Statement of the special session of the National Executive Committee
2 April 2019
The National Executive Committee of the ANC sat in a special session, 37 days before the historic elections for national and provincial governments on 8 May 2019, to assess its election campaign.
We remember Mama Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela
One year after the sad passing of cde Madikizela-Mandela, the African National Congress remembers a fierce freedom fighter, a compassionate leader and an undaunting voice for the poor and marginalized. Her life inspired South Africans of all ages, men and women, rural and urban, rich and poor. Her example gave impetus to women’s struggle against patriarchy, inspiring new generations of women to take up the baton for a truly non-sexist South Africa and Africa.
As we mark one year of Mam Winnie’s passing, our hearts and spirits are with her children, grandchildren and other family members, as they mourn and grieve for their matriarch.
We will continue to emulate her commitment to the poor, working with the community of Brandford to improve the lives of its citizens, and across the country. As a government, we will honour her memory, through public recognition in a variety of forms, in consultations with the family. The ANC supports, amongst others, the proposals for a statute in Orlando West, a commemoration stamp in honour and for other forms of acknowledgement of her role.
The ANC adds its voice to the call by the ANC Women’s League, of whom cde Winnie Madikizela Mandela was a lifelong member and served as its President, to wear our doeks, as we continue to celebrate her legacy, which continues to multiply.
A wall to wall Elections campaign across South Africa
The NEC received a report on the campaign for a decisive victory in the upcoming elections, so that we continue to work together to grow South Africa. Across the length and breadth of the country, ANC members, volunteers, candidates and leaders are conducting door to door canvassing, putting up posters and having community meetings, reaching out to hundreds of thousands of voters.
In the outreach of ANC’s to voters, our people appreciate the achievements of the ANC government to improve the lives of all South Africans, ensuring that in just 25 years, millions more have access to water, sanitation, education, housing, health care, electricity, information technology and decent roads. In our outreach to voters, they expressed optimism for a future South Africa led by the ANC.
Our presidential candidate, cde Cyril Ramaphosa, and all candidates and leaders of the ANC are working tirelessly – across the 22,000 voting districts - on various elections programmes.
Our communities raised with us the ongoing challenges of service delivery, especially around water and sanitation, sewerage and other community challenges. We listened and in the spirit of the #ThumaMina campaign, undertook to fix these problems and to come back and report to them.
The majority of voters are women and youth, and as we committed in our Manifesto, the NEC commits to continue to work together to build a better life for all South Africans, but especially women and young people.
On ESKOM
The NEC once again received an update on progress with addressing the problems faced by this most important state-owned entity, which remains critical to our resolve to grow an inclusive economy for all. The NEC reaffirmed the 54th Conference resolution on an energy of fossil fuels (coal, gas), nuclear, hydro and renewables including solar, biomass, and wind.
The report to the NEC highlighted efforts to cut down on unplanned load-shedding, through daily monitoring of every power station, their maintenance schedules, as well as the quality of coal. The ANC calls on all coal producers to work with government to ensure that the coal they provide is of the highest quality and grade.
The NEC noted improvements in ESKOM’s generation capacity, easing pressure on the national grid. It acknowledged that coal power plants remain the mainstay of our energy supply, and that the problems facing this sector be tackled consistently and with resolve. The NEC also acknowledged the contribution of nuclear and hydro as well as renewables recently added to the grid through the IPPs.
The NEC supports the efforts by government and the entity to find solutions to the financial crisis of ESKOM, and reaffirmed our commitment that ESKOM is a strategic national asset, that must remain a public asset. It furthermore re-affirmed resolutions of the NEC Lekgotla in January 2019, that there will be no job losses and that we will involve all stakeholders in finding sustainable solutions.
The NEC urged ESKOM, government and all South Africans to also address the demand-side of the energy equation, not just in time of a load-shedding crisis. This includes in the ordinary run of things to switch off lights, geysers, equipment and appliances when not used. We all have a responsibility not only to play our role whilst we stabilize Eskom, but also to reduce our environmental footprint, for the sake of our planet and future generations.
A List of Cadres to represent all South Africans
The NEC meeting reaffirmed its confidence in the process that produced the ANC lists of candidates for national and provincial government. It dismissed the unfounded allegations that lists were tampered with. The process to arrive at the final lists submitted to the IEC went through a democratic, rigorous, thorough and fair process, involving ANC branches, provinces, and Alliance partners, unparalleled by any other political party in this country. This process was guided by strict List Guidelines, adopted in May 2018 by the NEC.
We received over 800 nominations from branches. As per its list guidelines, the top 25% of the available seats in parliament and provincial legislatures remained as nominated by branches and elected as various list conferences. The remainder of available of seats were then ordered according to our policy imperatives of gender parity, youth representation, demographics, as well as continuity and geographic spread. We are confident that, after a lengthy process, our lists meet all of these requirements.
We again remind all candidates that representing the people of South Africa and the ANC is an honour, and not a right.
Our commitment to gender parity on our lists remains unwavering. The ANC is however not satisfied with the fact that the top 25% in some of our provincial lists do not reflect this principle, although the overall lists do. We must therefore continue to raise awareness on the sanctity of this principle in our structures.
In addition to the legal requirements for candidates set out by the Constitution of the Republic and the Electoral Act, the ANC set an even higher bar, removing all candidates with criminal records (not just for 5 years, but longer) and subjected all its candidates to a vetting process. This is in furtherance of the ANC 54th National Conference mandate which instructed the National Executive Committee to lead the process of renewal, unity and restoring the integrity and values of the ANC.
Our people, in the door to door work, have expressed their approval of the ANC supported processes to deal with allegations of corruption and state capture, expressed through the various commissions, which must be supported and allowed to conclude their work.
The ANC has also listened to the people, when they said, our public representative candidates must reflect this spirit of renewal and integrity. As a further measure therefore, the NEC has referred its lists in their totality to its Integrity Commission for review, within the ambit of the List Guidelines, the rules of natural justice and the 54th Conference resolutions.
Our Commitment to Human Rights for all
The ANC notes the resurgence of criminal actions and discrimination against immigrants from other African countries. South Africa is a signatory to African Union instruments on free movement of people, goods and services, as well as the human rights instruments such as the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights, as well as the UN Universal Declaration on Human rights.
We recognize the concerns from communities about unused buildings used for criminal activities, about drugs and human trafficking, as well as illegal economic activity. The criminal justice system must act against criminality, wherever it occurs. We condemn all forms of xenophobia, Afrophobia, discrimination and attacks on foreign nationals. No person must take the law into their own hands.
We call on all people who are trading to do so legally, and to pay value added taxes. All persons living in and visiting the country must obey the laws of the country.
We must forge partnerships at community level, amongst businesses and communities to raise awareness about the rights of all people, irrespective of origin.
The ANC, since its inception has valued the Pan African agenda, and will continue to do so, as a member of the African community of states.
Conclusion
We are confident that registered voters will respond positively, as has been shown in numerous research polls.
In these last few days, South Africa will be turned black, green and gold, as every voter will be canvassed. The ANC is not sparing any of its cadres and members, as it embarks on the final push towards a successful election result on 8 of May 2019. We will campaign every day, in every town, village, city, suburb and street, until the last moment.
We call on all ANC cadres: ANC Leads, ANC Lives. All hands on deck!
Issued by Ace Magashule, Secretary General, ANC, 2 April 2019
