JOHANNESBURG: President of south Africa Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday that the African National Congress (ANC), which is in power in South Africa, will look for suggestions and ideas to "turn things around" during the course of the next three days at the 6th National Policy Conference.
Ramaphosa told party members in Johannesburg at the conference, which runs through Sunday, that the party "has been undermined on a lot of fronts" as a result of the "weakened state" of its branches, disagreements among its members, and weak state of its alliance.
The Covid-19 pandemic, state capture, poor service delivery, and energy security are just a few of the factors that have exacerbated poverty, unemployment, and inequality in South Africa. Consequently, the country's citizens now face pressing issues like rising living expenses and an increase in violent crime.
The conference's purpose, according to Ramaphosa, who is also the ANC President, is "for us to come up with ideas, suggestions, and policies that should turn things around." The President said that the decisions and actions the party takes at this conference, suggestions to correct errors and shortcomings, and most importantly the unity of the party, will determine the future of the national democratic revolution, a process led by the ANC to establish a non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic, and wealth-shared society.
The National Policy Conference will evaluate the ANC's positions and provide recommendations for new positions or revisions for the National Conference, the party's top decision-making body.
Discussions about the economy will be crucial, ANC National Executive Committee member Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told The Associated Press.
People will be interested in learning about Eskom's and Energy's plans to halt load shedding, or power outages, he said. "People will want to know how are we going to deal with this high rise in the cost of living.”
China-Africa economic trade projects worth 170 million USD signed
Russian FM visits Egypt, part of Africa trip amid Ukraine war
