Network – Africa

Partner Organization: South African Communist Party, SACP
Activities: Develop regional cooperation between left parties.
Project Started in: 2009
Project Budget: 400 000 SEK for the period 2009-2010

Develop regional cooperation between left parties
Together with, among others, South Africa’s Communist Party, VIF runs a project to develop regional cooperation among left parties in Africa. Those responsible for the project arrange yearly regional conferences for African political parties and have established a web portal in order to facilitate debates and the exchange of experiences and information.

Democracy without people’s participation
Several of Africa’s countries are now pluralistic democracies on paper, but in practice they remain seriously flawed. For example, there is often an absence of functioning party systems with parties that advocate clear positions on issues instead of being driven by profit or power motives. Great social and economic injustices remain, in spite of the fact that Africa has a surplus of natural resources. But the considerable popular resistance to privatization, trade agreements, exploitation of natural resources and human rights violations has yet to find a place in party policies. African left parties have found it difficult to formulate strategies, and there is a lack of regional coordination, such as the São Palo Forum in Latin America or the European Parliament in Europe.

Increased regional coordination
The project’s purpose is to develop regional cooperation based on the African Left Network Forum (ALNEF, http://www.alnef.org.za/), an initiative that arose from the conference on participative democracy in 2008. The project includes, among other things, the establishment of a secretariat for ALNEF and the creation of a web portal through which the African parties can debate and exchange ideas and experiences. The primary activities consist of yearly regional conferences for representatives of left parties from the entire continent.

South African Communist Party (SACP)
The South African Communist Party was founded in 1921 and was one of the principal players in the struggle against imperialism and racist domination. The SACP participates in the three-part alliance with the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

More Information
African Left Network Forum (ALNEF): www.alnef.org.za
South African Communist Party (SACP): www.sacp.org.za

For more information contact Lennart Kjörling: leonardo@leonardo.st