Statement following the NEC Lekgotla held on the 25th - 28th January 2015
28 January 2015
The African National Congress met in its 1st NEC Lekgotla for 2015 at the St. Georges Hotel in Irene, Tshwane from the 25th to the 28th January 2015. The Lekgotla followed successful January 8 Celebrations held in the Western Cape which had outlined important tasks for the ANC, government and society in general. The meeting was attended by members of the National Executive Committee, the Leagues of the ANC, Alliance Partners and cadres deployed at various levels within government.
The NEC Lekgotla was an opportunity for the ANC government to account to the ANC and the Alliance broadly on the progress in delivering on the commitments made to our people during the 2014 General Election. It further sought to critically assess whether government had in place the action plans and resources to deal decisively with the priorities identified from the needs of our people. At the core of the Lekgotla programme was the need to ensure that the January 8 commitments were developed into an achievable plan to inform and influence the work of government.
The NEC Lekgotla also took place a few days after government returned from the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland under the theme " The New Global Context". The report received by the Lekgotla was that the message of the South African government that South Africa is open for business met a positive reception from both local and international business and investors. This warm reception encouraged government work even harder to stabilize and strengthen the economy. The pursuit of inclusive growth, decent jobs and eliminating the gap between the rich and the poor remains on top of our agenda.
Discussions were dominated by the work done by the 5th Administration in the priority areas of more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods, rural development, land and agrarian reform, education and health as well as fighting crime and corruption. Specific focus and attention was also given to local government, a critical focus area of the ANC, and the identified catalytic sectors namely energy, ICT, transport and water and sanitation.