Blade ready to step down as SACP GS Qaanita Hunter, The Sunday Times, Johannesburg, 17 July 2016 SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande has given the strongest indication yet that he will not be a candidate when the party holds its elective conference next year. Nzimande - who supported President Jacob Zuma's rise to power, although they have since fallen out - said yesterday he had served at the helm of the party for long enough, and it was time for new leaders. His comments are expected to spark a fierce succession debate in the party. "I think I have been here too long," he told the Sunday Times on the sidelines of a Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union meeting. "That is my feeling. The SACP must continue to renew itself." This is the first time in the 18 years he has held the position that Nzimande has indicated he wants to step down. But he will have to convince his backers as some want him to stay. Although talk of succession has often been muted in the organization, one of the strongest contenders to take over from Nzimande is SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila. Mapaila's candidacy is supported by most of the party's provincial structures and the Young Communist League. In previous interviews, Mapaila has backed Nzimande to continue as party general secretary. Nzimande broke down in tears while addressing the meeting in Kempton Park after he was presented with a key to the SACP's new headquarters in Johannesburg's city centre, which was bought by POPCRU. "I always wanted that before I leave SACP, it should have its own building," a tearful Nzimande said. COSATU president Sdumo Dlamini comforted Nzimande as he talked to POPCRU delegates. The SACP is currently housed in COSATU's headquarters and has been accused of freeloading off the trade union federation. Nzimande's comments on renewal in the party came at a time when party leaders are questioning its role in the ANC-led tripartite alliance. He made reference to a discussion among party leaders about the liberation movement [ANC] "capturing" the SACP and whether the political appointment of SACP leaders was a means by which the SACP was co-opting those leaders, thereby weakening the party. In the past, the party has been quick to insist that this is not the case. Transcribed by hand __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 13814 (20160716) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- -- 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] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/yclsa-eom-forum/000c01d1dff1%24fd2ca950%24f785fbf0%24%40com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
