ANC statement on the outcomes of the National Working Committee

10 June 2020

The National Working Committee of the African National Congress met in virtual session on Monday, 8 June 2020.

The NWC conveyed its warmest wishes to Isithwalandwe / Seaparakoe Tata Andrew Mlangeni on the occasion of his 95th Birthday on 6 June.

The meeting also conveyed its condolences to all those who have lost loved ones to the Covid-19 pandemic and wished those infected a speedy recovery.

The NWC noted with sadness the passing of Comrade Kwanele Gugushe, on 31 May 2020, from the Coronavirus. Cde Gugushe, an activist and community builder from Stellenbosch, was a member of ANC Regional Task Team in Boland, Western Cape. COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The meeting welcomed the report given by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the work of the National Command Council on Covid-19.

The NWC welcomed the phased opening of schools and supported the need for ongoing and careful monitoring of the situation to ensure the safety of both learners, teachers and parents.

The NWC commended the responsible approach taken by many religious leaders to the reopening of places of worship.

The NWC noted the initiative to establish an African Union common platform for the procurement of protective and therapeutic material, African being the first continent to do so.

The NWC supported the decision by government to appeal the recent decision in the de Beer case setting aside the regulations made in terms of the National Disaster Management Act.

The NWC expressed particular concern regarding the sharp rise in Covid-19 infections, particularly in the Western Cape, and supported the stance taken by national government to support the people of the Western Cape in dealing with the pandemic.

The NWC supports the inclusive and decisive leadership that President Ramaphosa continues to provide to the country, the ANC, and the African Continent in his capacity as Chairperson of the African Union.

The NWC noted puerile and vacuous attacks by certain opposition parties on the President.

Neither the ANC nor its President will be distracted from the need to bring our nation, continent, and world together in united action to confront the serious challenges that face humanity at this time.

The NWC commended the efforts of ANC structures at provincial, regional and branch level to support national efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic; especially in all hotspots and emerging hotspots.

Thousands of ANC branches continue to report on the ANC cloud-based reporting system. These reports provide valuable real-time information on the pandemic and the issues that require intervention by government and ANC structures.

Branches are reporting on community access to basic services (water, health, transport, food) price spiking, domestic violence, SAPS conduct, smuggling, looting, government relationships, civic organisation support, disability support, child-headed household support, soap availability, feeding schemes, official language usage, health care access, education & awareness, disinfecting, and mask wearing.

The NWC welcomed the release of the Alliance Covid-19 Framework discussion document last week, and calls on all Alliance structures and broader society to engage robustly on the issues raised in the document.

The meeting commended all health professionals who are in the frontline of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, including the positive contribution by Cuban doctors who have started working in provinces in the spirit of international solidarity that continues to be displayed by the people of Cuba.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST RACISM

The NWC reaffirmed support for Alliance Campaign Against Racism launched on 5 June 2020 by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa; SACP General-Secretary, Blade Nzimande; and COSATU President, Zingiswa Losi as well as leaders fraternal parties and civil society.

The NWC called for the mobilisation of the broadest range of people in united action against racism in the United States and across the world, including in South Africa. In expressed its solidarity with the call: Black Lives Matter! - it recalled the leading role played by anti-apartheid movement in the United States in mobilising solidarity with the people of South Africa in their struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous nation. The African American community also formed an important part of the global Pan African struggle against slavery, racism and colonialism.

The NWC condemned persistent racism in our own society as well as ongoing racist and sexist attacks against ANC leaders, exemplified most recently by the racist and sexist attacks on Comrade Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

It condemned abuses of power by members of the police and other security services and called upon them to act in line with the Constitution to secure the safety of all communities.

The NWC called an intensification of the campaign and the involvement of all South Africans as well as united action across the African Continent and the SADC region.

This campaign will be intensified in the context of commemorating Youth Day on June 16, celebrating the 65th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter on 26 June, and International Nelson Mandela Day on 18 July.

YOUTH MONTH

As we celebrate Youth Month this year, we must pay attention to the specific manner in which the Covid-19 pandemic impacts on young people. Across the world and in our own country and continent, young people are disproportionately affected by unemployment, and form the majority in sectors most affected by the pandemic — tourism, retail, hospitality and the informal sector.

Young people are also disproportionately affected by school and university and college closures.

As schools and campuses across the world open, we must continue to exercise extreme vigilance, protect students, learners and educators, teachers and lecturers, and give support to those infected and affected.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also brought home the struggle for universal access to information and communications technology, as remote work and learning become the order of the day. Data and devices in South Africa remain unacceptably high, and we recall the resolution of 54th National Conference which calls for "the ANC (to) support the campaign for data to fall and the monopolization of data", in order to advance inclusion.

As young people march against racism, side by side with other progressives across the world, we recall the struggles of South African youth against racism, from the generation of 1944, the black consciousness generation of the 70s, the young lions of the 1990s to the #FeesMustFall generation of the 2000s. The global movement against racism, the clarion call that Black Lives Matter, must also occupy the minds and activities of young people during Youth Month: in their schools and universities, online and with their friends and colleagues.

We honour the memory of Comrade Peter Mokaba, President of the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) and the ANC Youth League, who passed away 18 years ago on 9 June 2002.

The discussion about racism, sexism, related Intolerances and violence is a necessary dialogue, that must include all young people, black and white. The future belongs to young people, they must help build this non-racial, non-sexism and just South Africa, Africa and world today.

ELECTIONS AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM

The NWC noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has, and will continue to have, a major impact on all aspects of our national life, including manner in, and time at which, elections are held.

It noted that the pandemic has resulted in the Electoral Court ordering the postponement of a number of municipal by-elections. It also noted that public participation processes for the delimitation of municipal wards in preparation for local government elections in 2021 have been 
delayed by the pandemic.

The impact of these developments on the 2021 local government elections will be discussed by the ANC and other political parties in the National Party Liaison Committee convened by the Independent Electoral Commission.

The NWC discussed a range of responses of these and other challenges impacting on our electoral system, including:

- The desirability of synchronisation of elections at national, provincial and local spheres of government;

- The desirability of introducing elements of constituency-based representation at national and provincial spheres, consistent with the constitutional requirement for an electoral system that results, in general, in proportional representation;

- Alternative methods of conducting elections, including the use of electronic voting.

The NWC discussed these proposals in the context of strengthening the accountability of responsiveness of democratic institutions and the building of a more effective and capable developmental state. In this regard the NWC also considered the impact of the electoral system on the strengthening of the district development model seeking to align planning, budgeting, and implementation across national, provincial and local spheres of government.

The NWC recognised that these matters require wide-spread consultation and debate in society, including in, and amongst, political parties.

The NWC emphasised that these proposals must be supported by a rigorous evidence based approach, including clarity regarding their Constitutional implications. It mandated the Legislatures and Governance Sub-committee of the NEC to conduct research to further develop these proposals.

Issued by Ace Magashule, Secretary General of the ANC, 10 June 2020