Conference of the Left: Mapaila calls for left unity amid “deepening capitalist crisis” in SA

By Charmaine Ndlela

South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Solly Mapaila has called on left-wing and progressive formations to unite against what he described as a deepening global capitalist crisis, warning that fragmentation was weakening efforts to respond to unemployment, inequality and poverty in South Africa.

Speaking at the Conference of the Left in Boksburg on Friday, Mapaila said workers and poor communities were increasingly bearing the burden of inflation, rising living costs and weak economic growth, which has averaged below 1% over the past decade.

The conference, held at the Birchwood Hotel under the theme “The Crisis of South African Capitalism and the Tasks of the Left,” brings together left-leaning organisations to discuss a coordinated political response to economic challenges.

“We are meeting at a very decisive moment, not only for the left, but for the working class as a whole,” Mapaila told delegates.

He said wealth remained