Speeches

National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe,

Deputy President Paul Mashatile,

Officials of the African National Congress,

Cde Thabo Mbeki

Cde Baleka Mbethe

Cde Kgalema Mothlanthe

Members of the NEC,

Leadership of the SACP, COSATU and SANCO,

Leadership of SASCO, COSAS, CONTRALESA.

Leadership of the ANCWL, ANCYL and ANCVL,

Leadership of the MK Liberation War Veterans,

Deployed Cadres,

Comrades and Friends,

We are holding this NEC Lekgotla in the aftermath of an election outcome that has produced a seismic shift in South African politics.

We join the SACP in celebrating its 103th anniversary. The party is a a trusted ally and a key partner in our Alliance. Since its founding, the South African Communist Party has played a major role in the struggle in our country. This includes the leading role it played in advancing the principle of non-racialism both in theory and practice as the first political organisation to organise on a non-racial basis in South Africa.

For the first time in 30 years, the ANC lost its mandate to govern alone at a national level. Its share of the vote also fell below 50 percent in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Northern Cape.

Over the last three days, the NEC has deliberated extensively and in detail on the reasons for this dramatic decline in support, its implications and the actions we now need to take to restore our support within society.

In many senses, we have entered unchartered territory. We have suffered a strategic setback that has far-reaching consequences and implications for how we are going to conduct the struggle for the fundamental transformation of South Africa. One of the implications of this new situation is that the ANC can no longer govern alone.

Faced with this stark reality the NEC decided that the ANC should give leadership to take the country forward by inviting all parties that would subscribe and agree to a set of principles and a transformative minimum programme to form a government.

The NEC meeting held over the past three days reaffirmed, unanimously, the position that the government of national unity is the best tactical option that has the greatest possibility to improve the lives of the people of South Africa.

We did not arrive at the forming a Government of National Unity easily. It is a decision that we took fully aware of the risks and opportunities inherent in this option.

We firmly believe this was the best way to form a government that is stable, effective and able to advance the interests of the South African people as a whole.

We have entered into the Government of National Unity with nine other parties, some of whom are fundamentally opposed to our perspective on transformation of our economy and society.

But that is the nature of Governments of National Unity all over the world and across different historical periods and geographic specificities. They bring together parties from across the political spectrum for example at moments when a nation faces national conflict or deep socioeconomic challenges that can only be resolved through cooperation.

A Government of National Unity is different from a typical coalition. Nor is it a forum of allied or like-minded parties.

The first fundamental decision we took was to accept the outcome of the elections.

We accepted that the people of South Africa made it clear that they are impatient with political bickering and the endless blame game among politicians and political parties.

They want us to put their needs and aspirations first and they want us to work together for the sake of our country.

We have heard our people and we will work with our Alliance Partners and every sector that is willing to contribute to solutions to the challenges our country faces as we transition to a new decade of freedom.

And so, even as we undertake our work under substantially changed conditions, we remain firmly committed to the advance of the National Democratic Revolution and the achievement of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

These changed conditions require that we strengthen our resolve and pursue our historic mission with greater clarity, purpose and vigour.

Rather than see the decline in our electoral support as a defeat, we see it as a call to action. This is not the time to be bitter. It is the time to be better, and to do better.

The people of South Africa have said that we must do more and we must do better, but also that in many respects, we must change our ways.

The task of this Lekgotla is therefore to set out the work we need to do at this moment. We need to determine the work we must do in these circumstances, to build a strong, growing and inclusive economy that protects workers rights and offers endless opportunities and livelihoods to the people as a whole.

We must spend the next three days planning how we will achieve the task of democratic renewal and socioeconomic transformation so that no one is left behind as our country enters the fourth decade of freedom.

During the course of the election campaign South Africans were unequivocal in expressing their disappointments and disapproval of our performance in some of the areas in which we have failed them.

Communities told us of instances where our work in government and the achievement of our policy objectives have suffered because of the problems in our organisation.

The ANC and our Alliance partners agree that the national fault-lines of unemployment, inequality and poverty have persisted despite progress over the past thirty years.

These fault-lines have been exacerbated by crises such as the effect of state capture, a once in a century pandemic, the shock caused by the July 2021 unrest, loadshedding and the high cost of living.

These all contributed to widespread loss of confidence in our movement’s ability to address peoples’ concerns.

The ANC and the Alliance therefore agree that at this Lekgotla we must first and foremost focus on the economy and the important issue of economic transformation. Our people want a transformed, growing and inclusive economy that creates work for millions of job seekers and offer business opportunities to all entrepreneurs in our nation – women and men, young and old.

Women, as in the past, have once again shown during these past elections that they remain the torch bearers of our democracy. Women are 55% of registered voters and registered a turnout of 62%, well above the national average turnout.

Women are community builders, playing a vital role in all sectors of society, even when their contributions are not always recognised or appreciated. Indeed, women bear the brunt of poverty and violence in our society.

As we craft our contributions towards the programme of the 7th administration, we must ensure we make decisive progress towards women empowerment and a non-sexist South Africa.

