Welcome to this very important meeting where we will process the Discussion Documents towards the National Policy Conference later in the year. We decided to focus on these documents in a dedicated manner and this is the real focus.
This Conference must be a model of the very best of our movement, and the very best of our cadres. This Conference must help dispel the myth that as ANC comrades, we cannot differ in a democratic way; that we only care about positions and material accumulation for ourselves.
This is a Human Rights Day of profound significance for so many reasons. It is the first time in two years that we are able to gather to celebrate this day together. This is a reminder of how far we have come since the first case of COVID-19 was declared in our country, and we entered a nationwide lockdown to contain its spread.
It is exactly 50 years since Isithwalandwe/Seaparankoe President OR Tambo delivered a January 8th Statement commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the ANC. Framed under the theme, “The Building of a Nation,” the January 8th Statement of 1972 reminded us that this date is not merely the birthday of the ANC, but also a date of great significance and hope for the South African people, especially the oppressed and marginalised.
Fellow South Africans, Comrades and Friends, A week ago, millions of South Africans went to the polls to cast their votes in the sixth local government elections since the advent of democracy. Once again, these elections were held in conditions of peace and stability, where every citizen was able to cast their votes freely and without fear.
A month ago, we gathered in Tshwane to launch the ANC’s local government manifesto, where we made a solemn promise to the people of South Africa to do better, to be better and to work together to build better communities. Since then, ANC leaders, members and volunteers have gone door-to-door across the nation.
Candidates of the African National Congress for the local government elections, Friends and Comrades, South Africans. This evening, throughout the length and breadth of our country, nearly 10,000 ANC local government candidates have made a solemn pledge to the people of South Africa.
