Cracks in the tripartite alliance were laid bare during the Cosatu national congress, with ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe saying the ANC was served with divorce papers.

Mantashe was referring to a speech delivered moments earlier by SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila, who told the more than 1,800 congress delegates that the ground was shifting and not in favour of the ANC. He said the SACP was ready to contest the 2024 elections.

On Monday, Mantashe was publicly humiliated when workers outright refused to allow him to address the congress. However, this didn't stop him from returning on day two.

It was hours after proceedings started that Mantashe conceded defeat and, accompanied by the ANC coordinator in the secretary-general's office, he finally decided to leave.

Speaking on the sidelines of the congress, he said the ANC needed to accept that Cosatu delegates did not want to be addressed by the ANC.

"Delegates of the conference didn’t want us to talk to them. We must humbly accept that. It’s not the end of the road. I also took note of the issues raised by the communist party and we whispered there, saying why does the communist party serve divorce papers in public? They must send those divorce papers to us to read them.

"I’m leaving. I’m not going to address them. I will not be here tomorrow. I was here yesterday. I was here today. The ANC has spoken to the leadership of Cosatu that some of us are leaving. We must go to work that will add value rather than sitting here and internalising…

"We’ve appreciated that we’ve grown to be objects of abuse everywhere we go. We’ve accepted that but it’s also an important exercise that when you’re an object of abuse you manage that by not causing a scene and appreciate the fact that you as the organisation did what you had to... to keep the organisation intact," he said.

Mantashe accused the delegates of displaying immaturity, saying their refusal to allow the ANC to speak as invited guests was "immature". "They are immature. We will allow everybody to speak in our conference because we are mature."

The tripartite alliance – made up of Cosatu, the SACP and the ANC – is under threat and both Cosatu and the SACP have accused the governing party of pandering to capital and sidelining its allies.

Addressing congress delegates, Mapaila said: "There have been questions about whether or not the SACP is ready to contest elections. Let me put it in simple words. The SACP is ready. Any other thing is a matter of engagement. We’re not isolationist. We are working within [the] revolutionary agenda. 

"The working class has to contest the ANC. Criminals are now contesting the ANC. How can criminals be better than revolutionaries. We should not be sucked into ANC factions as a class. Even the situation we face today has to build maximum unity. Workers must not be nice to government when they renege on [an] agreed framework."

Mantashe said this was the clearest sign yet of a weakened alliance, adding that should the SACP forge ahead with its plans of contesting elections, not only would the ANC not support it, but it would leave either of the parties in a more vulnerable position because "we're fishing in the same pond".

"It means the alliance is weak. It has weakened a great deal and we’ll have to work together to try and build it. The alliance is an alliance of three equal partners with an equal responsibility. The ANC was given a responsibility to lead the alliance with its challenge.

"One of the discussions currently going on is whether or not the ANC is the leader or the alliance is the centre – that’s the issue being discussed.

"The SACP can’t support the SACP contesting. We’ll split the base because the party is going to fish from the same pond where the ANC is fishing. All it means is that there’ll be a smaller ANC, smaller SACP that is contesting the election," Mantashe said.