Update on the ANC Greater Johannesburg Regional Lekgotla by Regiona Chairperson Dada Morero

26 August 2024

The ANC Greater Johannesburg Region is currently having its Lekgotla the Mount Grace Hotel in Magaliesburg. This is part of the established ANC process and practice. As guided by the ANC NEC, the purpose of the Lekgotla is to reflect on the election outcomes, understand the new political environment, and make the necessary adjustments and realignments to ensure that we remain on course to building a National Democratic Society.

The Regional Lekgotla brings together all regional leaders of the ANC, leagues, representatives of our alliance partners, the Progressive Youth Alliance as well as strategic deployees in government. Furthermore, both national and provincial leadership are also represented to provide strategic guidance. We are now breaking for commissions which will debate and come up with resolutions based on the presentations received.

The commissions are on:

- [Governance]

- [Elections]

- [Organizational Renewal]

We will give a comprehensive report on the outcomes of the commissions' work at the conclusion of the Lekgotla. The Lekgotla provides a platform for robust debate and engagement amongst ANC leaders and allows for these leaders to freely express their views. The views of the individual leaders on how to resolve challenges facing society do not in themselves automatically represent the position of the organization.

In my address I reflected, amongst others, on:

1. Women's month, focusing on women who continue to play an educational and motivational influence in our lives;

2. Outcome of the elections;

3. Political challenges facing the ANC in Greater Johannesburg;

4. Challenges facing City of Johannesburg;

5. Statement of Intent of the GNU;

Today's media conference is convened to respond to the concerns centred around my proposal in relation to resolving language barriers and challenges which are confronted by the our law enforcement agencies. The comments I made were to the effect that the City of Johannesburg might have to consider recruiting qualified and properly documented foreign nationals into the JMPD to assist with bridging the language barriers which frustrate the work of our police when investigating crimes involving foreigners.

I shared these views in order to inspire debate in the Lekgotla which is a platform for ANC leaders to consider with open mindedness all options available to resolve the challenges facing our people. Having debated my proposal, the Lekgotla came to the conclusion that the recruitment of foreign nationals into the JMPD, or any of our security forces for that matter, is both undesirable and untenable. The Lekgotla resolved that we should, instead, train our own officers to be proficient in foreign languages that are dominant in areas with the highest concentration of specific groups of foreign nationals. The Lekgotla, however, accepted the concern that language barriers frustrate police work as valid and legitimate.

Upon further reflection, I have come to the conclusion that my suggestion was not consistent with the policies of the ANC and government. I therefore unconditionally withdraw my proposal and apologize for the anxiety it might have caused to the residents of Johannesburg and the people of South Africa as a whole.

I wish to appreciate the robust manner in which our people were engaged in this discourse, especially in social media platforms. The participation of our people in this discourse reaffirms our belief that we have a vibrant and conscious citizenry upon which a prosperous society can and will be built.

Issued by ANC, 26 August 2024