ANC plans action to reverse decline
THE ANC said last night its national executive committee (NEC) had resolved to take collective responsibility for the party’s weaker performance in the local government polls‚ and President Jacob Zuma would not be recalled.
The party would embark on numerous programmes to reverse the decline‚ including tackling corruption and stabilising stateowned enterprises.
It would also instruct the government to reprioritise the national budget to focus on key economic and social policies‚ ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said during a briefing in Tshwane.
“The ANC believes that arresting the electoral decline requires the ANC to immediately and courageously embark on bold strategies to re-energise our structures‚” Mantashe said.
The ANC viewed the poll results as a “clarion call”, he said.
The ANC planned to “re-engineer” the organisation and would embark on a series of programmes as it began a process of introspection‚ he said.
Mantashe said party leaders would visit provinces‚ act against factionalism‚ tackle any manipulation of candidate processes‚ retrain councillors‚ and deal more swiftly with corruption.
“Although these were local government elections‚ some national issues dominated the national discourse‚” he said.
State-owned companies due for reform included SAA‚ the SABC and Eskom‚ he said.
The NEC would task the cabinet to reprioritise the budget with an eye on unemployment‚ poverty and inequality.
The ANC leadership has been locked in a meeting since Thursday‚ largely reflecting on the state of the party following the local government election results.
The ANC continued to talk to numerous political parties with an eye to coalitions‚ Mantashe said.
Meanwhile, the ANC has called on the government to hold off the fee increment for the 2017 academic year until all parties have found an economically viable solution.
The statement came after student leaders threatened to bring universities to a standstill should a fee increment be implemented.
Mantashe said there were discussions in the NEC and the fee debate would be taken to cabinet.