SOUTH African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary Blade Nzimande is expected to address the party's Red October Campaign on Sunday morning in the SACP stronghold village of Inchanga, which nestles between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
In recent years the area has been a battleground in which violent and often deadly tensions between members of the SACP and ANC have played out, with political killings emanating from the tensions particularly rife in the lead up to the 2016 local government elections.
At the heart of the tensions were accusations of ANC gatekeeping, manipulation of ANC membership in accordance with factions and shutting out and SACP members from getting ANC membership.
The tensions were widely touted to have led Malombo Nxumalo, the relative of former eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo, to contest the 2016 elections as an independent candidate, a leap of faith that saw him win ward 4 in the area.
Although the violent and deadly tensions have somewhat subsided in recent years, Nzimande is expected to urge members of the Communist Party to fully back the ANC and vote for the ruling party in the November 1 local government elections.
Despite the cold weather, thousands of SACP supporters are expected to pack the Nondlini Hall in Inchanga's ward 4 to listen to Nzimande's address.
In a statement SACP said that its Tripartite Alliance partners, the ANC and Cosatu as well as the SACP's youth wing, the Young Communist League of South Africa would present messages of support.
"The SACP will use the campaign to articulate its programme of both the immediate and structural transformation interventions required to overcome the interrelated economic and social crises of unemployment, poverty, inequality, and the associated struggle faced by many working-class and poor families struggling to support life," the Communist Party said.
Political Bureau