"The African National Congress (ANC) is on the move and the enemy is on the run." With these remarks, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe summed up the political mood in the country in the run-up to the 22 April 2009 elections.
Addressing a packed Madzikane Ka Zulu Memorial Grounds in the Eastern Cape's Alfred Nzo Region, Mantashe wrapped up his two-day visit to the province with a strong message: "With only 45 days left before we go to elections, we (ANC) want to prove to anyone that the liberation movement is on the offensive. The recent by-elections, which we won overwhelmingly, were a mere indication of how we deal decisively with political wannabes.
"From petitions, wars of resistance to the armed struggle, the ANC has a solid history as a movement that has brought liberation to all South Africans. The ANC is today 97 years old, been with us until today and continues with its policy to build a non-racial and non sexist South Africa where a democratically-elected majority rules."
Mantashe: "In the past 15 years of ANC rule, we have reaped fruits of democracy by bringing electricity to rural areas and built taps so that people don't have to fetch water from dams and rivers. Today there is an increase in pensions pay and parity, unlike in 1994 when black pensioners received their pensions quarterly and whites monthly. The ANC government has introduced child support grant. The ANC government plans to increase the eligibility age from 14 to 18 years. On education, no child should not go to school because of poverty at home. We plan to introduce the school feeding scheme to also benefit secondary schools.
"On health, we acknowledge that quality of health still has to be improved. Clinics in rural areas that have no nurses or medicine are not serving the community. We are also still facing challenges of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. On labour, we are committed to create decent jobs. The ANC Manifesto is very clear on our position with regards to outsourcing and labour broking which we believe should be done away with."
The ANC, said Mantashe, was committed to rural development. "We need a mandate from you on 22 April 2009 to fully implement programmes we have identified as key priority areas," he said. He also reiterated the ANC's position to create two ministries of education, for schooling and higher education.