and activities that expose the agenda behind the post-1996 class project and its threat to our NDR.
11. The NOBs must table at the first CEC in 2007 a time-bound programme of work with clear allocation of responsibilities for achieving these resolutions on socialism.