Numsa's withdrawal of funding won't affect SACP, party says.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA's (Numsa's) withdrawal of funding will not affect the SA Communist Party (SACP), the party said on Sunday.  "The SACP has not received funding from the political fund for the past three years" and the withdrawal would thus have no impact over the SACP, spokesman Alex Mashilo said.  Numsa resolved at a special national congress this past week to withdraw its contribution to trade union federation Cosatu's political fund.  It also said it would not endorse or support the ANC or any other political party in the 2014 general elections.  Mashilo said the fund had not been set up only for the SACP, but also the ANC, the National Labour and Economic Development Institute (Naledi), the Congress of SA Students and the SA Students' Congress.  The SACP is part of an alliance with the ANC and Cosatu, but Numsa, which is affiliated to Cosatu, has called on Cosatu to break away from the alliance.  The SACP occupies the third floor of Cosatu's headquarters in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, in terms of a long-standing arrangement.

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