Ramaphosa delivers new hope for South Africa and the ANC

HOURS before the January 8th Statement was to be delivered, municipal workers were busy washing up the pavements outside the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. It represented what was happening within the ANC.

In the last year, much of the dirt that was associated with the party was washed away. Some grime remains, but it has been loosened.

The ANC under Cyril Ramaphosa has been honest about the last decade, admitting that the values and principles of the party were eroded and undermined.

It was not the first time the party had faced internal challenges. But, as Ramaphosa pointed out, the ANC has always emerged stronger and more united. If the events of the last week are anything to go by, it would seem that the trend has continued.

In the last week, Ramaphosa, together with members of the national executive committee, travelled throughout Kwazulu-natal, a province that was a stronghold of former president Jacob Zuma.

To Zuma’s credit, he did his part to sow unity. That, coupled with Ramaphosa’s personality, resulted in the current ANC president being welcomed wherever he went.

It showed how well Ramaphosa has done in uniting a highly divided party. That he has done so in little more than a year is impressive. Key to his success is the respect he has shown to everyone.

Under him, the party is starting to look and feel like the ANC of old. A party not just consumed by its own affairs, but interested in developing and uniting a society.

As Ramaphosa pointed out: “Racism, ethnic chauvinism and tribalism undermine social cohesion and have no place in society. The founders of the ANC recognised, from the outset, that ours will be a non-racial organisation and we owe it to their legacy to eradicate these backward tendencies from our organisation and country”.

With the focus no longer inward, strategic decisions are finally being taken, especially in education.

“We will scale-up skills development for the youth in data analytics, the internet-of-things, blockchain and machine learning. A social plan will be designed to address retraining and support for workers displaced by new technologies,” said Ramaphosa.

There was also the realisation that we need to match technical excellence with a humane approach to social relations – “wholesome citizens who are their sisters’ and brothers’ keepers”.

The ANC is looking good and sounding good. Given that they are South Africa’s ruling party, that’s great for our country. And, if they keep it up, it is also the way things will remain for some time to come.