Mbeki Allies Purged By Party

South Africa's Communist party has purged two of President Thabo Mbeki's closest allies and cabinet ministers from the party's central committee in protest at his policies.

The party leadership failed to head off a rank-and-file revolt against the government even after persuading leading trade unionists to withdraw a challenge to the ministers.

Essop Pahad, minister in the president's office and Mr Mbeki's enforcer, and the public enterprises minister Jeff Radebe, who heads the privatisation programme, were voted off the committee.

A third minister, the safety and security secretary Charles Nqakula, retained his position as party chairman after the challenge failed to materialise.

Mr Mbeki angered delegates by backing out of making the opening address to the conference last week as sharp differences between the Communists and their ally the African National Congress over the government's economic policies, particularly privatisation, became apparant.

Angry delegates chanted anti-Mbeki slogans. One, loosely translated, said: "Let us fight because Mbeki does not want us to talk."

Delegates nominated senior union officials to challenge three of the six Communist party members in the cabinet for their seats on the central committee.

The trade unionists pulled out of the race under pressure from the party leadership, which wants to avoid an outright breach with the ANC.

Officially, the union leaders said they had abandoned the challenge to concentrate on the campaign against government policies, including a general strike against privatisation called for October.

But an alternative challenge rose from within the party, even though delegates were promised that there would be greater monitoring of whether Communist members of the cabinet adhered to the party's policies.

There is a general recognition that, faced with having to choose between the party and Mr Mbeki, the ministers concerned would stick with the president.