ANC faces huge challenges: Radebe

THE ANC and its alliance partners, the SACP and Cosatu, face unprecedented challenges such as factionalism, membership buying and corruption, ANC head of policy Jeff Radebe says.

In an article written for Independent Media, Radebe said the party’s policy conference ending today had to find solutions. “Ours is to draw fundamental lessons from these contradictions which at times may be brought about by a healthy interface of different viewpoints but at times by alien conduct such as factionalism, membership buying and corruption.

“President (Jacob) Zuma reasserted the organisation’s unequivocal commitment to uprooting these evils which he dubbed a cancer which is eating away at the moral fibre of the ANC.

“He set a strong tone for the conference to rise to the occasion and find effective and lasting solutions to these ills,” said Radebe.

The Minister in the Presidency added that the ANC acknowledged the setbacks suffered in August – in which the governing party lost three metros.

However, Radebe was confident that the party would bounce back and self-correct.

Yesterday, Radebe insisted that the goals set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) were achievable and a major part of radical economic transformation.

Speaking at the progressive business forum in the morning, Radebe said the government and the ANC were serious about implementing the NDP goals.

He said radical transformation was part of the NDP and a big factor in reducing unemployment and to grow the economy to benefit all South Africans. Some of the goals of the NDP include creating 11 million jobs and increasing GDP to 5% by 2022.

Political analyst Professor Susan Booysen said Radebe’s Office in the Presidency had to improve their monitoring and evaluation to reach the goals. “His office has all the power he needs to implement the NDP. Right now we are falling short on growth and economy… Judging from the past it will be a big miracle if the goals are achieved.” But Radebe remained optimistic. “South Africa has to be a better place to live in 2030. We need to put in place markers and ignore the fake narrative that the ANC and government are not serious about the NDP,” he said.