The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng Province has learnt with shock and sadness of the passing of cde Nokuthula Sikhakhane. Comrade Nokuthula is a former District Treasurer of Oupa Phasha District Executive Committee (DEC) in the City of Ekhuruleni.

The SACP dips its red flag in honour of the memory of this gallant fighter of our revolution, who passed away in hospital on 6 January 2021, following a short illness, while receiving treatment for Covid-19.

Amongst many other revolutionary positions that cde Nokuthula held was being former Member of the Provincial Legislature where she was a Caucus Member of the African National Congress (ANC) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. During her stint comrade Nokuthula served as the Chairperson of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment in the 4th administration of the Gauteng Legislature. Comrade Nokuthula also served as the Parliamentary Counsellor to Gauteng Premier comrade David Makhura, a position she held since the previous and current administration until her untimely death.

We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and the comrades with whom cde Nokuthula served to advance the course of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). We also extend our condolences to all comrades and residents of Gauteng who have succumbed to Covid-19 in the recent past. Our thoughts are with their loved ones during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

South African response to Covid-19

We wish to take this opportunity to reiterate our messages of vigilance to the people of Gauteng as the second wave takes root in our province. We call on all citizens to abide by the adjusted Level 3 regulations as communicated by national government. Indeed, the country and our province has entered an extremely dangerous period in the fight against this deadly pandemic, as many people return from the holidays and others migrate into the province.

We believe that it is critical that all of us strictly adhere to the regulations that pertain to the movement of persons, mandatory protocols when in public places, curfew and attending of funerals and public gathering.

Following the basic guidelines such as washing of hands with water and soap, ensuring appropriate physical distance and wearing a mask always remain important.

Imminent rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine

We also welcome the announcement by the Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, which provided a detailed and comprehensive plan, outlining how our country is closer to rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine.

We reiterate the call by our national office that the vaccine must be accessible to all South Africans who need it. This rollout should not be premised on narrow and self-accumulation interests that focus on the exchange and surplus value at the expense of the use-value and public good.  

While we welcome the fact that no one will be forced to take the vaccine and that it will be administered voluntarily, as enunciated by Dr Mkhize, we take this opportunity to call upon all South Africans who hold positions of responsibility to desists from making un-scientific, shallow and dubious calls that only cast aspersions on the vaccine.

We also denounce racial bigotries and under-tones that have the potential to undermine the profound principles of non-racialism and national unity of all the people. We strongly caution against the temptation to use the pandemic for divisive and narrow nationalist mobilisation for any purpose, irrespective of its “heroic” pretensions.

We strongly condemn the barbaric insinuations and confusion created by these vaccine-denialists who are riding the populist and demagogic wave under complex conditions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.  

We are deeply concerned that these vaccine denialists, through their ill-informed and logic-defying statements are stopping short of accusing the ANC-led government of possibly waging a biological warfare against South Africans, particularly the motive forces of the NDR.

We reaffirm our maximum confidence in the ANC government’s vaccine roll-out programme and are looking forward to the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) urgently announcing its vaccine readiness plan following that which was presented by national government.

We urge all leaders of the broader alliance to support the concerted efforts to combat the scourge that is threatening our very own existence as human beings. Petty squabbles, impulsive and implausible debates are not a demonstration of capable leadership in confronting a complex societal challenge such as Covid-19. We call on vaccine denialists to demobilise with immediate effect.

May the soul of comrade Nokuthula rest in eternal peace.

 

Issued by the SACP Gauteng Province