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ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: THAPELO MOREBUDI
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: THAPELO MOREBUDI

The ANC’s January 8th statement — which is not necessarily delivered by the ANC president on that precise date, but the nearest possible — refers to the founding of the organisation on that day in 1912, and to the statements it made while in exile to set out its programme of action for the year ahead. 

This year being an election year, the ANC intends to outline its policies and plans when it launches its election manifesto in Durban on February 24. 

So there was little that was forward-looking in the speech that President Cyril Ramaphosa gave in Mombela, Mpumalanga on Saturday. It was intended to rally the ANC’s supporters rather than being an address to the nation as a whole. It placed a lot of emphasis on the need for a renewal of the organisation, which has been crippled by careerism, deal-making and factionalism. 

The emphasis was also on the achievements of the ANC over the last 30 years in transforming society from SA’s past of colonialism and apartheid. These achievements in social security, housing, water and electricity provision are real but given the low base of the benchmark are relatively easy wins and it is time other standards are applied. Ramaphosa trumpeted the fact that the ANC, faced with declining electoral support and mounting opposition alternatives, was the only party able to transform society. 

The ANC president sought to convey a positive message, paying insufficient attention to the gravity of the problems facing society, which resonate with the electorate as a whole.

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