ANC National Working Committee KZN visit statement 12-15 May 2023

16 May 2023

REMARKS BY USA AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA

We remain resolute that a Better World and Better Africa is one where war is not a means to resolve our differences. We are known as country that fosters peace and a human rights based approach. We stand by this, and urge our government to defend and advance our national interests.

NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE VISITS TO PROVINCES

The National Working Committee of the African National Congress has taken a decision to conduct provincial visits to assess the state of the organisation at a regional level and also assess the extent of service delivery particularly at a local government level.

ENGAGEMENT WITH KING MISIZULU

The visit to the Isilo saMabandla was successful and augured well for cementing the historic relationship between the ANC and the institution of traditional leadership.

We note the positive mood following the visit successful conclusion of the NWC visit.

The visit to KwaZulu-Natal Province follows on from the recent NWC visit to Limpopo Province.

These visits will continue with and will result in specific action plans based on the material conditions of each provinces, most importantly the visits of the NWC aim to give impetus and a tangible outcome to the January 8th Statement declaration.

Our 2023 January 8 Statement declared this year as "The Year of Decisive Action to Advance People's Interests and renew our Movement." At the heart of this declaration is the recognition of the people as the primary beneficiaries of our struggle. Furthermore, it is direct recognition that the ANC - led government must heighten service delivery.

The NWC visit to provinces is about developing a sustainable organisation and ensuring that we do not have structures that only mobilise people to attend rallies only. Our structures must be at the heart of our communities resolving service delivery challenges, recruiting and attracting eminent activists, building a better life for all ward- by- ward.

In driving development the organisation needs strong, vibrant and dynamic branches a strong civic movement and community activism. Leadership with a clear vision, leadership with the requisite skills and ideological and theoretical capacity to understand the state and plight of communities and to lead with society.

The NWC has listened to the branch leadership across aIl regions and has assessed the various reports presented by the Regional and Provincial leadership of the ANC in KwaZuIu-NataI. Based on everything that has been delivered to our attention, there is objective evidence that we have made significant gains in the provinces chief amongst those is the fact the province is no longer a bastion of ethno-cultural considerations, although a lot more needs to be done to usher in a national democratic society our progress thus far is irreversible.

Following the successful visits to Limpopo and KwaZuIu-NataI, the NWC will be stepping up the NWC visits to connect with our structures, assess the state of organisation, service delivery and governance.

Through our interactions with branch, regional and provincial leadership of the ANC in KwaZuIu-Natal, we made the following observations a detailed report will follow:

ANC IS STABLE BUT THERE IS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

The ANC has a formidable presence and has proven to be stable in this province, however, the province is confronted by numerous challenges which have been presented in different reports by NWC deployees these challenges are not insurmountable.

SERVICE DELIVERY CHALLENGES & FAILURES REQUIRE SYSTEMIC RESPONSES

Amongst the issues that has been flagged across the entire province as a service delivery challenge is the provision of Water up from all regions was the challenge of service delivery.

The underlying causes of the water challenges range from :

- Inadequate bulk water supply provision

- High volumes of water losses due to poorly maintained aging water supply infrastructure

- Sewer spillages due to poorly maintained aging infrastructure

The levels crime is an impediment to service delivery affecting and also affect various business fora. Public facilities and infrastructure are susceptible to criminal elements to this end branches are called upon to establish infrastructure protection committees which will work closely with community policing forums and police stations in our communities to protect our infrastructure.

Police on their own cannot fight crime single-handedly we require communities led by our branches to be at the forefront of crime prevention strategies and assist police accordingly.

SERVICE DELIVERY

The saga of the school feeding scheme is a matter of serious concern. The NWC has taken an unequivocal position, whilst there may be an explanation as to how the problem came about, consequences must be affected without delay. We expect the ANC - led administration to have a very low threshold for incompetence.

This programme affects millions of children from working class communities and as such we expect the relevant officials to be meticulous in their planning processes but moreover we expect very thorough political oversight on programmes of this nature.

Equally of concern the slow pace at which municipalities are able address audit findings. The audit outcomes in this province are one of the worst in the country, particularly in municipalities where coalitions are led by the opposition parties. It is imperative that investigations in such municipalities must be conducted swiftly and urgently.

Where there is political instability and poor service delivery patterns in ANC led municipalities this must be resolved by the provincial leadership urgently by all means necessary.

The NWC has noted that this province has substantial challenges which require a follow up visit.

Issued by Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, National Spokesperson, 16 May 2023