STATEMENT OF THE ANC NEC

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) met on the 17th and 18th of July 2009 to take stock of the state of the organisation.

• The ANC has emerged from the 2009 elections with a very decisive victory and a clear mandate to govern based on the 2009 Manifesto.
• The regeneration of ANC branches remains a vanguard to mobilise the vast majority of the people of South Africa as a movement intent on ensuring the social transformation of our country.
• In this regard, the NEC adopted the stance that delivery of services to the people of South Africa is its major pre-occupation.
• Service delivery at the level of local government would assume centre stage as part of ongoing ANC activity of its branches.
• An ANC audit, of elected local councillors, would ensue immediately as well as an audit of the record of service delivery of all municipalities would be conducted by the branches of the ANC.
• The ANC will take measures to ensure that the commitment of our movement to the people will be met.
• The NEC condemned the violence that has accompanied service delivery protests and examined the nature of the protests, which have been labelled as service delivery protests in the media. In only seven of the 12, the protests were genuine service delivery protests, the rest were discontent with leadership, one was a protest dealing with an allegation of corruption by a municipal manager. Yet another protest was about fees at a Technikon and lack of maintenance of the facility itself. The ANC is, nevertheless, determined to deal with each matter where the councillor is from the ANC.

We have made key decisions with regard to our provinces.

Firstly, we have extended the Eastern Cape Provincial Conference to take place at the end of August, as opposed to July. The logic is that we would want to see as many branches as possible participating, so as to ensure that members of the ANC take active interest in activities of their organisation.

Secondly, we have disbanded two Provincial Executive Committees, namely, the Western Cape and the North West. The decision is grave than others may wish to portray it. It was preceded by numerous reports and assessments, including regional councils where National Working Committee members participated to hear what members' views were. Let us share with you some of the observations and the consequent resolution of the NEC on this:

THE NORTH WEST: JULY 2009

Having received the reports from the Rapid Response Team and the NEC depolyees the NWC held Regional General Council in all the regions of the North West. Taking into account all the views expressed in the reports and in the RGCs, including observations and recommendations made by the NWC; the National Executive Committee also noted the submission by the PEC.

The following observations were made:

•  The province is deeply divided and factions are almost institutionalised in that they are known and openly talked about.
• It is acknowledged that these factions have been entrenched in the workings of the province for more than a decade.
• In the same period of ten years, at least, strange tendencies and ill-discipline have developed, to a point where individuals are more loyal to their faction than the organisation.
• The Sun City provincial conference was a culmination of a long period of infighting that has continued beyond the conference itself.
• Business interests, control of resources and patronage are at the centre of the divisions in the province.
• Factionalism is negatively impacting on governance at both local and provincial levels.
• Deployment to government and state departments at both provincial and local levels is perceived to be or in reality determined on the basis of group loyalties.
• The advent of COPE has exacerbated the situation in the province in that comrades accuse those who disagree with them of being COPE. Those who claim to be legitimate defenders of the ANC use such allegations as a means to justify their ill discipline.
• The public posture of alliance partners tends to weaken the ANC rather than strengthening it. Their public pronouncements on the ANC structures and problems are not helpful, irrespective of whatever angle one looks at them.
• Overall the alliance in the province is dysfunctional.
• The current status quo poses a serious threat to the ANC in the coming local government elections.
• The views of delegates in all the PGCs reflected the serious divisions in the province.

The NEC, taking its responsibility of ensuring organisational renewal in the province, resolved that:

• The PEC should be disbanded with immediate effect.
• The NWC is given the responsibility of putting together a provincial task team within the next fourteen days.
• A maximum of three comrades from outside of the province be deployed to the task team to ensure objectivity in the work of the PTT.
• The PTT should be given a clear directive to rebuild and strengthen structures of the ANC at all levels of the organisation.
• A provincial conference should be convened within the next nine months.
• Regular progress reports should be submitted to the NEC.

THE WESTERN CAPE: JULY 2009

Having received the report of the NEC deployees, the NWC convened RGCs in all the provinces of the Western Cape. The following observations were made in all the RGC meetings, and the NEC noted them in making the final decision:

• The province is deeply divided and factionalised.
• The observation that some NEC members deployed in the province are seen as part of the problem was noted.
• The African/Coloured divide is serious in the province and needs urgent organisational attention.
• ANC structures in the province are generally weak, with very few branches in Coloured communities.
• The ANCYL and ANCWL structures are weak in almost all the regions.
• Good comrades are marginalised and blacklisted for deployment.
• Rural regions have strong views about being dominated by the Dullar Omar region in all the structures, and general workings of the province.
• There is a strong perception that deployment is overly centralised forcing deployed cadres, in general, and the councillors in particular, to be loyal to individuals than the organisation.
• Patronage and control of resources is seen to be central to the divisions in the province.
• These divisions make the ANC not to be proactive in dealing with issues. While the ANC is consumed with infighting, the DA is utilising available space by taking up the issues affecting our people.
• The majority of COSATU members continue to vote DA and have contributed to putting it into power.
• The public posturing of the alliance partners, particularly some in the SACP, cause more harm to the ANC and alliance relations than good. The support for independent candidates in the 2006 local government elections is seen as having contributed to the divisions in the province.
• That there are few ANC branches in coloured communities makes it more difficult to penetrate these areas.
• The state of readiness for the 2011 local government election is doubtful.

The NEC, therefore, resolved that:

• The PEC of the Western Cape should be disbanded forthwith.
• A provincial task team should be constituted within the next fourteen days.
• The task team should be constituted such that the rural regions and coloured communities are represented for easy access to these communities.
• The PTT be given a clear task of building the structures of the ANC ay all levels of the province, with particular emphasis on building branches in coloured communities.
• An early provincial conference be convened within the next nine months.
• Regular reports on progress made be submitted to the NEC.

Judging by the behaviour of comrades in the North West - following the decision of a high organ of our organisation - such as the NEC, we are more than certain we made a correct decision.

This is even more so when contrasted with the manner in which the organisation in the Western Cape responded.

The NEC of the ANC decided that the ANC would deepen its oversight of the delivery of education at every education institution. The ANC encouraged parents to take an active interest in the day-to-day activities of children at schools. The ANC was advised that the President of the Republic would be meeting with school principals.

On the National Health Insurance (NHI), the NEC resolved to support the NHI Task Team. The ANC will embark on a public information campaign and distribute a pamphlet to explain the NHI to households. The ANC manifesto articulated the NHI as an action under its Health priority. The reality that is faced by 70% of the country's citizens is that the service delivery at all government hospitals will not improve unless medical staff trained in South Africa and whose training is subsidized by the tax payer assume an understanding that it is not only private institutions that should enjoy their expertise. The NEC also deliberated the current state of state hospitals and indicated that the ANC would place relentless pressure on the government to improve the existing conditions.

The NEC further resolved to take proactive measures with regards to the following areas: mining, energy and development finance institutions. The Economic Transformation Committee is directed to develop submission on these matters.

Statement issued by Gwede Mantashe, Secretary General of the African National Congress, July 20 2009

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