Down to business for ANC

More than 5 000 delegates all set to kick off vital policy conference today

IT is all systems go for the ANC as more than 5 000 party delegates convene in Johannesburg today to debate policy proposals that will have a direct impact on how South Africa is governed. About 432 ANC branch delegates from the Eastern Cape – the second-biggest delegation after KwaZulu-Natal – will attend the muchanticipated national policy conference.

With the December elective conference looming, ANC secretarygeneral Gwede Mantashe warned yesterday against divisive songs about preferred leaders, saying only unifying songs would be allowed.

Speaking about the state of readiness for the conference, Mantashe said delegates should think twice before trying to use the platform to check on the balance of forces before the December conference.

He said booing would not be tolerated and he was confident the ANC would emerge united after the six-day conference.

The ANC released nine discussion papers in March which will be thrashed out in closed commissions for a large part of the six days.

After debating its position on the policy proposals last weekend, the ANC in the Eastern Cape will push for several outcomes, including that changes be made to the constitution to make it easier to implement the government’s land reform programmes.

ANC provincial spokesman Mlibo Qoboshiyane said they were proposing that a cap