Ramaphosa says ANC will emerge with a united front on policies
Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured South Africans that despite delegates having different views on policies that have to be implemented at the party's 5th national policy conference‚ they will come out with a united front on key polices.
The party is holding its six-day policy conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre‚ south of Johannesburg‚ which will end on Wednesday.
"The process we have embarked upon in the first two days has been a really enriching process. This is the ANC at its best when it looks at itself in a very critical manner and it begins a process of self correction of healing and renewal.
"We are also looking at ways to deepen unity within the ANC and look at ways in which we can enrich all the things we do‚ bearing in mind that we are not just representing ourselves and crafting policies for our own selves‚ but to craft polices that are going to guide the whole country going forward‚" Ramaphosa said during a walkabout at a hall where exhibitors were showcasing their work on Sunday.
He said despite delegates having different views on matters‚ he had no doubt that "factions" would come out of the conference united‚ also confirming that some ANC delegates tried to stop ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe's diagnostic report from being tabled.
The first two days of the conference have focused on diagnosing the state of the ANC and forging a route towards possible solutions. The ANC is faced with internal issues which are driving factional battles ahead of the party's highly competitive elective conference in December.
Sunday‚ which was day three of the conference‚ focused on the party's renewal while the next two days will look at key proposals‚ which will go into substantive issues such as social and economic transformation.
"As you know‚ the process of looking at polices has been a thorough ongoing one. There's been bottoms up rather than topdown... This is a conference of branches‚ this is a conference where branches have a voice and put forward their own views‚" he said.
Ramaphosa commended branches for having a clear mandate on policy issues and what is expected of them‚ including debating about how the economy should be reformed and the restructuring of state owned enterprises.