“You like it or not, the programme of renewal will continue”
This was said by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, during his address at the Party’s 111th birthday at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung on Sunday (8 January).
Members travelled from all over South Africa to be part of the celebration.
Even the heat could not stop them from filling the stadium that was designed to accommodate 15 000 people.
Young, old and the disabled formed part of the celebration.
Addressing the masses Ramaphosa said, the insecurity of electricity supply continues to be one of the greatest impediments to economic recovery and disrupts the lives of all South Africans.
He said ending loading shedding is going to be a priority.
“To further reduce stress on the national grid, government and Eskom must enforce demand management measures to reduce electricity consumption and ensure available energy is directed to areas and sectors of priority including support for health and educational institutions,” he said.
Speaking on wealth of the country Ramaphosa said that the task of ensuring that all South Africans share in the country’s wealth is far from complete.
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“The country’s unequal distribution of wealth and income is still largely characterised by the racial, spatial and gender demographics of our colonial and apartheid past,” he said.
He also addressed the issue of unemployment amongst young people.
He said millions of young South Africans are not in employment, education, or training. “Government must continue to prioritise the employment of young people in all our efforts. This year we must expand all initiatives that provide work experience for young people,” he said
In dealing with crime the President said the ANC calls on and directs the national government to take urgent steps to enhance the crime-fighting capacity of law enforcement agencies by increasing the number of police personnel to match the country’s population increase, in line with international norms.
“Urgent steps also need to be taken to rebuild the capacity of the law-enforcement agencies and other institutions of the criminal justice system which were weakened by the state capture, and corruption,” he said.
He said they further direct that Government to immediately adopt and implement a National Plan of Action to deal with rising levels of crime such as kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, gangsterism, illegal mining, construction Ramaphosa said noting that GBV and femicide is a pandemic that should be confronted with the necessary determination and appropriate resourcefulness, the ANC calls for the intensification of the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide
“This should include preventative measures, such as the implementation of new laws on protection orders and society-wide programmes to involve men in tackling patriarchal attitudes and toxic masculinity.”
“The ANC further directs that Government to immediately adopt and implement a National Plan of Action to deal with rising levels of crime such as kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, gangsterism, illegal mining, construction mafia, wanton vandalism of public infrastructure and border security,” he said.
