Ramaphosa promises ANC will offer best policies for the country
25 June 2018
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to start his first term of administration after next year's general elections with the best policies.
Ramaphosa told delegates at the ANC Limpopo provincial elective conference on Sunday that he was gearing towards a workshop to formulate an election manifesto to propose such policies.
"We want to approach the next administration armed with policies that no other organisation can match. This is in addition to the best policies that we had formulated," he told the over 1 500 delegates that had gathered at The Ranch Hotel outside Polokwane.
Ramaphosa, who ascended to the Union Buildings after former president Jacob Zuma was forced to resign, will only start his first term after the 2019 general elections.
That is, if the ANC continues to garner majority support in the elections and it seems Ramaphosa is aware of the hard work that lies ahead.
He implored delegates to get down to winning the trust of the masses as the party has suffered deficits in the past years.
"The election process has earnestly started and the last (election) was not the best for us here in Limpopo. All of us have a responsibility to make sure that the ANC wins decisively on the next coming elections.
"This conference is the vehicle for the 2019 elections and this leadership becomes its engine."
Ramaphosa would on Monday be delivering the opening address at a workshop for the drafting of the manifesto, to be headed by ANC secretary general Ace Magashule.
He did not reveal who else will be taking part in the drafting of the manifesto or what would constitute the best policies.
However, he pointed out government will be implementing the National Health insurance whether people liked it or not.
He also touched on issues of free quality education in the higher learning sector and expropriation of land without compensation.
Ramaphosa said a recurring complaint had been the lack of implementation of party policies in government.
He promised that his administration would implement the policies and resolutions of the party.
Ramaphosa emphasised the need for unity ahead of elections.
"The renewal and unity mandate should also be about how we go about uniting our alliance. We have a mandate to strengthen and unite the alliance so that it becomes a living organism in this country.
"We have been given the responsibility by the millions of South Africans to govern this country as an alliance and we all have a purpose to make sure that this alliance becomes a fighting force to push the frontiers of poverty and help improve the lives of our people," said Ramaphosa.
His call for unity within the party comes after factional battles have played out in some of the provincial elective conferences which led to their collapse.
He hailed the election of the provincial leadership, which he said was a mixed bag from both factions and would bode well in fostering unity.
"As I look at them (the top 5) some of them are handsome some are beautiful and some are even more beautiful. Some have different perspectives and that is the architecture you have put in place.
"And I applaud you for that. That you have put together a top 5 leadership that mixes the leadership. Just remember that what we are seeking to do is to unite the ANC," he said.
The conference was still underway by late afternoon to elect additional members of the PEC.
