The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) held its first ordinary meeting on May 3, 2012 at the Durban Jewish Hall.
The ANC Provincial Chairperson, Cde Zweli Mkhize set the tone of the meeting through his political overview, which covered the political evaluation of the recently held 7th ANC provincial conference and how the newly elected PEC members should lead our organisation.
The PEC received a report on the readiness of our province with regards to the forthcoming National Policy Conference scheduled to take place at Gallagher Estate in Gauteng later this month. The PEC is very pleased with the significant progress that has been made in preparing for this crucial conference.
As part of preparing for this conference, the ANC has engaged branches, all sectors such as Non-Government Organisations, civil societies; community based organisations on policy discussion documents. We are happy that the ANC has reached out to all ordinary members of the community to solicit their views on ANC policy position. This is a clear indication that the ANC is a strategic force of cohesion in the provision of leadership to society. The character and revolutionary outlook of the ANC has affirmed its rootedness amongst the poor, working class and all other progressive forces in society
On the Spear Painting
The PEC commended the ANC national leadership for leading a massive fight against the onslaught on President Jacob Zuma. The painting by Brett Murray that depicted President Zuma with his private parts exposed was outrageous and should never have been exhibited by the Goodman Gallery.
The PEC is concerned about the continued attacks on our president which sometimes infringes on his rights, dignity and privacy. The PEC made it clear that more activities (ie marches) will be organised against those who will continue to infringe on the rights of our president. The freedom of expression does not entitle a person's rights and dignity to be undermined by others.
On the Youth Month (June)
In South Africa June is known as "youth month" in commemoration of the June 16 1976 youth uprisings in Soweto, Johannesburg. This year marks the 36 anniversary of the uprising and various activities will take place in our province to commemorate this day.
The ANC works harder each day to make South Africa a more prosperous country for our children. That is why the ANC-led government continues to provide the much needed support to fight child poverty. South Africa currently has close to 11 million children benefiting from child support grants, which also provides foster care benefits to scores of vulnerable children. The importance of these grants is massive. As the ANC, we take pride in the measure the ANC government has and is taking to enhance and protect the rights of children - some of whom will be our future leaders.
The PEC called for government to urgently utilise the R5 billion earmarked for the youth subsidy to absorb scores of unemployed youth into the labour market. It is our view that the wage subsidy should be used for on the job training and on internships.
We fully understand that this is a temporary measure aimed at providing our young people with the much-need experience and skills while dealing with unemployment at the same time. In South Africa, it is estimated that approximately 3 million of the total unemployed people are aged between 15 and 34.
The ANC is happy that the provincial government's Youth Ambassador Programme is working well. The programme is designed to raise champions and advocates for community development and to empower youths to become change-agents. Youth Ambassadors are trained as change agents for behavior modification. They were also orientated towards the values of responsible citizenship, social cohesion and patriotism.
June is a time when we focus our attention on issues affecting our young people. We also use this important month to highlight challenges that our young face and more importantly dealing with issues of youth development. The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has organised many events to highlight child abuse.
On PWC
The PEC also elected members of the Provincial Working Committee (PWC). The PWC comprises of five ANC provincial officials and seven members elected by the PEC.
ANC KZN PWC Members
|
Provincial Chairperson |
Zweli Mkhize |
|
Provincial Deputy Chairperson |
Willies Mchunu |
|
Provincial Secretary |
Sihle Zikalala |
|
Provincial Deputy Secretary |
Nomusa Dube |
|
Provincial Treasurer |
Peggy Nkonyeni |
Additional Members:
1. Ina Cronje
2. Senzo Mchunu
3. Ravi Pillay
4. Lydia Johnson
5. Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha
6. Sipho Gcabashe
7.Bongi Sithole
The PEC also co-opted Yusuf Bhamjee, Meggie Govender and Vincent Madlala to become members of the PEC.
Please note that we have attached ANC KZN 7th provincial conference resolutions.
Statement issued by Sihle Zikalala, ANC KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, June 5 2012
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
