By 
The historic Tripartite Alliance—the political engine that has driven South Africa’s liberation struggle and dominated its democratic era—is facing an ideological and strategic reckoning.
Following the ordinary session of the African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) held at OR Tambo Airport over the weekend of May 23–24, the ruling party has made a calculated, highly public choice to draw a sharp line between itself and its oldest ally, the South African Communist Party (SACP).
At the heart of the latest political firestorm is the SACP’s upcoming “Conference of the Left,” scheduled to convene in Boksburg on Friday, May 29. In a move that signals deep discomfort with the shifting political landscape ahead of the November 4 Local Government Elections, the ANC NEC formally resolved to boycott the event. The decision, and the blistering rhetorical broadside that accompanied it, exposes a profound ideological rift within the liberation front.
A ‘Coalition of Negation’
While the statement delivered by ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula went to great lengths to reaffirm that the Alliance “stands” and has historically “stood the test of time and personalities,” the subsequent analysis of the SACP’s conference was unsparing. The ANC openly rejected the SACP’s framing of the gathering, declaring that it does not consider the Boksburg event to be a genuine “Conference of the Left”.
Instead, the ANC’s high command dismantled the ideological coherence of the summit, labelling it a “coalition of negation” and “a political project dressed in theoretical clothing”. The core of the ruling party’s objection lies in the eclectic—and arguably contradictory—guest list invited by the SACP.
Mbalula pointed out that a gathering attempting to seat chambers of commerce alongside the Bolshevik Party, and business formations alongside trade unions, loses any received leftist meaning. According to the NEC, these disparate forces are united not by a shared progressive vision, but purely by what they stand against: the ANC in government.
“A gathering that proposes to sit chambers of commerce alongside the Bolshevik Party, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party alongside AZAPO, business formations alongside trade unions, is not a left formation in any received meaning of the term.”
The Zondo Commission Shadow
Perhaps the most damaging critique levelled by Luthuli House is the SACP’s willingness to associate with political formations whose leadership was severely compromised by the State Capture era.
The ANC explicitly noted on the public record that the SACP’s gathering includes forces whose principal figures were identified by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s Judicial Commission of Inquiry as central to the systematic destruction of South Africa’s democratic institutions. By inviting factions linked to the “wrecking” of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Hawks, and Eskom, the SACP has, in the eyes of the ANC, crossed an ethical red line.
This creates an intense political paradox. The SACP, which historically positioned itself as the vanguard against corruption and corporate capture of the state, is now accused by its primary ally of providing a platform to the very architects of state capture.
Redefining the Dialectic
For decades, the standard vocabulary of the Tripartite Alliance has been rooted in Marxist-Leninist theory. The NEC statement attempted to reclaim this narrative, reminding the SACP that their relationship is meant to be “dialectical and complementary”. Under the historical framework established at Morogoro in 1969 and Kabwe in 1985, the ANC remains the undisputed “leading force of the broad national liberation front,” while the SACP is meant to occupy the “vanguard role of the working class within the front”.
By building an alternative tent that includes the likes of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and business elites, the SACP is seen as trying to engineer a new political bloc outside of the traditional hegemony of the ANC. The ANC’s refusal to attend is a clear message: Luthuli House will not allow its junior partner to dilute the ANC’s status as the center of the progressive forces.
Election Pressures and Internal Displacement
The timing of this public fallout is not accidental. The ANC is hyper-focused on the upcoming local government elections, which are exactly 163 days away. The party’s internal structures are under immense pressure to fix deteriorating municipalities and address a severe disconnect between the party’s “objective record of progress” over 30 years and the grim “lived experience” of unemployment and inflation felt by citizens.
With the SACP flirting with rival formations, the ANC is visibly moving to consolidate its base and insulate itself from flanks on both the left and the populist right. Rather than engaging in a public shouting match in Boksburg, the ANC has instead invited the SACP leadership to a closed-door, “principal-level engagement”. This is an attempt to enforce the “standing discipline of the Alliance” and handle the dispute away from the media spotlight.
Journalistic Takeaway
The NEC’s stance reveals a ruling party that is growing increasingly intolerant of its allies’ strategic double-dealing. While the ANC insists the Alliance stands, the SACP’s decision to host a conference that accommodates the ANC’s direct electoral threats—like the MK Party—suggests that the SACP is actively looking for a life raft or alternative leverage.
The ANC has chosen to fight back not with passive-aggressive diplomacy, but by publicly questioning the SACP’s ideological integrity and accusing it of betraying the anti-corruption struggle. As the Boksburg conference kicks off this weekend, the empty chairs reserved for the ANC will speak volumes about a century-old partnership that is fraying at the seams.
