ANC to disclose outcomes of NEC lekgotla
Bekezela Phakathi
SA’s two main political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) will in all likelihood dominate political discussion this week, albeit for different reasons.
All eyes will be on the ANC as the party announces the outcomes of its national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla. A press conference will be held either today or tomorrow. It is understood that the country’s education crisis, especially the Limpopo textbooks saga, dominated discussion at the meeting.
The DA will today be continuing with its jobs campaign which it launched at the weekend. The campaign aims to turn the dire unemployment situation around within the next decade.
The ANC started its four day NEC lekgotla last Friday. The meeting, which is expected to end today, brings into sharp focus the state of political affairs.
Undoubtedly, the continuing education crisis in Limpopo gave the party’s leaders a lot to think about. Reports yesterday indicated that there was some pressure on President Jacob Zuma to move Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to another portfolio. The Sunday Times reported that senior members of the NEC had criticised her for the poor handling of the textbooks saga. However, the paper reported that Mr Zuma had said the crisis could not be blamed on an individual.
Also, the state of municipalities is said to have featured prominently during the NEC meeting.
The auditor-general presented a damning report last week on the financial state of municipalities, which showed that only 5% of the municipalities received clean audits. It is also widely expected that the NEC meeting will finally lead to clarification of some of the party’s policy conference resolutions.
Business leaders in particular will be looking at how the issue of nationalisation will be clarified. Commentators warned last month that the lack of clarity could lead to a plunge in business confidence and lack of investment in the economy.
The DA is seemingly in election mode as the party forges ahead with its campaign aimed at creating 1million jobs and to grow the economy by 8% a year. Undoubtedly it is aiming to eat into the ANC’s support base in the 2014 election and putting the economy and the job crisis at the heart of its campaign could put the DA in good stead heading into the next election.
Following the launch of its jobs campaign in Pretoria at the weekend, the party’s leader, Helen Zille, said yesterday that “it is no secret that the DA is targeting Gauteng at the next election”. “With the Western Cape, Gauteng forms the economic hub of our country. If we can get Gauteng working, we can get SA working,” she said.
The party will continue today with its campaign by revealing its plan to turn around the country’s education system.
At a press conference today, the DA will present its strategy to turn SA’s education system into “one that offers all learners improved access to high quality learning”.
The plan outlines how the party would go about fixing specific prob- lems in education that “undermine economic growth and job creation, with proposals focused on three central themes: quality, access and accountability in education”.
This week, Parliament will again be dominated by the hearings on the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill.
The bills were approved by the Cabinet in March after two years of talks at the National Economic Development and Labour Council. There are concerns that labour bills would negatively affect business and reduce its ability to create jobs.
On Wednesday, by-elections will be held in several places. There will be elections in Mpumalanga, the Western Cape, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.