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ANC Members of Parliament deployed in
both Houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the National Council of
Provinces, are currently meeting for the two-day national Caucus Lekgotla in
Parliament, Cape Town.

Given that this is the first Lekgotla in the
current five year term of Parliament, the meeting is taking stock of the
performance of the organisation within the institution in the last five
years and what lesson should be drawn from it. Such lessons would be
critical to Caucus's programme in the current term of Parliament as it
implements the resolutions of the National Conference and brings into
realisation the aspirations of the people of South Africa, as outlined in
the Elections Manifesto.

The Lekgotla on Thursday received input from the
Deputy President of the ANC, Kgalema Motlanthe, on the role of Caucus within
Parliament and the expectation the organisation and the public has of
deployed cadres, in both the institution and the Executive. ANC Chief Whip,
Dr. Mathole Motshekga, addressed the Lekgotla on the importance of
repositioning the ANC Caucus for the purpose of achieving meaningful
oversight and improved service delivery to all our people.

The Speaker of
the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, and Chairperson of the National Council
of Provinces, Mninwa Mahlangu, gave presentations on the strategic
priorities of Parliament for the next five years. Lekgotla also received a
briefing from Collins Chabane, Minister in the Presidency, on government's
approach to the improvement of performance at all levels of governance.
Jeremy Cronin, Deputy Minister of Transport, outlined the ANC's programme of
action and priorities in relation to this institution.

These inputs,
together with the contents of the Manifesto and the Conference Resolutions,
will inform the discussions in Commissions today, the second day of the
Lekgotla. The discussions will culminate in the formulation of the five-year
programme for Clusters and Study Groups of the ANC in Parliament.

The
reports of Commissions will be presented for discussion and adoption during
the regular sitting of the Caucus meeting on 17 September.

In his keynote
address yesterday, Deputy President Motlanthe urged MPs to always uphold the
culture of the ANC in their work:

"At all times, wherever we are in this
institution in whatever structure we participate in, we must as public
representatives of the African National Congress pronounce and act in a
manner which enhances the image and prestige of the ANC. It can't be that we
do that, as they put it in English, ‘"based on islands of memory". This
means that all the time and wherever we are in this institution, whatever
structure we participate in, must pronounce and act in a manner which
ensures that the ANC enjoys moral ascendancy. We therefore must always
strive to present superior arguments to all others. And we can only do that
if we tap on the collective brain that resides in all who participate in
this institution; that is all members of the African National Congress.
"

"There is no advantage to be gained by playing our cards close to our
chests. If I am given a task I must be able to seek advice and inputs from
others because we are all here expected, as I said, to pronounce and act in
a manner which enhances the prestige of the African National Congress. And
the only way to do that is always to present superior arguments to others.
That's the only way we will be able to win the respect of our people,
particularly because deliberations in this parliament are beamed live to
homes across the country. As members of the African National Congress, the
movement expects us to be conscious of whatever we do. Simply put, we mean
that we should be able at all times to draw the direct link between what we
say or do and the possible consequences thereof - at all times. If we
proceed with that understanding, it will then become clear as to why we
should spend less time speaking about other parties and more time explaining
and arguing and presenting superior
arguments to elaborate and articulate
the positions and policies of our organization."

The Deputy President also
told MPs that the manner in which public representatives conducted
themselves within and outside the institution was important: "Essentially,
we are the representatives of our people, but that does not mean we
represent members of the ANC to the exclusion of others. We represent all
our people and we must work for all of our people because if we do so
successfully and effectively, all of our people will become the constituency
of the African National Congress. It is very important to always bear that
in mind. As I have said, we must be conscious of that responsibility at all
times and never ever take the posture that we behave in one way when we are
in parliament, and in a different way when we are outside of parliament.
People will always see you as government, they will always see you as the
ANC, and you can't escape that. So there is no point where you are a free
agent. If you want to be a free agent, you can't be a member of the ANC, the
two
don't go together."

In his input to the Lekgotla, Chief Whip Dr.
Motshekga emphasised the importance of rationalising the Parliamentary
Constituency Offices (PCOs) for greater synchronisation of oversight roles
at national, provincial and local levels. He said this cooperation will
transform PCOs into one-stop centres that are capacitated and well organised
to cater for the needs of communities within which they are located.

"If
managed properly, these one-stop centres may serve as important vehicles
through which we may realize the provisions of section 154(1) of the
Constitution which stipulates that "the national government and provincial
governments, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen
the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise
their powers and to perform their functions."

"This section concretises
intergovernmental relations and obliges the National and Provincial
government to assume collective responsibility to support councillors and
capacitate them to deliver quality services to the people. Collaboration
through PCOs as one-stop centres could assist in the reduction and
management of incidences of service delivery complains protests and
strikes.

"Constituency Offices have been established to ensure that we
remain in touch with our people on the ground and so that we continually
make ourselves familiar with their challenges and sufferings. This is very
important for us to monitor the quality and quantity of services delivered
at local levels whilst ensuring that government programs remain relevant on
addressing the challenges and hardships experienced by our people.

"The
importance of making sure that our Constituency Offices are fully functional
and responsive to the needs of our people cannot be over-emphasised. This is
one of the effective ways through which we can ensure that the ANC regains
its historic and strategic role as the Majority Party in all Provinces.

"We need to reclaim our status as the only liberation movement and
political party that is well-equipped to deal with political and
socio-economic challenges experienced by our people, both black and white.
In fact, the ANC is the only political Party that has a comprehensive plan
for the improvement of the quality of life of all people in South
Africa.

"As custodians of ANC policies and programs in Parliament and
Legislatures, we need to pursue the vision that is informed by the values of
a caring society. As per the ANC Strategy and Tactics document, it is our
duty to entrench the values of a caring society in this country and deepen
the kind of democracy that leans towards the poor and vulnerable in our
communities. We need to recognise the leading role of the working class on
social transformation."