AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS DECLARATION OF THE KZN PROVINCIAL GENERAL COUNCIL, DURBAN OLIVE CONVENTION CENTRE, 03RD - 05TH SEPTEMBER 2010

We, the delegates mandated by our branches, as well the regional and provincial structures, WL, YL, VL,  joined by our alliance partners, SACP, COSATU and SANCO, deployees in various strategic areas gathered here, at this PGC, under the theme "TOWARDS HUNDREDS YEARS OF SELFLESS STRUGGLE, WORKING  TOGETHER TO BUILD NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY". As delegates we gathered to assess and reflect on the progress we have made in implementing the Polokwane resolutions and other policy positions, especially those emerged from our last Provincial Conference.

The PGC agrees that the ANC has made great strides and continues to do so since we took over political power in 2004. This is evidenced by the support the ANC received from the electorate in the 2009 elections and growing membership of the organisation across the province. However, as the ANC, we are conscious that this support is based on the work the ANC is doing in changing the lives of the people. Thus, this support and confidence the people have invested on us requires that we speed up service delivery to extricate the people from conditions of underdevelopment and poverty that continue to affect our societies.

We, therefore recommit ourselves:

• To ensure that there is no family that goes to bed on an empty stomach, no child will stay at home because of their undesirable circumstances;
• To do more in creating decent jobs and fighting poverty;
• In building a developmental state that is efficient, free of corruption and puts its people first.

As the PGC, we acknowledge the upward growth of our organisation in terms of its membership which currently sits at 192 618. We, once again, resolved to intensify membership recruitment and address the challenges of gate-keeping and membership manipulation where people utilise the membership of the organisation for selfish interests.  This quantitative growth requires the ANC to intensify political education and imbue all joining members with the values, principles and traditions of the ANC. The political education should enable our cadres to provide leadership in all sectors and organs in our society.

As the ANC, we are not blind to a number of challenges and tendencies that have emerged in the recent past, especially since our ascendency to power. These tendencies include corruption, nepotism, factional tendencies and ill-discipline that corrode the fundamental principles of the organisation and find expression through.

• Uncontrollable desire to amass wealth at whatever cost to the organisation and the society at large
• Lack of political discipline -  disrespect  for the  constitutional structures and its decisions
• Manipulation of membership for other people to secure positions in the organisation

We declare that the period leading to the centenary of the ANC compels the organisation to undertake a process of renewal of values, principles and traditions. We share a conviction that unity and cohesion, political discipline and dedication to serving the people with no expectation of any reward remain a cornerstone of our movement.

This renewal should be underpinned by a vigorous and continuous political education to deepen political consciousness and uproot these foreign tendencies.

The PGC took stock of the progress our province has gone in addressing societal challenges that are facing the province.

HEALTH: The PGC recommit itself in accelerating the commitment made by the ANC in its election manifesto with a view to ensure access to quality health care and further ensure the implementation of a comprehensive health care system. The PGC call upon the ANC provincial leadership to convene urgently the provincial health summit with the view to respond to challenges confronting our communities regarding the health care system and services. The PGC called for an urgent and decisive implementation of the NHI as per the instruction of the 52nd National Conference. We further resolved that all members of the ANC should lead the fight against HIV and Aids, each member must know his/her status and also take part in the awareness campaign to combat the spread of this epidemic and support those who are affected and infected.   

EDUCATION: The PGC also calls upon the leadership to facilitate the provincial dialogue on matters of education such as the overhaul of the system, quality learning and teaching and implementation of the ten point plan. The improvement of matric results should be viewed as part of this dialogue.

SERVICE DELIVERY: as the ANC we will mount a campaign to mobilise the society around issues of service delivery, working together with the elected representatives to address community needs. We acknowledge that notwithstanding work done so far, many people still live in difficult conditions of poverty and lack of services. We call on the KZN Government especially the Executive Council to intensify the flagship programme of Poverty Alleviation which is led by MECs as champions in districts. We are of the belief that this programme can go a long way in extricating our people from poverty and further make critical intervention in areas characterised by serious underdevelopment. 

CORRUPTION: we once again declare corruption as a colossal challenge which derails the programme for social change. We reaffirm that the ANC is not only opposed to corruption but must engage on campaign to go out in the fight to eliminate corruption in all its forms.

National Social Compact: we call on the government to develop and adopt a National Social Compact that will bind all sectors of our society in a common agenda of development and building our country. Such a compact will commit all sectors to ensuring a sustainable wage bill and create new jobs. It will further help to avoid an unaffordable wage bill for the same number of fewer employees.

This must include Government, Labour and Business to invest in sectors that will create sustainable jobs and balance between jobs creation and affordability limits especially for small business.

The PGC further concluded that the widening income gap between the low income categories and the highest executive is unsustainable and contribute to inequality. We believe that our country must introduce a dispensation in which directors in middle and top management including Directors-General and extending to the senior executive in parastatals as well as Government Ministers salaries increases must be temporarily frozen and a sliding scale should be used to determine annual increments that will reduce the wage gap.

On Social Campaigns: We call on all ANC structures, especially the Regions, branches and volunteers, lead campaigns against all social ills, such as: crime, abuse of women and children and substance abuse. These have emerged as serious threats which undermine social cohesion and stability in our society. We will embark on visible campaigns to support all victims of such activities and further ensure that those who commit such activities are brought to book.

As we emerged from this PGC, we are vow to shape the forthcoming ANC 3rd National General Council to respond to challenges facing our people and strategic tasks facing our movement. We firmly believe that the major strategic task for the ANC is the renewal of its values, principles and traditions that have remained the glue that kept us together for the past nine decades and the half. We will make the NGC a great political school for our members to assess the programme of social change. Let the festival of ideas flourish.

As we conclude our PGC, Propelled by the victory in the last General Elections we embark on a non-stop vigorous campaign to ensure that the ANC emerges with an overwhelming victory in the forthcoming Local Government Election. Ours is to consolidate and advance, thus we will seek to ensure that we protect all gains from the last elections and fight to win more support. Our election structures are already prepared and battle-ready to undertake this task. We therefore declare our preparedness to fight for victory in all eleven Districts and increase our representation in all local municipalities. The victory for the ANC is victory of the people on the fight for a better live for all.

Working together we can do more.

Statement issued by Sihle Zikalala, ANC KZN Provincial Secretary, September 6 2010

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