Provincial Deputy Chairperson and officials
NEC Deployees,
Members of the PEC
The 8th Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape has gathered here today two days before we celebrate the centenary of uTat’ uNelson Mandela as he would have turned 100 on the 18th July 2018 if he was still alive. As we all know, 2018 has been officially declared as the year to celebrate 100 years of Cde Nelson Mandela and Cde Albertina Sisulu, the year of renewal, unity and jobs. Let us also give honor and respect to number of Stalwart we have lost recently, such as utata u Plam , utata uKhayingo and many more others in the province and nationally .
We are also meeting here a few days after the team led by the President of South Africa successfully secured a new investmentyou £20 billion from the Middle East countries over a period of three years. We had just recently welcomed the announcement by Mercedes-Benz Cars regarding a massive R10 billion investment to expand its South African subsidiary manufacturing plant in Buffalo City. This shows that we are making progress in our target to secure $100 billion in investments to boost the ailing economy and increase investor confidence that had been damaged by political and policy uncertainty amongst other reasons.
A few weeks ago, the National Department of Arts and Culture announced the renaming of Grahamstown to Makhanda, a Xhosa warrior, war doctor, philosopher and prophet who during the Xhosa wars led an attack against the British garrison at Grahamstown in 1819. The name change reaffirms the role played by Makhanda and many other warriors that fought for our freedom. It plays an important role in our struggle to tell our own stories and remind ourselves of the sacrifices it took for us to inherit the freedom we enjoy today. But also, it is an important reminder of that our struggle had no individual hero’s but was collectively fought side by side by the oppressed people of the land And he would smile to witness Minister Nkoane – Mashabane handing over the title deeds and R22 million compensation on land claims to people of Ntabankulu and Zimbane in KSD rescpectively , its an indication that our organisation and it’s Government committment to the land redistribution and restitution program.
The implementation of our 54th National conference resolution on expropriation of land with out compensation must be responsible and productively done with speed required . As a Province we must agree and embrace the views shared by high Panel as led by former President Cde Kgalema Motlanthe that the best model and practice is found in our Province.This is a recognition and role played by our Chiefs who led us on the frontier and wars of land dispossession , because they had clarity that land belongs to our people and they are simple custodians as they themselves belong to their people . The land to be expropriated is 87% in the hands of the few private hands.
These are just highlights of the positive developments in our country and Province which illustrate that we do have the capacity to rebuild the confidence and trust that we had began to lose in the period before the 54th National Conference of the ANC. We committed to our people that indeed zizojika izinto and that we have now entered into a new dawn as expressly articulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
As the highest organ of the ANC in the Province in between Conferences, we have a responsibility and duty to provide leadership not only to the organisation, but the people of the Eastern Cape in general, and ensure that we stay true to the promises we have made and the commitment we have to our people.
The ANC is not just electoral party, but an organisation of the people whose single and most important purpose of existence is the total liberation of our people from racial oppression, class super-exploitation, and patriarchal relations of power.
We will always remind each other that the 8th ANC Provincial Conference directed the PEC to tirelessly work for the unity and renewal of the organisation in the Province. The primary task of the PEC is to reach out to all ANC members, alliance partners and society at large in an effort to unite the organisation.
This task however cannot be done if we still have elements in the Province that refuse to accept outcomes of the conference and display high levels of ill-discipline and defiance against PEC decisions and we must deal with illdesciplen whilst it shows ugly and never equate structures to individuals.
The difficulty post any elective conference is that the organisation often finds itself between a hard place and rock in that, those who did not support the election of the current leadership continue to define themselves along their factional lines towards such conferences and as such display high levels of un-organisational conduct knowing that any action taken against them will be interpreted as an act of purging against those who differed with the election of the status quo. Interestingly, even the most corrupt elements within our ranks find pleasure in hiding behind this predicament the organisation always find itself post conferences. We must find a lasting solution to this problem.
The ANC National Executive Committee resolved on a political process of uniting the Province post the 8th Provincial Conference headed by the Officials. It is indeed unfortunate that to date no coherent effort has been made in implimenting this decision on the part of the NEC but we must acknowledge the availability of individual officials to do political work in the province. What makes things worse is the lack commitment displayed by some NEC deployees to the Province in providing support and executing their responsibilities. This is simply demonstrated in their attendance in PEC meetings where some simply don’t even provide an apology for not being able to attend. We must say it here that some the problems do not require National Officials but are within the capacity of the PEC to resolve, of course working with the NEC deployees.
Comrades, we need to radically change the face of the Eastern Cape which is currently the least performing Province in almost every performance indicator. We cannot accept and live with the fact that the Eastern Cape is the least performing Province be it in strategic planning , Education, job creation , economic growth and IGR coordination. We also cannot bask in some former glory of the contribution we have made in the attainment of our freedom, we this generation, need to show that were are indeed a Province and home of Legends.
