Statement of the African National Congress on the outcomes of the NEC Lekgotla held on the 19th - 21st July 2013
The National Executive Committee of the African National Congress met in a three day Lekgotla, 19 - 21 July 2013, at the Saint George Hotel, Tshwane. This NEC was not an ordinary Lekgotla in that its scope was broader than usual compared to others. It considered at the 2009 - 2014 term, progress in the implementation of the five priority areas as well as finalise the 9 months programme for the remainder of the current administration's term.
The Lekgotla also took time to look at our preparedness for the 2014 elections. The ANC took time to review progress made and the impact we have achieved both in entrenching democracy and transformation of society. The meeting acknowledged the centrality and relevance of the Freedom Charter as a policy framework to guide our work as well as the increasing importance of the National Development Plan (NDP) to guide the national effort towards the eradication of the legacy of selective development.
As part of this exercise we have conducted an audit of all major government projects that have been approved and funded by government. These projects are assessed to ensure that we confront the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The meeting acknowledged progress made and agreed that all infrastructure programmes must continue being implemented to achieve progress in improving the capacity of our productive economy.
In this regard, infrastructure provision , rural development, energy sources, fuel sufficiency, ICT as well as education and skills development were re-affirmed as critical for progress to be made moving forward. Investment by both the private and public sectors and building confidence in the economy were considered as a priority to strengthen the economy. In order to fast-track progress, the NEC recommended that the President must establish a Task Team that will align these initiatives and ensure effective delivery in the various sectors of the economy.
This Task Team will complement the work of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee. Among the projects reported on were the following: Energy projects (Medupi Power Station, Kusile Power Station, Ingula Power Station), water and sanitation (Two new dams were built and completed in the past five years in the De Hoop on the Oliphant River in Limpopo and the Spring Grove Dam on the Mooi/ Mngeni River in KwaZulu-Natal), amongst other infrastructural projects that are in the pipeline that will be implemented soon. Clearing of site will start of the Umzimvubu Dam in January 2014 and the work on the universities in Mpumalanga and Northern will commence in November of this year.
The Lekgotla was satisfied with the progress made in improving the work of the public sector school Palama. It was agreed that a separate school for local government must be built and that this school must be integrated with Palama at a later stage.
Much progress has been made in the education. In this regard we have noted improvement in terms of matriculation results over the last three academic years. Literacy and numeracy have improved according to the Annual National Assessment and international bench marking.
We are wishing our six learners who are going to the International Mathematics tournament all the success and luck. New schools have been built and continue to be built with special attention being given to the eradication of mud schools. 49 mud schools were replaced in 2012 and a total 101 is targeted in 2013.
The number of school kids accessing university has tripled. The NSFAS funding for FET Colleges has increased from R318 million in 2010 to R2 billion for students' bursaries in 2013. NSFAS bursaries for university education have increased from R2.2 billion in 2012 to R3.693 billion in 2013. The Lekgotla has directed the relevant ministry to undertake a study on the impact of this investment on class demographics. Progress has been registered in the unbundling of the MEDUNSA from the University of Limpopo and in building of a medical school in Limpopo.
The initiative to change the skills profile of hospital management has been accelerated and it is starting to impact positively on the performance of our public health institutions. We are proud of the good progress being made in containing the scourge of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This has been reflected in the improvement of life expectancy, reduction of child and infant mortality and the reduction of mother to child transmission. The Lekgotla received reports on work done on the NHI pilot sites.
The Lekgotla acknowledged the impact of the global financial crisis on the performance of the global economy and the decline in the GDP growth. The sluggish performance of the economy in job creation and the low levels of private sector investment were a source of major concern, hence the proposed Presidential Task Team.
These areas are receiving special attention through a number of initiatives undertaken by government to reverse the job loss trends. The Presidential Task Team be established must focus on the economy in the various sectors. It is expected that the Cabinet will refine the work of the Task Team.
The work of this Lekgotla and the Cabinet Lekgotla will contribute in the finalization of the Manifesto later this year. The Manifesto will be launched in January.
Statement issued by Gwede Mantashe, ANC Secretary General, July 22 2013
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