Don’t write off the SACP

General secretary Solly Mapaila addresses the South African Communist Party’s (SACP) “Conference of the Left” at Birchwood Hotel’s OR Tambo Conference Centre on May 29, 2026 in Boksburg, South Africa. Picture: Gallo Images/OJ Koloti In conversations with analysts, one hears a recurring refrain that the SA Communist Party (SACP) is fading, its prospects dim and its relevance in the November local elections negligible. Yet journalism is not about echoing consensus; it is about weighing perspectives and presenting arguments grounded in observation.

That is why I argue the SACP’s chances are stronger than many predict. The SACP’s proximity to the ANC is precisely what makes it a formidable contender. Unlike traditional opposition parties, it knows the ANC from the inside – its strengths, its weaknesses and its contradictions.

For decades, it has been part of the ANC’s intellectual and political machinery, shaping policy and contesting elections under its banner. This closeness is whatunsettles secretary-general Fikile Mbalulaand the ANC leadership because they know the SACP is not an outsider throwing stones, but a former ally. The SACP has, since 1994, been complicit in the ANC’s neoliberal turn.

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The party became part of the governing establishment, its ministers serving in Cabinet while the working class it claimed to represent languished on the sidelines of the economy. This is the contradiction that haunts the party today.Chris Hani, its general secretary who was assassinated before he could test the waters of freedom he fought for, had warned of this danger. He loathed comrades who prioritised accumulation over the interests of the poor.

His vision of a principled left was betrayed. Now, underSolly Mapaila‘s leadership as general secretary, the party is attempting to reclaim its identity as a genuine left alternative. Mapaila is busy positioning the SACP closer to the masses, articulating a sharper critique of inequality and corruption.

The challenge, however, lies in convincing voters that the party is not simply ANC elite. Years of association with the ruling party have blurred its image and it must now persuade the electorate that it offers something distinct. The SACP will not win outright; its size and resources are too limited. But the party’s potential lies in attracting disillusioned ANC supporters who cannot stomach the ANC’s failures.

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