SACP deputy secretary-general David Masondo has expressed support for the government of national unity (GNU) and spoken out against the call for black parties to unite “regardless of what they stand for”.
Masondo, the deputy minister of finance, was speaking at the second annual Simiso Nkwanyana Memorial Lecture at the University of South Africa (Unisa).
Nkwanyana was one of the founding members of the first Unisa Students’ Representative Council, which was established in 1996.
“As we support the government of national unity and oppose the so-called government of black unity through black political parties, regardless of what they stand for, Simiso would have said to us: ‘We should be building the working class unity, unifying Cosatu, Saftu, Solidarity and Fedusa, as a necessary step towards uniting the entire working class and building an inclusive economy based on working class solidarity’,” Masondo said.
Masondo noted a correlation between racial or ethnic identities and voting behaviour, adding that it seemed to suggest that South Africa was far from building an inclusive nation. He said identity politics were now common on campuses.