We must find ways to curb the out migration of skills from the Province. We have a potential to be food basket of the country, we have shores that can attract the huge investments into the Oceans economy, it is simply a matter of will and commitment to our people and not ourselves for self-enrichment. It is imperative that we adress serious Government inefficiencies , like the lack of coherent and effective support to Provincial based SMMEs across the economic spectrum and we must lead private sector by example . We must tirelessly engage national government and national leadership on our catalytic projects like Mzimvubu , Mthombo , Manganese , oil gas/ fracking , Biofuel and Nuclea . To resolve the ongoing challenge of government proper and habitable offices in Bisho and We must make sure that Bisho precinct development commences before the end of this financial year.
We currently have in place a Thuma Mina campaign that is based on the ANC reconnecting with the people through activities that improve people’s lives and resolves problems that they face.
Thumamina campaign means we must implement Freedom Charter with out hesitation and resolve water and electricity cuts that have been normalised In certain parts of our Province .It was shocking to learn that a building (Botha Sigcawu) which houses 10 critical departments like Education, Health, COGTA, Transport, Social Development etc goes for weeks without electricity or water because the department of Public Works has not paid the municipality. We must dedicate ourselves in delivering basic services to our people and be developmental in our approach . Stabilizing local government sphere is fundamental for basic services provision.
We have 14 distressed Municipalities and that is a test to this leadership as I believe challenges there are man made. We established developmental local government sphere for purposes of developing our people nothing else and we must agree that what is currently unfolding there is counter revolution and it must be attended as such. We must also condemn the destructive service delivery protest, in the same vain we must attend to concerns of our people promptly.
Roads in the Eastern Cape are a major problem. Again, it can’t be correct that we are arguably the leading Province in terms of incomplete roads and high rates per kilometre. We have a National Treasury Report on the investigation conducted on roads projects that were undertaken by the Eastern Cape that revealed glaring irregularities such as the awarding of the same roads to two different service providers under the same period, to date nothing has been done about that report .
We Must intensify fight against perceived or real corruption As this is the main reason our distancincing themselves from us. The huge infrastructure back log in the Province serious demands a different strategy and innovation from the current fiscus equitable share approach.
All cadres of the ANC are expected to be Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu volunteers, and emulate the values and legacies left by these two icons of our liberation struggle.
We must emulate the selfless service to all South Africans and humanity at large uMam’ uSisulu gave, her generosity of spirit and teaching the nation humility, respect for human dignity and compassion for the weak, the poor and the downtrodden.
As we head towards that celebration of the centenary of uTat’ uNelson Mandela, we must remember his kind words when he explained that “what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
There are regions that have been seriously lagging behind with regards to the Thumamina campaign. These regions are mainly those that have regional conferences due. Comrades, however invested we are in the upcoming regional conferences, that cannot take way our responsibility to carry out programmes of the organisation with due diligence. Out of PEC out reach program in regions we visited thus far , we are observing that , the chronic Damon of factionalism, gate keeping even an apetite of creating parallel structures are still showing their ugly head. PEC working with all structures must condemn such behavior and be ruthless in dealing with these tendencies as they impede the growth of our glorious movement. PS will table a comprehensive state of the organisation report later , but as this PEC must be worried about the state of organisation in NMM , all signs points to negative direction. REC appears to be overwhelmed and that region is a national priority . It looks like it’s business as usual even though we are an opposition there. We are far from recovering from the political damage we suffered in 2016 and as PEC we can’t be helpless and fold our arms when the anc is in a perpetual mode of decline.
We are working towards a decisive victory in the upcoming national general elections. That will require that we all pull efforts together with one goal and objective to win back the confidence and trust of our people.
Let us all redouble our effort in working towards the unity and renewal of the ANC in our Province and recommit ourselves to the struggle for total liberation of human kind. This PEC meeting trust try to find solutions to the problems we face and demonstrate its leadership prowess and role in society.
ANC as a leader of our progressive Alliance has a revolutionary duty to ensure that Alliance is effectively functioning and it is alive. Going back to basic on this will help us to jealously guard the gains we have achieved in advancing the NDR.
We must congratulate Cosatu on a very good, progressive and successful Provincial Congress they recently held in EL. The unit of the working class as a primary motive force is vital in our revolution for the ultimate realization of National Democratic Society. Currently we are not in good shape I must admit, we are sporadical meeting, a trend that must be changed and on your behalf I commit that this will change. We still not have yet exploited the potential of our joint operations , as demonstrated during workers day celebrations . We are agreed on tackling hotspots areas and issues that continue to strain Provincial government relations with Labour, like HROPT etc.
Let’s not forget to congratulate France on being crown s football world champs , I am aware that yesterday world was devided into two and the best team won. Also the resilient Croatia that showcased incredible fortitude can’t go unnoticed , and let’s further commend Russia by representing us so well as BRICS community for being good host. Tennis was also in the equation and fans were general kept spellbound. We must support the call that now is the time that our country host Netball word cup . Lesson learnt is always that sport plays pivotal role in nation build and national cohesion.
As we meet here today we must understand that our people look onto the ANC as their hope for a better life. They look onto this PEC to take steps in overcoming the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It has been said that “ when Poor will have nothing to eat , they will eat the Rich , We dare not fail them!
Amandla!
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