DOCUMENTS

ANC reiterates its support for Zondo commission - Cyril Ramaphosa

President will be leading the presentation to the commission to clarify certain matters

ANC PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA VIRTUAL NEC CLOSING ADDRESS -13-14  FEBRUARY 2021

Thank former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma for their presence at our meetings.

This has been a difficult, but encouraging meeting wherein NEC members made constructive contributions, which will serve to continue renewing and uniting our organisation.

The key mandate of the 54th Conference was to renew and unite our organisation. This meeting has assisted us to grasp the mettle and work towards achieving these objectives.

The NEC confirmed that, as reflected in the 2021 State of the Nation Address, and in line with decisions of the recent NEC lekgotla, our overarching organisational priorities for this year will be.

- Commitment to defeating the COVID-19 pandemic

- Accelerating economic recovery and reconstruction

- Fighting corruption and crime, both in society and in the organisation

- Building and strengthening state capacity

We also continue to implement a whole range of programmes that will make meaningful difference in the fives of people.

The achievement of our objectives requires a strong and united movement that works in the interests of all our people. We must dedicate ourselves, in line with the mandate of the 54th National Conference, to renewing and strengthening the ANC and the Alliance.

We have given effect to the Resolution of the 54th Conference and endorsed the names of comrades who will serve as the members of the Electoral Committee.

Former ANC deputy president, comrade Kgalema Mothlanthe, will be the chairperson of the Electoral Committee. This is a phenomenal development in our movement. The Electoral Committee will comprise of eminent cadres who will assist our movement to put forward the best and most credible candidates for all elections.

The ANC must have revitalise our structure to ensure active participation by young people and we will establish the Congress Preparatory Task Team for the Youth League's Congress as soon as possible. The Officials, in consultation with the provinces, will finalise the names of the Task Team in line with the direction received from this NEC that the Preparatory Team must consist of young people under 35.

This Task Team of young people will have the sole mandate of taking young people to Congress and build on the work already done to develop a Roadmap towards this Congress.

The movement has managed to conduct organisational activities using virtual and other means. This must be commended.

I want to appreciate the presentation made by the Organising Committee, and in particular, the recommendations aimed at breathing life into all these structures.

This work has ensured that that even the most under difficult conditions our branches and our members have continued to lead communities.

However, we need to recognise that the pandemic has had significant impact on the life of our structures. Too high a percentage of our branches are not functioning optimally and we need to act with urgency to ensure we revitalise these and other structures.

As we undertake this task, we need to have regard to the realities of COVID-19 and the concerns raised by provincial structures about effective ways of convening organisational meetings and Conferences, be it virtual/ hybrid. Provinces must report regularly on what capacity exists to convene organisational meetings under these pandemic conditions.

The ANC welcomes the operationalisation of the Political Party Funding Act. We do acknowledge that this will have a significant effect on our ability — and indeed that of other political parties — to raise funds. We will continue consultations with other parties in Parliament on how to manage these issues.

The ANC reiterates our support for the work of the Commission of Inquiry into State capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Zondo, and we unreservedly urge our members and all South Africans to cooperate with this Commission.

As previously communicated, the ANC, will have to present itself before the Commission to clarify matters pertaining to the organisation and indeed the evolution of the country's political economy and the post-apartheid state. A number of officials have already been there, most notably the National Chairperson in his capacity as former Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General.

We must give effect to the request for the ANC to maintain a watching brief over the proceedings at the Commission and to update the leadership periodically on how those proceedings impact our movement.

The Constitution and the rule of law are sacrosanct components of our democracy and all people in the country must respect these principles. To allow anything else would lead to anarchy and open the fumigates easily for counter-revolution. Corruption and state capture, as well as lawlessness, are against the core principles and values of the ANC.

President will lead the ANC presentation to the Commission and will use this opportunity to unequivocally reaffirm the position of the ANC against corruption and state capture, and its impact on the people and country.

We must thank the Treasure-General and the formidable team that formulated the Guidelines

The NEC meeting adopted Guidelines on implementing resolutions of the 54th Conference on members and leaders in conflict with the law or accused of serious misdemeanours. This is fundamental to the renewal of our movement and to strengthening the integrity and credibility of the ANC.

