ANC PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa hosted a dialogue at the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday, 2 September ahead of the party’s manifesto review.
During the review, the president said since the first democratic elections in 1994, the development of the ANC’s manifesto has never been merely an internal party exercise.
“From the first People’s Forums, where South Africans from across the country and across the social spectrum were able to articulate their concerns and wishes, the ANC has always sought to involve the broader society in defining the plans that it would put to the electorate,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that the ANC has drawn on a tradition of consultation and engagement that has its roots in the Congress of the People in 1955.
“For many months before the Congress of the People, volunteers went out across the country to collect the demands that would become the Freedom Charter. We remember the extensive consultation process that preceded the adoption of our new democratic Constitution. The engagement today is part of that tradition,” he said.
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Looking back at the heartbreaking Joburg fire where people lost their lives, the president said the rule of law must be enforced at hijacked buildings across the country. He said the incident devastated him.
“What happened in Johannesburg was quite devastating and very sad. It’s a multi layered problem that Johannesburg has to deal with. I spent time with mayoral committee members, regional chairperson and premier casting all these matters that have given rise to challenges not only to Johannesburg but the big cities,” he said.
He added that Cape Town, eThekwini and other cities have the same problem.
“The saddest part is where buildings are hijacked and taken over illegally and the criminals who hijack the buildings then start levying rentals to vulnerable and poor people. Local government must enforce the laws.
“The building is so old and part of it is not safe and local government sought to take people out, but it was stopped by NGOs. There are laws that need to enforced and we have to deal with how people who shouldn’t be living there are accommodated,” said Ramaphosa.
