Morning Star
*Zuma says communists will help change South Africa* *Rob Griffiths, in Empangeni, for Morning Star, London, 15 July 2012*ANC and South African president Jacob Zuma caused a stir in the mass media and inside the conference hall when he addressed the country's communists at the weekend.
"The South African Communist Party (SACP) is distinguished from other parties by its ideology, clarity and approach and by the depth of political understanding, dedication and activism of its members," he told the congress.
"The Communist Party must analyse the class interests in play internationally and in South Africa in order to influence our strategy and tactics," he insisted.
President Zuma quoted from the Communist Manifesto to make his point that "the class struggle continues, whether people are aware of it or not, and will go until one class defeats the other and the new order can emerge."
Introducing Mr Zuma, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande reminded delegates that the president had served not only a 10-year prison sentence on Robben Island but also a term on the Communist Party's central commttee.
Mr Zuma spent much of his 100-minute speech emphasising the need for the party to expand its Marxist-Leninist political education programme.
This would produce more "organic intellectuals" for the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, he said.
"Only if we are armed with the correct scientific theory can we analyse and understand society's material conditions, identifying the favourable terrain on which to advance the country's "national democratic revolution."
A recent ANC policy conference decided that South Africa must embark on the second phase of the revolutionary process where radical economic and social transformation should be carried out "in the interests of the working class and the poor."
President Zuma urged communists to submit practical policies for challenging poverty, unemployment and inequality to an ANC conference in December.
He also paid glowing tribute to the Communist Party's role in the anti-apartheid struggle, naming many of its martyrs and bringing the 2,000 delegates to their feet, singing and dancing, after declaring that "the ANC is proud of its partner, the SACP."
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> *From: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/121461* ** ** -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
<<inline: MGOLogoShort.JPG>>