Together as the Alliance we must confront the fact that our economy has barely grown over the last 14 years.

Between 2010 to 2024, the average annual GDP growth rate was 1.2 percent a year.

This was lower than the rate of population growth over that period. What this means is that per capita GDP has been declining over the last decade-and-half.

That is why we say that inclusive growth must be our apex priority.

This is necessary to create employment, to reduce poverty, and reduce inequality.

As Alliance partners we are determined that growth must be inclusive. It must be

transformational.

Inclusive growth must drive the redistribution of wealth and opportunity.

It must support the empowerment of black South Africans and women, and all those

who in the past had been relegated to the fringes of the economy.6

We must continue to protect and uphold the hard-won rights of workers, and

continually strive to improve the conditions in which they work and live.

Inclusive growth demands that we affirm the position of women and youth in the

economy and enable the full participation of persons with disabilities and other

vulnerable groups in the economy.

We have demonstrated the value of public and social employment in creating

immediate work and livelihood opportunities. Over the next three days we must plan

to ensure these programmes are massified and become more effective.

Much work has been done in creating conditions for greater investment in

infrastructure, improving mechanisms for planning, financing and implementation.

But we need to massively increase the scale of investment particularly in a number

of sectors of our economy.

We need to pay greater attention to infrastructure maintenance.

We have worked with stakeholders including business and organised labour to

develop Master Plans in important sectors of the economy, focusing on the actions

needed to enhance growth in the respective industries, increase investment, create

jobs and foster transformation.

At this Lekgotla we need to assess the efficacy of these Master Plans and the

contribution they are making to industrialisation and local production. We need to

focus on our industrial policy to enhance economic growth. We need to add value to

our minerals through beneficiation to generate economic growth.

We must be more targeted in the support that we provide to emerging businesses,

ranging from black industrialists to SMMEs and cooperatives. We need to look at the

impact of this support and ensure that it reaches businesses in townships and rural

areas.

Through the Energy Action Plan, the ANC-led government has reduced the severity

of load shedding and have enabled massive investment in new generation capacity.

We are in the process of far-reaching reforms to establish a competitive energy

market for the first time.

The ANC government has similarly undertaken reforms that will increase investment

in our ports and railways, improve efficiencies, increase competition and lower the

cost of doing business. We must ensure that we fix our logistics sector so it supports

our economic and trade objectives.

Through legislative, regulatory and operational changes, government has made

substantial progress in telecommunications, water and visa reform.

As the Alliance, we know that poverty has many dimensions. While economic growth

and job creation are critical to poverty reduction, government must use the resources

and capabilities of the state in an integrated manner to tackle poverty.

At this Lekgotla we must discuss how government can use the social wage more

effectively. By this we mean we must discuss how government can maintain and

improve the provision of subsidised housing, transport and basic services to poor

South Africans.

We have seen how the Special Social Relief of Disaster Grant that the ANC-led

government introduced during COVID provided a lifeline to millions of people,

particularly in the context of rising prices. We need to examine how this grant can

support the introduction of a sustainable form of income support for unemployed

people.

We need to appreciate the impact that a well-functioning and quality education

system has both on reducing poverty and driving inclusive economic growth.

We should discuss how to achieve universal access to early childhood development

and strengthen teaching and learning in the foundation phase of schooling.

To ensure that we produce the skills that our economy needs, government must

expand vocational and technical training in schools and post-school institutions, and

take a demand-led approach to skills development.8

As Alliance partners we are committed to implementing the National Health

Insurance. As part of this work, government must strengthen health care

infrastructure, improve training of health care personnel and use technology to

improve health care management.

As the Alliance we must support and advance the professionalisation of the public

service, ensuring that we attract into the state, people with skills, capabilities and

integrity.

We must continue with the work to reduce the potential for corruption and prevent

undue political interference in the administration of the state.

We must modernise the state, learning from global best practice and undertaking the

digital transformation of public services.

Government must complete the work to restore the financial position and operational

performance of our state-owned enterprises.

This includes completing the implementation of a new centralised ownership model

for SOEs. This will improve accountability, transparency, governance and oversight,

while reducing the potential for corruption and inefficiency.

At the same time, we must ensure that key State owned enterprises account on

policy performance to their line departments.

Our Alliance partners and the broader public have noted on several occasions the

devastating impact of state capture on our law enforcement agencies and security

services.

There is much work to be done to strengthen the other parts of the criminal justice

system, from the police and the Hawks to the NPA, the courts and correctional

facilities.

An area that requires particular attention is local government. Municipalities, which are most critical for the delivery of infrastructure and services to the people, are failing.

Together with our Alliance partners we are agreed that municipalities are most critical for creating the conditions in which businesses can grow and create jobs – and are therefore essential for the achievement of inclusive growth.

In our Manifesto, we said that national and provincial government would use the levers provided in the Constitution and in law to strengthen municipalities and to intervene where they are failing.

We have seen the impact of the failure of local government in the election results. We know that many people withheld their votes because of their dissatisfaction with the provision of services and the state of infrastructure at a local level.

