VANDERBIJLPARK- The South African Communist Party (SACP) plans to contest the upcoming local government elections independently from the ANC.
The party aims to win control of all 45 wards across local municipalities, including Emfuleni, Sedibeng, Lesedi and Midvaal.
Stanley Gaba, the party’s lead communicator and PR councillor candidate, said the party wants total control of the municipality.
“We intend to control and have total control of the municipality,” Gaba said.
He explained that the decision to break away from the ruling party comes after years of what the SACP views as a failure to properly represent working-class communities, stressing that municipal elections belong to the public rather than the ANC.
The SACP wants to build a socialist state. It accuses the ANC of abandoning the Masakane programme.
“Masakane means free basic electricity, free basic water, refuse removal, and the houses,” Gaba said.
To tackle local economic and service delivery issues, the SACP promises to create stable employment and bring outsourced operations back under municipal management.
Infrastructure repair forms a major part of the party’s platform, with promises to completely rebuild crumbling roads, street lights and traffic signals rather than simply patching potholes.
“We are not going to fix potholes where there are no roads. There are no roads,” Gaba said, adding that “we must go and reconstruct those roads. We must go and reconstruct our street lights and robots.”
Additionally, the party intends to review water and electricity tariffs, avoid coalition governments to maintain absolute authority, and ensure elected councillors remain fully accountable to the electorate.
“Even if you are a ward councillor, if we fail, we will recall you,” Gaba warned.
According to Gaba, voters have been promised visible improvements within the first three months of an SACP-led administration.
Concluding with a call to action, Gaba urged residents to embrace accountability and grassroots mobilisation.
“Bring back the spirit of Batho Pele. We are building socialism now. It’s no longer the future. We are building it now, one step at a time,” he said.
The ANC in Sedibeng has admitted that basic service delivery in the Vaal has fallen below acceptable standards, acknowledging widespread anger over sewage spills and damaged roads.
Responding to the SACP’s decision to contest upcoming elections independently, the ANC said it takes the electoral challenge seriously and will not take any ward for granted.
Rather than engaging in a political blame game over past joint deployments, ANC Sedibeng Regional Secretary Jason Mkhwane emphasised that it must earn back public trust through hard work.
“Our focus as the ANC in Sedibeng remains on self-correction, service delivery improvement and accountability to our communities. That is what our people expect from us,” he said.
“We could equally point out weaknesses where SACP candidates were deployed as part of us, but that will not solve the challenges facing our people,” Mkhwane added.
Addressing local concerns, the ANC promised to review expensive outsourced contracts in favour of rebuilding internal municipal capacity for routine tasks like maintenance.
Furthermore, the party pledged to publish a transparent recovery programme detailing budgets, timelines, and ward-by-ward priorities.
While campaigning for an outright majority, the ANC noted that any future coalition agreements would be strictly guided by resident needs and stable governance.
“Our focus is on residents’ concerns, the credibility of our candidates and our ability to deliver. Voters will decide the outcome,” Mkhwane concluded.
