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From the onset, as the ANC in eThekwini Region we remain committed towards working with the members of the media to inform the public at large about the programme of action of this glorious movement of our people.

This press briefing therefore has been convened to allow members of the fourth estate to interact with the ANC leadership in this region.

First PEC after the Provincial Elective Conference

This week, the REC met for the first time after the much successful provincial elective conference held at Durban University of Technology – Steve Biko Campus.

The REC wishes to pay tribute to thousands of delegates who attended the provincial conference and ensured its success. This was a constitutional process in which we had an opportunity to assess the performance of our movement and review the implementation of programs aimed at advancing the National Democratic Revolution.

The region was represented by delegates whose main task was to ensure that the discussions throughout the conference were focused on the strategies that will enable the ANC to implement with speed – the resolutions adopted at NASREC. These include land expropriation without compensation, Radical Economic Transformation and Free Education.

Delegates had an opportunity to take an honest look at the ANC. It is for these reasons that they emerge from this conference with a clear strategy on how to ensure that this glorious movement continues to deliver a better life for all.

The REC has confidence in the newly elected leadership and we have no doubt that through these tried and cadres of our movement, the ANC will register a resounding victory in the 2019 general elections.

Critically, we welcome the generational mix of young and energetic leaders with seasoned leaders who possesses wealth of experience in terms of advancing the programme of the ANC as the leader of society.

Given the fact that it is Women’s Month, we want to congratulate female comrades that have been elected to the PEC. They have been elected because of their capabilities and we believe that they will serve as an inspiration to many other women and society in general.

Importantly, our view is that the transformation of society, cannot be achieved without women in the corridors of power. We believe that this new PEC which is dominated by women will ensure that women empowerment programmes take centre stage in all ANC programmes.

Unity in the ANC in eThekwini Region and beyond

The REC in eThekwini remains committed to sustaining the positive mood that has been prevailing over the past few weeks. We still maintain that is a strong and united ANC that will ensure the transformation of our society.

 In our recent REC meeting we have agreed to engage our comrades who contested the local government elections in 2016 as independent candidates. This forms part of ongoing work of creating a new spirit within the organisation.

It is our view that in some cases intolerance of divergent views and inability to accommodate different suggestions might have led to some comrades leaving the organisation. In the spirit of unity, we are doubling our efforts to promote unity within our branches across the region.

We remain of the firm view that unity refers to working together, cooperatively for a common purpose. Unity requires discipline, mutual respect, openness and trust.  Unity is about agreeing to a joint programme of action and working together to ensure its successful implementation.

Critically, as the ANC in eThekwini Region we believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that our councillors and independent councillors work together to strengthen service delivery. We cannot work in silos. We need to harness the local energy by engaging in an inclusive exercise in order to make an impact.

Our message is that we should act in unity in order to fulfil the mandate given to us. We need to take joint ownership for the development of our respective wards.

By-Elections in Ward 71

The ANC in the region wishes to announce its determination to regain Ward 71 in a bi-election scheduled to take place on the 3rd October 2018.  To this effect, we will be embarking on a mobilization campaign with the leadership and our members visiting each household in the ward to explain our programme of service delivery.

We reiterate our commitment to make the local government work better and bring the people to the centre of our programmes for service delivery. It is our view that the local government sphere has to remain the centre of popular democratic participation in the delivery of services to all our people.

A strong ANC Regional Alliance

The objective of the National Democratic Revolution as advanced by the ANC-led Alliance is the transformation of society and the creation of a better life for all our people.  It is for these reasons that as the region we remain committed to strengthening the alliance in the region.

We undertake to work with the Alliance Political Council in order to ensure that we have the Alliance Secretariat that hosts regular regional conferences for secretaries. We want to bring the relationship of the ANC, COSATU, SANCO and SAPC to a sound footing. Failure to do this has the effect of creating tensions that spill into the workings within each component due to the overlapping activities and cross membership in the components of the Alliance. The region is encouraging the spirit of open debate and tolerance of different views at branch level.

ANC Youth League National Conference

We want to pause here and wish the ANCYL the best as they prepare for the national conference. The conference coincides with centenary celebrations of our beloved former President Nelson Mandela. Madiba was at the forefront of the formation of the ANC Youth League and became its secretary general and finally its president.

As the region we remain firmly behind Comrade Thanduxolo Sabela. Cde Thanduxolo has distinguished himself as a solid young leader. Undoubtedly he will use his experience as former Regional and Provincial Secretary of the ANCYL to mobilize young people to vote overwhelmingly for the party of Tata Madiba in the next year’s general elections.

He remains the only leader that will champion relentlessly the implementation of radical economic transformation programme for the benefit of young people.  He will ensure that young people use the political power in our hands to achieve economic emancipation for many of our people who remain trapped in abject poverty.  

Allegations levelled by Calvin Mathibeli against ANC Regional Chair Cllr Zandile Gumede

The REC rejects in the strongest terms allegations levelled by Calvin Mathibeli in the social media and in the Sunday Tribune of the 29th July. We want to put on record that the ANC in eThekwini region had no agreement with him and we therefore distance ourselves from characters like him. We are encouraged that Mayor of eThekwini Municipality Cllr Zandile Gumede is also considering taking legal action against him following his frivolous allegations.

Our support for all initiatives aimed at fighting fraud and corruption remains unchanged. Over the past few months we reiterated our unconditional support for institutional mechanisms such as the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, the Ethics committee and an independent Audit Committee. These have been instrumental in providing oversight of financial management and integrity of the Municipality.

Critically, we pointed out in the past that the blacklisting of 42 companies and the 326 investigations that have been completed over the past financial year underpins the commitment of the ANC-led municipality to eradicate fraud and corruption.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, we thank you for your time and we will now take questions for clarity.

Issued by ANC EThekwini Region