Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the ANC Gauteng conference in Tshwane on Friday (July 20 2018). Picture: Felix Dlangamandla/Netwerk24
Next year’s general elections were topmost in mind when President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to ANC branch delegates at the provincial conference at the St George Hotel in Tshwane on Friday.
Ramaphosa drummed up the need for the ANC to regain its position as the leader of society, saying that corruption and fighting for positions within the party were among the key issues that made voters want “to walk away from us”.
“This conference needs to pay attention to the relationship between the ANC structures and communities,” said Ramaphosa, adding that the strength of ANC branches should no longer be measured by numbers on its membership record but the extent to which members were involved in the life of the community.
He said that in order to bridge the distance between the ANC and the voters, branch members “must be seen as exemplary; as people who contribute and make a meaningful difference”.
“They should be active in community structures like ward committees, clinic committees, hospital boards, school governing bodies and community policing forums to advance local development,” he said.
This conference needs to reflect on whether this is the case in Gauteng, said Ramaphosa.
He said that the 2016 local government elections, “in which we saw a dramatic decline in support for the ANC, suggests that the ANC is not fulfilling people’s expectations”.
“The results revealed much about the presence of our organisation in communities and its responsiveness to the needs and concerns of the electorate.”
He said that conference “delegates must honestly assess the extent to which our own weaknesses contributed to the decline in electoral support, even among our traditional supporters”.
Delegates at the 13th ANC Gauteng provincial conference held at the St Georges Hotel in Pretoria. New leaders will be elected this weekend. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla/Netwerk24
However, warned Ramaphosa, “in doing this, we must not tear each other apart, but we must speak the truth without fear or favour with the sole intention to self-correct”.
He urged conference delegates to take responsibility as a collective.
“Our process of introspection, which may at times be painful, must be undertaken in a manner that safeguards the unity of our movement. Everything done at this conference must be aimed at renewing our movement and restoring the confidence of our people in it”.
After the conference, he said, all the negative tendencies that created a distance between the ANC and the voters must be put behind.
“Our people must have confidence that we have listened to their concerns and are now firmly on the path of renewal,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the perception that ANC conferences were about securing leadership positions where in some cases they turn violent and disruptive, was weakening the party’s electoral potential.
“Conference must be firm against all foreign practices which erode the confidence of our people in the ANC such as the manipulation of processes, gate-keeping, bulk-buying of membership, and even violence.”
He said that the national conference last December in Nasrec in Johannesburg set the ANC on a path to renewal and that mandate must also find expression in Gauteng.
“It must start with the individual member and with each and every branch. And it must extend into all our activities and into the way we conduct ourselves in government.”
Ramaphosa said that the emancipation of the poor and vulnerable people of South Africa in rural areas and in informal settlements, including women and youth, was a responsibility that history placed on the shoulders of the ANC “and we dare not fail”.
“Conference must determine what practical measures we need to take to make this a reality. At the top of our minds must be those of our people who remain unemployed, who are denied the opportunity to play a meaningful role in the mainstream economy of our country”.
He said Gauteng was the economic hub of the country and a major destination for investment. It was therefore the responsibility of the ANC to leverage the infrastructure, skills and capacity that the province attracted both from within the country and internationally.
“We need to ensure that this investment benefits our people through the creation of jobs, particularly for the youth. To do so, we need to pay attention to the spatial development of the province, ensuring that investment is made in the areas where our people live,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the poor and working class ought to be brought closer to economic centres, and he was impressed that the Gauteng government had undertaken to provide people with land for housing in the major urban areas.
But, he said, the construction of suitable housing in well-located areas, must be done at the same time with the provision of service sites so that people were able to also build their own structures.
“We should continue and accelerate the process of providing people with title deeds as part of our efforts to redistribute land and to tackle asset poverty.”
He said delegates must discuss how the idea of radical economic transformation can be realised at a grassroots level where they come from.
Ramaphosa said radical economic transformation meant taking steps to ensure all project targets are reached in order to benefit local people.
“We must act decisively against those within our ranks involved in activities that disrupt these projects,” he said.
By the same measure, he said, “our members should desist from becoming part of violent local protests because they undermine the stability of our democracy, cause damage to property and breed conflict”.
Instead, he said, ANC members should rather be in the forefront of seeking solutions to community problems.
Ramaphosa also touched slightly on the controversial eTolls, which many people in Gauteng had rejected, saying that the matter was being attended to and discussions were ongoing. He said conference delegates should also have an input.
Gauteng premier David Makhura was expected to expand more on the eTolls during his political report later on Friday.
Makhura was expected to be elected uncontested as chairperson of the provincial ANC when elections begin later on Friday night. A heated contest was expected for the position of deputy chairperson between education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and economic development MEC Lebogang Maile.
Former Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau was also expected to contest the post but those supporting Lesufi were lobbying him to accept nomination as treasurer on their slate.
City Press heard that Maile had been asked to step aside and not contest but his campaign team were still busy lobbying for support by the time proceedings at conference went on a break for lunch.
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