Goals we must all work and play for
On the day thousands of ANC members filled two Buffalo City stadiums, Orlando Pirates surprisingly triumphed against the mighty Mamelodi Sundowns, and Kaizer Chiefs registered a comfortable win, for a change.
For the ANC, the January 8 birthday celebrations marked a fresh start for the renewal of the 106-year-old liberation movement. Just like Pirates and Chiefs, who experienced a rough patch marked by defeats and goalless draws, the ANC has been through some tough times.
Last weekend, however, was an impressive start to 2018 for all three brands, heralding good things to come. As a committed member of the ANC and a die-hard Buccaneer, I feel that this year promises to be better than the last for these two organisations.
At the heart of the priorities of the ANC is to grow South Africa’s economy so that we can radically transform our socioeconomic fabric by eradicating the poverty, unemployment and inequality ravaging our communities.
In the January 8 statement read by Comrade President Cyril Ramaphosa, we committed to fundamentally renew the ANC, restore its credibility and bring it closer to the masses of the people it was formed to serve so that we can unite South Africans around a shared vision of transformation.
We believe this will be the foundation on which we will be able to mobilise social partners and other patriots behind the economic recovery plan to grow the economy beyond the levels that existed when Comrade Thabo Mbeki was president.
We agree that to be able to drive the recovery of our economy, we must confront corruption and all forms of state capture. We need to cleanse the ANC and the government. Equally, the private sector and society must be cleansed of corruption.
Because public institutions such as law-enforcement agencies and state-owned enterprises serve the people of South Africa and play an important role in the vibrancy of our economy and constitutional democracy, we must restore their credibility. They must be above reproach.
We are committed to achieving the vision of free higher education for the poor. When working-class children receive education, skills and training, they will have opportunities to start their own businesses through the support of government agencies, benefit from publicand private-sector procurement, and get jobs.
The private sector must commit to large-scale transformation so that together we may train young people and give them contracts to supply goods and services to all sectors of the economy.
When we are all committed to a united vision of transformation, our economy will attract foreign and local investors, creating conditions that will benefit all our people: young and old, women and men, black and white.
In line with the resolution to expropriate land without compensation, we will accelerate land redistribution and agricultural development so that those who receive land through land reform programmes will use that land productively by engaging in commercial agriculture.
The leadership of the ANC will engage communities. We will listen to our members and partners. Implementing the programmes detailed in the January 8 statement demands all hands on deck.
For the Eastern Cape, radical socioeconomic transformation means we must review division of revenue so that budgets for largely rural provinces are increased. Equally, public-sector investment for infrastructure projects such as the Umzimvubu Dam and the oil refinery at Coega must be sourced without delay.
Let us not be like those fans who watch soccer only when their team is playing; nor like those who complain about bad results and rejoice only when their team wins silverware. We must work together to achieve these goals so that the triumph of last weekend continues as our way of life.
We will accelerate land redistribution and agricultural development