President Cyril Ramaphosa used the closing session of the ANC’s national general council (NGC) to defend the governing party’s decision to continue with the government of national unity, warning that elements within the coalition were attempting to dilute the country’s transformation agenda.
Ramaphosa said the NGC had fully supported the ANC-led government of national unity (GNU), positioning it as a tactical response to the country’s hung parliament rather than a departure from its long-term ideological commitments.
The council, which concluded a four-day strategy meeting on Thursday, endorsed a medium-term economic growth target of 3%, a level South Africa has not consistently achieved in more than a decade.
Senior ANC officials have privately expressed frustration about tensions inside the GNU, particularly with parties that opposed key transformation statutes during coalition negotiations.
Ramaphosa publicly echoed those concerns, saying some partners had “been using the GNU to try to undermine the transformation of our country, as mandated by our constitution”.
“The Supreme Court of our land should not succeed in stopping the transformation process,” he said.
Ramaphosa noted the ANC’s national executive council (NEC) would be required to monitor and assess the performance of the GNU and intervene when necessary to ensure the government remains aligned with the ANC’s developmental mandate.
“The ANC NGC said all GNU partners must be committed to the constitution, which reaffirms the need for economic transformation,” the party’s head of political education, David Makhura, said at a media briefing on Thursday.
The ANC believes the DA is being unconstitutional in its legal challenge to BEE and employment equity.
Makhura acknowledged that while the ANC still aggressively supports the need for economic redress along racial lines, the government needs to ensure that people appointed, especially in government are adequately trained for their positions.
“On BEE, we say it has not been robust enough. We need a state and economy that functions for the people of South Africa. Having people in different positions that have not been adequately trained is not acceptable. We cannot deploy a pilot to drive a train; we need to monitor this better,” Makhura said.
It was truly a festival of ideas and the largest political school. We assessed the mood in South Africa and the world and learnt from each other. The ANC NGC was truly focused; all commission rooms were packed.
— David Makhura, ANC head of political education
He said the ANC NGC understood why there had been a mass stayaway of the party’s voters in recent elections over the issue of corruption.
“Voter stayaway has not been irrational. We need to fix the way we exercise state power. The ANC NGC said there have been significant economic transformation gains, but black people, women and young people specifically have been excluded. So the ANC is not going to retreat,” Makhura said.
He insisted that the ANC NGC had declared corruption to be counter-revolutionary, saying the practice was not in the interest of South Africa.
Makhura said the ANC was encouraged by the NGC, saying delegates overwhelmingly understood the party had to renew or it would die.
“It was truly a festival of ideas and the largest political school. We assessed the mood in South Africa and the world and learnt from each other. The ANC NGC was truly focused; all commission rooms were packed.
“It is a signal that something is turning in the ANC. When we talk about renewal there, it is no longer a slogan. This was demonstrated by delegates in the seriousness of the discussion. Delegates were serious and calm but understood what was at stake.”
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