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SACP decides on private sector role

By Primarashni Pillay and Reneé Grawitzky, Business Day
6 September 1999

THE SA Communist Party (SACP) resolved at the weekend to consider the use of private-public partnerships to speed up the delivery of services at local government level.

However, the party warned that this should not been seen as an endorsement of private capital as the system most suited to meeting the needs of the people.

The resolution was taken at the party's three-day strategy conference in Johannesburg, which ended yesterday.

The conference was attended by Deputy President Jacob Zuma, representatives of the Congress of SA Trade Unions, the African National Congress and civic organisations.

The party said local government was an important site for economic and social development which should be one of its strong focus points.

SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande said the party must seek to influence partnerships between government and the private sector.

"We want to ensure that in the development path we choose we do not end up strengthening monopoly capital," Nzimande said. He said the party would campaign for job creation.

On Friday, Nzimande spoke about a range of issues, including the current public service wage dispute and the state of the tripartite alliance.

He said it was not always possible or desirable to keep particular debates within the alliance and that some questions required public debate at times. These included debate on the public service wage dispute and the search for the correct macroeconomic policy for SA.

Referring to East Timor, which last week voted for independence from Indonesia and subsequent violence there, Nzimande said the SACP supported rebel leader Xanana Gusmao's call for a United Nations peacekeeping force for the island.