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As you are aware the ANC stalwarts and veterans (the stalwarts), who are signatories to the document, “For the Sake of our Future” held a meeting yesterday, Thursday, 31 August 2017 at the St George’s Anglican Church, 7 Sherborne Rd, Johannesburg, 2193.

The purpose of this press release is to give a brief overview of the outcomes of that meeting. You may find this information newsworthy or will provide you with background information for future use.

There will be a National Consultative Conference
It had been hoped by this time in 2017 there would have been a National Consultative Conference, as originally envisaged in the document “For the Sake of our Future”. Regrettably, this was not possible before the Policy Conference.

The stalwarts have remained committed to the holding of a National Consultative Conference, since we first made the recommendation in October of last year and we will continue to work with the ANC leadership to ensure active, productive participation to ensure the success of the Conference.

As stalwarts we cannot wait for further indecision and prevarication, the National Consultative Conference will be held between the 20th and 22nd of October 2017.

We will continue to engage with all levels of the ANC, Alliance and progressive organisations to ensure the conference is a success as we honestly grapple to find causes and solutions that will “radically” change the present disastrous trajectory of our movement. We do not believe that any honest member of the ANC can continue to pander to the lowest common denominator as a basis for a falsely declared “unity” that continues to fail to confront the crisis we face.

We know that if the leadership of the ANC believes there is a crisis in our movement and the country they will participate fully with the organisation of the National Consultative Conference. If the leadership does not think there is a problem they will not support a National Consultative Conference. The challenge is the leadership remains fragmented and is unable to reach a consensus on participation.

One only needs to look at the efforts that were made to prevent the Secretary General giving the NEC’s “diagnostic organisational report”, at the opening of the Policy Conference to see the very real challenges that exist to developing an honest evaluation of the causes of the crisis within the movement and country.  That this opposition came from members of the NEC, in whose name the Secretary General was speaking simply reinforces what the overwhelming majority of the population already know there is a paralysis not only within the ANC but in the governance of our Country.

The crisis is at a tipping point, not only within the ANC but within the Country. We are sitting on a powder keg that is waiting to explode because of the high levels of alienation by our communities from the institutions of governance.

Given the long service of all stalwarts and veterans to the struggle against apartheid and the development of our constitutional democracy we are also committed to building the ANC’s Veterans League. There is not only the need for the measured collective voice of experience within the ANC, but an organisation that is sensitive and supports veterans who worked tirelessly, without personal gain but with great personal sacrifice, in the struggle against apartheid, including those who served with honour in Umkhonto We Sizwe.

As with the organisation of the National Consultative Conference we remain committed to working closely with the present leadership of the ANC to ensure that the relaunch of the Veterans League is a success.

Issued by ANC stalwarts and veterans