ANC KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE STATEMENT 

The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal held its ordinary Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting on July 30, 2012 at the Pinetown Civic Centre.

The meeting began with the ANC Provincial Chairperson, Cde. Zweli Mkhize's political  overview, which mainly covered the political evaluation of the recently held National Policy Conference, the outcome of the Provincial Tripartite Alliance Summit, the assessment of the Nelson Mandela Day activities, the state of local government and the killings of political leaders across the political organisations. 

The PEC made a thorough assessment of the Policy Conference and it was unanimously agreed that the Policy Conference was a resounding success and that it set a good tone for the upcoming 53rd National Conference in Mangaung later this year. The PEC received a report on the readiness of our province with regard to the forthcoming National Conference and it was very satisfied with the substantial progress that has been made in preparing for this critical conference. The PEC further adopted the action plan which will take the KZN province to Manguang.

The PEC also congratulated Cde Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for being elected as the Chairperson of the African Union and there was a strong feeling that her experience as the former Minister of International Relations, current minister of Home Affairs and the enormous role she has played in the African National Congress will help her confront the pressing challenges facing the African continent. The ANC believes that the management of issues in the African continent will definitely never be the same again.

The PEC applauded the new approach in dealing with African matters in its totality.  This approach will assist the African countries to be able to address the African challenges in a comprehensive manner as opposed to isolate one country. The processes that led to the election of Cde Dlamini-Zuma provide an opportune time to address the new divisive influence on African Union agenda from former colonialists (Britain, France and others).

The PEC also commended all people who took part in a series of activities planned to celebrate the Mandela day activities in respect of former President Nelson Mandela, a global icon. Indeed, Cde Mandela is the product of the ANC hence we will remain humble to his achievement as an individual and as the leader of the ANC.

Through an intense lobbying from South Africa, the family of nations as represented in the United Nations declared July 18th as Nelson Mandela Day internationally to acknowledge the 67 years that the global icon dedicated to the service of mankind. The PEC noted that the ANC had well planned activities which included the building of houses for poor families and the renovating of public buildings.

On Service Delivery

In its effort to improve basic service delivery and uphold good governance at all government levels, the PEC resolved that the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal should host a provincial local government summit in September this year.

It is public knowledge that the ANC led government has done well when it comes to delivering services to the people and economic growth. However the actual implementation has proven to be more difficult and as a results service delivery and economic growth continues to experience set-backs. During the summit, delegates will thoroughly assess what has been achieved and meticulously diagnose the challenges hindering service delivery. The ANC has no doubt that this summit will help to carve a strategy to improve service delivery.

The PEC identified the poor communication from the government clusters to inform people of South Africa of the work done since the beginning of the term of office. The PEC agreed to enter into structured report-back community meetings. The ANC deployees from National, Provincial and Local Government will jointly report to constituencies in terms of achievements, challenges, projects to be undertaken and further mobilise community to actively participate in any development projects in their areas.

ANC Social Cohesion Summit

The Department of Arts and Culture recently hosted a National Summit on Social Cohesion which was addressed by President Jacob Zuma. The summit, which was held at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown Soweto, presented people with an opportunity to talk to each other about their values, aspirations and vision of a united South Africa. The summit was a resounding success. The summit's declaration called for government led summits at provincial and local level in the coming 12 months which will lead to the hosting of the national summit in 2017.

As a movement that promotes unity, the PEC called on government to host a provincial social cohesion summit before the end of this year. The ANC wants the summit to be attended by political parties, representatives of civil society, business leaders and government representatives.

Incidents Of Abuse

The spate of sexual violence perpetrated against young children and senior citizens in KwaZulu-Natal is a matter of grave concern. The PEC expressed outrage, anger and disgust at the rape of a 94-year-old at KwaSwayimane in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The ANC will continue to demonstrate outside the New Hanover Magistrate's Court when a 30-year-old man who allegedly raped a 94-year-old woman appears in court. The 30-year-old man will appear again in court on August 3.

The ANC has also learnt that another woman (aged 84) was allegedly raped in KwaSwayimane. We condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms and commend the South African Police Service for ensuring that the alleged perpetrator is arrested. The ANC will continue tomobilise communities to reclaim our streets from criminals and create a society that is safe for women and children.

PEC Sub-Committee Deployments

The ANC PEC sub-committees have been formed. These committees are very crucial in our organisation as they ensure proper coordination of ANC programs. They have been constituted to accommodate members of the ANC, Alliance, MDM structures and other individuals who command lot of expertise on relevant subject.

 Comrade Senzo Mkhize has been appointed as the new Provincial ANC Spokesman.

ANC And NFP Relations

The PEC received a detailed report on the state of the ANC and NFP relationship. The PEC noted the challenges in certain municipalities like in Imbabazane municipality, Mtubatuba municipality. The ANC will continue with the process that is in place to engage with the NFP at all levels to normalise the situation. The ANC entered to Memorandum of Understanding with the NFP knowing very well that it can't be just a smooth sailing there will turbulences on the way which require some principle leadership from both organisations.   

There is a joint programme of ANC and NFP to visit all municipalities where there is ANC and NFP cooperation agreement to attend to issues of contestation amongst councillors. We hope the process will remove all bottlenecks and allow speedy service delivery without any disturbance.

Statement issued by Sihle Zikalala, ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, July 31 2012

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