ANC readies for Eastern Cape conference
The implementation of policies and reviving the moral dignity of the ANC in the Eastern Cape province are expected to take centre stage at the eighth ANC provincial elective conference in East London today. Herald reporter Siyamtanda Capa speaks to ANC pr
PHUMULO MASUALLE
PHUMULO Masualle, who is also the Eastern Cape premier, believes the province is moving ahead and increasingly showing improvement in housing, education and health.
Masualle believes the province is in a stable position but that the man in the street should have more of a say in the affairs of the ANC, and not just the party’s leadership.
What significance does this conference bring to the more than 6.5 million people in the Eastern Cape?
The ANC leads predominantly a number of municipalities in the province.
For the people it is the party that they look up to in terms of the transformation of the province and of their lives.
It is an important gathering – the expectation should be that there shall emerge a sense of focus on what matters to the people of the province.
Considering the state of the ANC and the country, do people still associate the ANC with bringing solutions?
Given all the challenges the ANC has, the conference in the Eastern Cape is very important.
The [negative] impression gets easily created, because there are some very real problems in specific areas. That, however, does not [mean] the whole country to be in all sorts of problems.
To judge the country on the bad that you see in one place is a narrative that is far from true.
Why should the public believe that the leader who emerges victorious after this weekend will do what he says he will do?
The current record we have in the province is not all hunky-dory but we are running a province that is stable.
The province is increasingly showing improvement in its ability to govern.
We don’t have a very good story with respect to a number of municipalities but there is a good account of progress in the right direction if we look at municipal audits.
Sometimes we tend to paint everything black because there is an area having difficulties, but we must talk about the good.
How will the new leadership structure hope to restore the moral legitimacy of the ANC?
This is a big ask [and] we have to respond to that question nationally.
The people must also have a say in the affairs of the ANC, and not just the leadership.
That way we will have a much more vibrant ANC that is not just hobnobbing behind influential personalities in the leadership.
We need the ANC to be freed of the stronghold of the leadership structures over the rest of the organisation.
When we do this we will be able to connect well with our communities and people and this way the ANC will become relevant again.
We must bring integrity back to the ANC and not allow the capture of the soul of the ANC by elements.
When taking an honest look at your performance during your tenure, where would you say you have failed and where would you say you have succeeded?
It’s a matter [for] the structure of the ANC to make a statement in that regard.
We come from a time when the province was riddled with divisions; there was no sense of coherent leadership structure.
We are running a very steady organisation and that has an effect on the stability within our communities.
Looking at the state of schools, hospitals and the rate of poverty, would you say the province is stable?
We look too much at the negative, looking at the extent to which we have been deprived, over many years, of very basic infrastructure.
It sounds like a fairytale that in spite of more than 23 years we still have homesteads that don’t have access to tap water, basic infrastructure.
It is because of many years of underdevelopment in these areas.
There is progress in housing delivery, the performance of our education system and health.
But infrastructure still needs to be developed and it is a work in progress.
OSCAR MABUYANE
THERE is no need for change in the province; instead there must be an impetus in the implementation of policies to ensure speedy service delivery.
There is also nothing wrong with the policies of the ANC.
All that is needed is courage to implement the policies and improve where the party has been sluggish.
This was the view of ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane ahead of the provincial elective conference, starting today.
What significance does this conference bring to the more than 6.5 million people in the Eastern Cape?
The ANC represents the aspirations of our people. [It] has been an agent for change.
We must continue driving that programme of advancing the national democratic revolution because it is about having our people living a decent life, getting job opportunities and everything that our people need.
This conference is about policy evaluation for the next administration of government. Going to a conference like this is not just about electing a structure – it is about ordinary people who are waiting for basic services.
Considering the state of the ANC and the country, do people still associate the ANC with bringing solutions?
The track record speaks for itself. Looking at everything that we have done since 1994, the record itself is compared to none.
The ANC has been a panacea to the challenges of our people. It might not be a solution to the social ills but it really characterises our society through an inclusive approach.
We are finding solutions to problems but we need to drill into ANC members that it is not about them occupying positions but it’s about selflessness and responsibility.
Why should the public believe that the leader who emerges victorious after this conference will do what he says he will do?
The leader has his own vision, but you need to make the ANC vision realised.
It’s not always easy to lead but everyone would like to lead.
The ANC is an organisation of the collective, you work through the collective. We always work hard to bring about a collective works.
How does the new leadership structure hope to restore the moral legitimacy of the ANC?
We need a leadership of high moral fibre. The leadership that has worked for the past eight years has taken the ANC from what it was subjected to eight years ago [when the ANC was faced with the Congress of the People breakaway].
We need a team that will work on what has been done. We cannot pretend [that] nothing right has been done.
When taking an honest look at your performance during your tenure, where would you say you have failed and where would you say you have succeeded?
It would be difficult to do that myself, when you are provincial secretary you are a PA to about 38 people elected with you (PEC).
From a membership of about 160 000, every member must assess you . . . the people out there can assess how well we have performed. I believe we have done a lot to get to where it is today, working as a collective.