The team will refine the document on the basis of the NEC's inputs. We will also consult with provinces, and the NWC has been mandated to finalise the guidelines within the next month, so as to ensure immediate implementation.

The implementation of these Guidelines forms a critical pillar of the organisation's programme of renewal and unity of purpose. It should be emphasised that the starting point in realising the Conference's resolutions on this matter is reliance on the revolutionary conscience of members and leaders — for affected individuals themselves to act voluntarily without compulsion from the movement's structures. We therefore call on affected members to act in the interest of protecting the reputation of the movement by acting accordingly.

It is within this context that we must workshop the guidelines with our structures and begin implementation.

Our implementation of the Integrity Commission's recommendations must be principled and uniform. We established the Integrity Commission, agreed to their Terms of Reference and we must ensure that our engagement with their recommendations take place within the adopted Terms of Reference.

Now that we have adopted the guidelines, the Officials will process all the reports of the Integrity Committee that have been placed before the NEC with a view to returning to the NEC with a full report within one month.

In the meantime, the NEC calls on affected members to act in the interest of protecting and enhancing the integrity and credibility of the organisation and step aside voluntarily in line with the recommendations of the Integrity Commission and the Conference Resolution.

Organisational unity and cohesion in the North West continue to deteriorate and must be addressed as soon as possible. The Officials will meet with the Interim Provincial Committee and the NEC deployees to the province urgently to discuss measures to bring the province to stability. These engagements will start tomorrow.

The NEC received an update on the urgent national mass programme to start vaccinating 40 million people, in order to ensure that in the shortest possible time, we build community immunity against Covid 19.

We are engaging with a range of countries, including Russia, to source vaccines and we set up the Interministerial Committee to guide our multilateral engagements to aid in this endeavour.

The NEC appreciated the approach by government to ensure procurement of vaccines through multilateral initiatives such as COVAX and the AU, as well as through bilateral engagements with vaccine manufacturers from all corners of the world.

The NEC endorses the approach that during the first phase, which will start next week, vaccination of health workers in public and private facilities are prioritized, given their exposure to infections.

The NEC further endorses the proposal that the movement must mobilise in support of government's mass vaccination programme. ANC and Alliance structures must work with community-based organisations, especially those in the health sector, to mobilise communities behind the vaccination programme.

It is the responsibility of every ANC cadre to empower South Africans with correct and credible information about vaccines. We must develop communication material and engagements (virtual/ hybrid) to educate our structures based on the information we received in this meeting.

South Africa has ended its tenure as chairperson of the African Union and we will give our full support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during its tenure as chairperson.

We will continue to mobilise for the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, placing women's empowerment high on the agenda of the continent, and contributing towards silencing the guns on the continent.

South Africa has been appointed to champion Africa's interests in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and will execute this task to the best of our ability and in full interests of the continent.

The NEC furthermore:

- Confirms our resolve to continue to advocate and fight for the right of self-determination and independence of the people of Western Sahara.

- Welcomes the decision and nomination of the Cuban Health Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize by Cabinet, arising from our Lekgotla, continue to pledge solidarity as we reiterate our call for the lifting of the blockade of Cuba; and give more concrete support and strengthen bonds with the Cuban people.

- Appreciates the African Union's confirmation of its support for the Palestinian struggle, supports the AU efforts towards the establishment of a viable Palestinian state along the 1967 borders and will continue activism in the Alliance in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

- Decided that we need to pay more attention the humanitarian assistance that we are giving to Venezuela which has resulted from unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries.

- Pursue and advance multilateral cooperation, and cooperation with progressive countries and movements, towards building a strong front for the advancement of developing nations and progressive objectives. We must build ANC and government capacity to drive the African agenda, progressive internationalism and building of a better world.

We must express our extreme concern with the leaks from our internal meetings. This ill-discipline has been going on for the longest time and contributes to entrenching divisions. The Officials will deal with this matter and will act firmly in order to preserve the integrity of the movement.

We have had a good and constructive meeting even if we have had some tactical differences about executing our tasks. In the main, however, this has been a good meeting.

Issued by the ANC, 14 February 2021