South African Communist Party welcomes Council of the Left

According to a statement issued by the Party, the inaugural meeting of the Council took place on Friday, 21 August 2026, at Birchwood Hotel, bringing together representatives of political organisations, trade unions, social movements, community organisations and other progressive formations that participated in the Conference of the Left held in May this year.

The meeting formally constituted the Council of the Left and began the important task of translating the Declaration and Programme of Action of the Conference of the Left into organisation, campaigning and collective action.

This inaugural Council meeting committed to unity in action, working-class organisation and an immediate programme of struggle focused on:

• Joining the ongoing mass campaign to reject and defeat the anti-poor Prevention of Illegal Evictions Act Amendment Bill,
• Defending the Expropriation Act against attacks from the DA, Afriforum, Die Vaderland Stigting and the Free Market Foundation through a combination of court action and mass mobilisation.
• Mobilising for the Equitable Access to Land Bill to become an effective law for land redistribution and the security of tenure.
• Using the coming Budget days to campaign for fiscal resources to meet basic needs and address the cost of living.
• Mobilisation for Parliament to debate and adopt a Cuba Solidarity Bill, together with continued material support for the people of Cuba.