Our analysis of the election results show that the ANC experienced the greatest decline in its share of votes in the metros. The instability, dysfunction and poor performance of metros like Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Ethekwini and Buffalo City are clearly reflected in the election results.

We therefore need decisive interventions in these metros. This is necessary not simply for the ANC’s electoral prospects, but for the sake of inclusive growth, job creation and poverty reduction. These metros are where millions of our people live and where most economic activity takes place.

The NEC has made an assessment in all hung municipalities and has decided to intervene to work with a range of parties to stabilise municipalities across the country.

During this month the National Task team on Coalitions will be engaging starting in

Johannesburg. Restore, rebuild and renew the ANC

In its analysis of the election results, the NEC recognised that much of the decline in

our electoral support can be attributed to the weaknesses in our movement.

The people of South Africa can see, and have punished us for, the erosion of our

values and principles, the deterioration of our organisational capacity, the prevalence

of corruption and patronage, division and factionalism.

Following the 54th National Conference in December 2017, we embarked upon a

process of renewal and rebuilding. Seven years later, despite some setbacks and

resistance, we can point to important progress.

But it is not enough, either to meet our own objectives or the expectations of the

people.

Therefore, one of the central tasks of the movement now is to take decisive action to

rid our movement of practices that undermine our ability to build a united, non-racial

democratic, non-sexist and prosperous society.

As directed by the 2024 January 8 Statement, we must build and strengthen the

capacity of the ANC to lead meaningful social and economic transformation, so that

the people and in particular workers and the unemployed benefit.

We must strengthen the quality and calibre of our membership, cadreship and

leadership. We need to strengthen the Leagues to fulfil their crucial roles within the

movement and society.

We must be principled and consistent about instilling discipline and respect for

organisational processes and principles. Leaders and public representatives must be

held accountable through organisational processes.

Renewal must be our mission, our preoccupation and our driving force. Renewal is

about reclaiming, rebuilding and restoring.

Reclaiming our position in society. Rebuilding our structures from the ground up.

Restoring the trust of our people.

As we reflect on the work we must do to rebuild the movement, we need to work to

strengthen the progressive forces in society.

Central to this is the Alliance, which remains the only progressive force of the left

that has the organisational capability and mass support to lead the fundamental

transformation of our society.

We need to be actively involved in the lives of communities. We need to organise

among workers, women, youth, professionals, traditional leaders, cultural workers,

religious communities, and others.

The unity of the Alliance and the mass democratic movement is therefore key. We

need to build a powerful progressive movement that will provide leadership in

addressing the needs of the people.

I have supported the proposal to convene a National Dialogue, which I believe has

the potential to galvanise South Africans across all strata and formations behind a

national programme of growth, development and transformation.

In our NEC meeting yesterday, we agreed that the convening of this Dialogue is an

important and urgent priority. The modalities of undertaking this task is receiving

urgent attention.

One of the areas that requires specific attention is the organisation of young people.

The election results have demonstrated in stark terms that young people are

disengaged from the electoral process.

We need to better understand the concerns and attitudes of young South Africans,

and the forms of social, political, cultural and other activities in which they engage.

We need a new mindset: we can longer expect young people to come to us; we

need to go to them.

Building a better Africa and better world remains our objective.

The NEC reaffirmed our historic and ongoing support for the inalienable right of self-

determination of the people of Western Sahara.

We reaffirm our support for the struggle for self-determination for the people of

Palestine. We condemn and have taken action at the International Court of Justice

against Israel’s genocide against the people of Gaza.

We reconfirm our principled stance to the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

and will continue to work towards ending the conflict through dialogue and negotiations.

South Africa will host the annual G20 Summit in 2025.

This is an important platform to advance the interests of Africa and other countries of

the Global South, and to mobilise support for a more just and equal world order.

The African Continental Free-Trade Area offers all country a great opportunity to

benefit from inter-regional trade within the African continent.

We will continue to pursue a foreign policy based on our country’s national interest,

economic objectives, and in furtherance of human rights and fundamental freedoms

for all.

In conclusion, we find ourselves in one of the most grave and challenging moments

in the 112 years of our movement.

We have suffered a great setback. Yet we are neither daunted, nor defeated. As a

movement, we have weathered many a storm. We have walked through many a fire.

Storms, like fires, soon pass. Failure is not final, setbacks are not defeats. We must

never wallow in our setbacks. We must learn from them, regroup, adapt accordingly,

and move on.

Although we face a difficult road ahead, we are resolute.

We must, as we have done before, critically examine our strategies, tactics,

programmes and practices. We must analyse the domestic and international

environment, the balance of forces, and the macro-trends that are shaping our

world.

And we must agree on the actions we must take to restore our movement and

pursue the NDR with greater vigour. We must be prepared to take difficult decisions

and to follow through on our decisions.

These elections have focused our attention on state power, on how to retain it, and

on how to use it to advance the interests of the people.

Over the next three days, we will have to grapple with difficult and complex matters.

We will have to deploy our collective intellect, insights and political understanding.

As we do this, let us remember what is required of us above all else: honesty, hard

work, humility, ethics and respect for the people.

I thank you.