MIDDELBURG — The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Mpumalanga has criticised policies it says have weakened the state, undermined job creation and reversed progress in the province.
The party made the comments during the Provincial Consultative Conference of the Left at the Nkangala District Municipality Council Chamber in Middelburg on Sunday, 20 September 2026.
The gathering was attended by representatives from left-wing political and community formations, including the Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front (MHRF), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Africa Mayibuye, South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), youth and student formations and environmental justice organisations.
The conference resolved to convene a provincial Conference of the Left to adopt resolutions aimed at guiding future cooperation among left formations and the SACP beyond the upcoming local government elections.
The provincial gathering followed the national Conference of the Left held at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg from 29 to 31 May under the theme, “Building a Left Movement for Working-Class and Popular Power”. The national conference established a Council of the Left as a coordinating structure and adopted a programme that included opposition to privatisation and outsourcing, among other policy positions.
‘Privatisation has crippled the state’
Speaking to the Highveld Chronicle on the sidelines of the conference, Council of the Left member Mazibuko Jwara described privatisation in Mpumalanga as an example of what he called neoliberal policies.
“Nelspruit was one of the first municipalities to privatise the provision of water. That is exactly an example of a neoliberal policy. Mpumalanga is also failing to redistribute land because the government’s policy says land must be bought on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis at market prices. That is another example of neoliberalism,” Jwara said.
He argued that outsourcing basic services had weakened the state’s capacity to provide services directly.
“A lot of services that government and municipalities must provide directly are being provided by sub-contractors. That means the state is not able to build its capacity. Jobs are not created because security is provided by a private company, catering is provided by a private company, instead of ensuring that there is permanent capacity in the state,” he said.
“Those privatising policies give power to private companies, do not create jobs, do not pay good salaries, exploit workers and do not build capacity of the state. We need to reverse those policies so that the state can have capacity, create jobs and direct what must happen in the economy,” he added.
Building a Left Popular Front
SACP Mpumalanga provincial secretary Lucky Mbuyane said the conference formed part of the party’s resolution to contest the local government elections independently while building what it calls a Left Popular Front.
“The SACP is going ahead to contest elections in its own name and right. The SACP also resolved to build a Left Popular Front. The Conference of the Left is about building that Left Popular Front,” Mbuyane said.
He said the initiative was not aimed at creating a single political party to contest elections, but at establishing a basis for cooperation beyond the polls.
“We are not forming one party to contest the elections, but we are forming and building the basis and foundation for collaboration beyond the elections. If parties win a number of seats, we will have a platform to engage them on the kind of policies they should promote in the municipality. Similarly, if the Communist Party wins a number of seats, other left forces can engage the Communist Party. So this collaboration is important for the future,” he said.
This is consistent with the national Conference of the Left declaration, which states that its coordinating council is not a new political party and will not contest elections in its own name.
COSATU Mpumalanga provincial secretary Thabo Mokoena said the federation participated because of its focus on issues affecting workers.
“We are a federation that defends the interests of the working class. Anything that seeks to address the challenges and frustrations of the working class, we will always be part of it. We will work together to identify common areas to address those challenges,” he said.
