30/08/2024
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE ANC PROVINCIAL LEKGOTLA IN THE NORTHERN CAPE
The African National Congress (ANC) in the Northern Cape concluded its successful Provincial Executive Committee Lekgotla which took place from the 25-26 August 2024 at Moses Links Community Hall in Upington.
The Lekgotla sets a tone for the rebuilding of the ANC in the province and reposition the ANC in order to ensure that the organisation remains aligned with the needs of the people of the Northern Cape.
The Lekgotla focused on key governance, organisational renewal, social and economic issues and made important resolutions aimed at revitalizing the province.
Below are the key outcomes of these discussions.
1. LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNANCE
This Lekgotla addressed the challenges facing local government, the delivery of basic services, issues of governance and oversight, as well as reflecting on the 2024 National and Provincial Elections and the 2026 Local Government Elections.
• State of Local Government: The Lekgotla noted a significant decline in communication with communities (at a branch level) and the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of ward committees.
• The Lekgotla resolved to enhance Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems within municipalities to ensure better service delivery and accountability.
• Promoting Diversity in Leadership: The Lekgotla resolved on to prioritise the appointment of women and youth in senior management positions within municipalities to address underrepresentation.
• Improving Service Delivery: The Lekgotla resolved to improve partnerships with service providers such as Eskom and the Water Board to address delays in basic service delivery.
• Monitoring CoGHSTA Recommendations: The Lekgotla further resolved that the ANC sub-committee will monitor the implementation of recommendations from the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), focusing on managing coalition governments and addressing senior management vacancies.
2. ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
The Lekgotla also focused on addressing Economic Transformation and Job Creation challenges:
• Key Projects for Economic Growth: The Lekgotla resolved to fast-track the implementation of flagship projects, such as the NC Green Hydrogen Master plan, Boegoebaai Port Development, and the Upington Industrial Park, which are key to driving economic growth and creating jobs thus reducing unemployment.
• Youth Employment in Agriculture: To address job losses due to climate change, the commission emphasized increasing youth participation in agriculture by providing skills development and improving access to land.
• Expanding Local Economic Development (LED): Municipalities are encouraged to take a leading role in sectors such as agro-processing, manufacturing, and renewable energy, to stimulate local economic growth and job creation.
3. ORGANISATIONAL RENEWAL
The Lekgotla on Organisational Renewal focused on addressing internal renewal agenda of the movement:
• Strengthening Integrity and Unity: Lekgotla emphasized the need to enhance the ANC’s organisational integrity, tackling issues like corruption, arrogance, and internal divisions that have alienated the public.
• The step-aside resolution was reaffirmed as a critical tool for reinforcing the ANC’s commitment to renewal.
• Improving the Quality of Leadership: It was resolved that the ANC ensure the election of quality leaders from among its members and avoid leadership contestation that weakens the movement’s unity. Members were encouraged to read their oath of membership before meetings to remain aligned to ANC values.
• Active Membership and Branch Revitalization: The Lekgotla resolved to revitalize branches by making them more active in addressing community issues. Branch Executive Committees (BECs) were tasked with establishing sub-committees to address sectoral challenges, ensuring that branches remain the grassroots link between the ANC and the community.
• Social media conduct: members are discouraged from lobbying for leadership preferences on social media platforms as this taints the imagine of the ANC, and ensure that the ANC’s communication protocol is strictly implemented across all structures.
• Address the social distance: The social distance must be addressed as part of the renewal efforts to ancho the ANC in the community as an agent of transformation.
4. ON SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
The Social Transformation discussions focused on key social issues impacting the communities of the province:
• Education and Skills Development: The Lekgotla resolved to prioritize education reforms, particularly agricultural education, to equip young people with the necessary skills to participate in agro-processing and the extended agricultural sector.
• Empowering Vulnerable Groups: The Lekgotla highlighted the need for greater inclusion of women, youth, and people with disabilities in key decision-making roles. They resolved to ensure that future ANC programmes are geared toward the upliftment of marginalized groups.
• Addressing social ills: The Lekgotla acknowledged the growing issues of crime, substance abuse, and gender-based violence in the province. The commission resolved that the ANC should work closely with law enforcement, community organizations, and NGOs to combat these challenges and create safer communities for all.
• Social protection: The Departments of Social Development, Education and DSAC to develop an integrated Programme of Action for Strengthen food security intervention, especially the school nutrition programme and access to food for such children during school holidays
• The province to finalize the development of an Integrated Anti-Poverty Strategy, aligned to municipal Indigent Policies, outlining who is poor, where are they and what services are they entitled to, this is aligned to Priority 4 in terms of the progressive realization of universal quality basic services and the provision of a social wage
• To strengthen income support by engaging in a campaign to ensure universal access in terms of children aged 0 - 1 years, access to Unemployment Insurance for women, especially in terms of maternity benefits, and the strengthening of income support through existing social grants and the use of social relief of distress grants as a mechanism for the phasing in of a Basic Income Grant.
The provincial chairperson comrade Dr. Zamani Saul in his closing remarks reiterated the importance of unity, discipline, and integrity in driving the renewal agenda.
He emphasized that the ANC must remain grounded in its mission to serve the people, and that building capable institutions is essential to ensuring that service delivery is improved across the province.
Comrade Zamani further stressed the need for economic transformation as a tool to combat unemployment and poverty, urging ANC structures to fully support industrialisation efforts and the inclusion of youth in the economy.
The 2024 PEC Lekgotla reaffirmed the ANC’s commitment to addressing the province’s socio-economic challenges and driving organisational renewal.
The Lekgotla put forward resolutions on Legislature and Governance, Economic Transformation, Organizational Renewal, and Social Transformation aimed at strengthening service delivery, promoting economic growth, and ensuring internal renewal within the ANC. These resolutions will be closely monitored for implementation to ensure that the people of the Northern Cape see tangible improvements in their daily lives.
ISSUED BY AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS NORTHERN CAPE
Provincial Secretary ; Deshi Ngxanga
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