AFRICAN COMMUNIST | September 2011 must clarify scientifically the complex class dynamics today. This must be done not selectively but to protect all working class interests, not those in employment only but also those out of employment, in other words, the poorest of the poor. The Party must also be heard on critical matters that affect our society. In a word, the Party must provide the analysis of class and different interests, even those disguised in revolutionary phraseology. It must analyse what class interests are at play currently and how to make strategic interventions to guide the trade union movement and ensure that it protects not only its own class interests, but all working class interests. There must be no poverty in theoretical understanding within the working class, and the Party must lead in this task. We emphasise therefore that it is important for the Party to maintain its culture of deep scientific politics, not just politics in general. This point is very important to note as it distinguishes the Party and its policies from other political formations. Science is defined as knowledge obtained through observation and is critically tested and experimented and brought under one principle. That is how we have understood the Party in all its existence. There is a lot of work to be done by the Party to defend the revolution and to provide the scientific tools needed for us all to consolidate our gains and deal with counter-revolutionary tendencies in our midst. We need to defend our freedom and National Democratic Revolution, which is continuously being challenged and
to combine all of them towards a particular common goal of our National Democratic Revolution. As another veteran of our struggle and the Chairman of the South African Communist Party, Comrade Yusuf Dadoo, observed: “Comrade Kotane saw clearly that there could be no working class victory without black liberation and no black liberation without the destruction of capitalism in all its forms.” Other illustrious Party leaders include Johannes Nkosi, a worker leader, a hero and a martyr of our struggle, killed by the South African Police during a protest march against the hated pass laws in Durban on 16 December 1930. This anniversary therefore is a celebration of the calibre of leaders our struggle has produced. Throughout their leadership they were principled leaders. You were always certain and confident about their views and their views gained them respect. That is why it is said that Chief Albert Luthuli would always ask: “but what is the view of Kotane on this matter?” on all critical issues. This tells us that Comrade Kotane was dependable and could be trusted. Like the ANC and Cosatu, the SACP continues to grapple with the challenges facing our country currently. The Communist Party will assist us by analysing current conditions on the continent as well as in the entire world scientifically, to help us interpret domestic and world developments. The Party must be in a position to interpret conditions in our country and what is happening within the trade union movement and other terrains. The Party must therefore play an important role in ensuring the development of working class theory which 12