Despite Eskom, Transnet, cost of living crises, Ramaphosa confident of ANC victory

25 November 2023 - 10:46
By Zimasa Matiwane
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses Sanco's national conference in Durban
Image: Supplied President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses Sanco's national conference in Durban

Against the backdrop of a rising cost of living, an unstable electricity supply, high levels of crime and chaos at the Durban port, President Cyril Ramaphosa is confident the ANC will emerge victorious in the upcoming general election. 

His winning recipe is telling the “good story” about the improved lives of South Africans in the past 29 years of ANC governance as “shown” by the census 2022

Ramaphosa wants the tripartite alliance to work in tandem to stress the party's successes in every corner of the country. 

“I want to see boots on the ground, we must all work for victory. If we are not going to have boots on the ground, if we are not going to be campaigning among our people, telling our story, even in those households that may not be favourable to us we must go in and explain to them what the ANC stands for, what it has done, what it is doing and what it is going to do. Everyone of us must work for the victory of the ANC,” said Ramaphosa.

He was addressing the national conference of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), which is part of the ANC alliance. 

Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of a revitalised Sanco. “You play a critical role in strengthening and protecting the democratic organisations of our people. You bring people together and foster a sense of belonging. You are an organisation of the community. As Sanco you pursue the interests of abahlali, that is the badge you wear and I want to strengthen your resolve in being the advocates for our people.”

A strong Sanco, Ramaphosa said, will work together with the alliance to systematically look at various challenges of communities. He added the civic organisation's involvement would translate into a formidable presence of the alliance in communities. 

He also called on Sanco to routinely hold the ANC government to account.

“This is to prepare us for the battle that lies ahead, it's not going to be an easy battle but it's a battle that I know we are going to win because working together no one can beat us.”

His address coincided with the implementation of stage 6 load-shedding amid an ongoing Transnet crisis. 

Ramaphosa said the government “now knows” how to deal with both challenges. “We have been facing the load-shedding challenge and today we got the bad news that we will now be moving, for a few days, into stage 6 load-shedding. But we now know that we have the capacity to address those challenges, to address them quickly and to bring us to lower levels of load-shedding.”

On Transnet and the crises concerning ports and roads, Ramaphosa said he had given “a clear message” that “all these things must be resolved” by January.

He provided no details.

He stressed the importance of a united alliance and while delegates welcomed Ramaphosa with songs affirming his approval as leader of the alliance, he addressed them in the absence of the host provinces’ chairperson, Jacob Zuma. 

Zuma was elected Sanco KwaZulu-Natal chairperson two weeks ago. He was expected to deliver an opening address at the conference however he was a no-show.

The conference, being held at the Durban ICC, began on Friday and will end on Sunday.

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