Chairperson of the session: Comrade Mvoko
Comrades, good afternoon.
Let me begin by expressing our sincere appreciation to all of you for your
presence at this critical gathering, the ANC Provincial Lekgotla. Yesterday,I was deeply excited, and indeed politically encouraged, to see that many Comrades, Alliance and MDM honoured the invitation.
The sight of comrades occupying every available seat, with many arriving early and others struggling to find space, was not merely logistical; it was a visible demonstration of organisational vitality and political strength. It reflected the enduring relevance of the ANC and the seriousness with which our cadres regard this movement and its historic mission. More importantly it gives confidence to our people, that we take seriously the mandate they gave the ANC in the 2024 elections.
However, Comrades, we must speak honestly with one another. While we were heartened by the numbers in the plenary, we were equally concerned, and frankly disappointed, that only about half of this hall attended the Commissions.
The Deputy Chairperson, Comrade Mlungisi Mvoko, raised this matter this morning when he opened, not in jest, but with the gravity it deserves. He was making a fundamental point about commitment, discipline, and organisational culture.
Attendance in Commissions is not optional; it is a core responsibility of every delegate. This leadership collective takes this matter seriously because, without discipline and active participation, our decisions risk becoming hollow and our resolutions risk remaining on paper.
As we close this Lekgotla, it is both fitting and necessary that we anchor our reflections in history not as nostalgia, but as guidance for the tasks before us.
On this day, the 2nd of February 1991 stands as one of the most decisive moments in the long and difficult struggle for the liberation of our people.
On that day, the apartheid regime announced the unbanning of the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and other liberation movements, and committed itself to the release of political prisoners, including our beloved leader, uTata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. From the perspective of the liberation struggle and particularly from the
standpoint of the Eastern Cape, a crucible of resistance, this moment did not represent the generosity of the apartheid state. It represented a victory of mass struggle. A victory forged through decades of sacrifice, defiance and unyielding commitment by the people of this province and our country as a whole.
The Eastern Cape knows this struggle intimately. It produced leaders of towering stature Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Raymond Mhlaba but more importantly, it produced ordinary men and women who made extra ordinary contribution in ensuring that this country was ungovernable through strikes, boycotts, uprisings and community organisations. It was this collective action that shifted the balance of forces and summoned the apartheid regime to the negotiating table.
The unbanning of the ANC and the release of political prisoners marked a strategic shift in the struggle from underground resistance to open mass political mobilisation. It was not the end of the struggle, but the beginning of a new phase of the National Democratic Revolution, where negotiations became another terrain of struggle in pursuit of a united, non-racial, non- sexist and democratic South Africa.
Comrades,
This Lekgotla is convened in a year of deep historical significance. We mark 114 years of uninterrupted struggle — 114 years of sacrifice, resilience, courage and selfless service by the African National Congress.
For more than a century, this movement has been banned, imprisoned, exiled, vilified and attacked, yet we are becoming stronger and currently renewing ourselves. Because the ANC is not an idea floating above society; it is rooted in the lived struggles of the people.
Our historic duty is clear: to preserve, renew and strengthen the ANC, and to hand it over to future generations healthier, more ethical, more united and more trusted than we found it.
This year also marks 30 years since the adoption of our democratic Constitution, the birth certificate of our nation. Over three decades, democratic South Africa has delivered tangible gains for the masses of our people: houses where there were shacks, electricity where there was darkness, water and sanitation where there was neglect, no life, dignity and social protection where there was abandonment.
In the Eastern Cape, despite persistent challenges, we have made measurable progress, expanded access to basic services, improved audit outcomes, and increased the participation of women in leadership and governance. These gains remind us that democratic transformation is real, even as we acknowledge that much more remains to be done.
Comrades, I am not going to repeat the reports from the Commissions as they were presented in the plenary this morning. The only thing I can say is this: let us go out from this Lekgotla and implement relentlessly the resolutions that we have adopted here.
In doing so, the ANC must soberly reflect on its own capacity to implement, to monitor, and to evaluate how our decisions are being carried out by the government.
Those of us deployed in government must never forget that we are, first and foremost, cadres of the ANC, and therefore we must take clear political direction from the organisation.
In this regard, Sub Committee Chairpersons must assume their rightful role as the principal presenters and political drivers of these discussions, with a clear and comprehensive grasp of all government portfolios. For now, we may still allow government officials to make technical
presentations, but going forward, our own cadres must lead these engagements, having independently monitored the work of government and having developed a clear, disciplined, and directive political posture for implementation.
As we now draw this Lekgotla to a close, let us pause once more, deliberately and consciously, to reflect on who we are and what we must become. Above all, let us place at the centre of our closing message the imperative of unity, unity of purpose, unity of leadership, and unity in action. Without unity, there can be no discipline. Without discipline, there can be no effective governance. And without effective governance, there can be no meaningful change in the lives of our people.
In this spirit of unity, we share our collective gratitude and pride with the OR Tambo Region, which has not only been honoured with the ZK Mathews Prestigious Award under the Municipal and Caucus category,
but also distinguished itself at the January 8th celebrations, where it received further recognition for organisational stability, political coherence, and exemplary leadership.
We congratulate OR Tambo Region unreservedly. These accolades are not decorative. They are a political confirmation that where leadership stands together, where cadres are united, and where there is stability, coherence, and decisiveness, the conditions for growth, development, and transformation begin to take shape. The achievement of OR Tambo must stand as both an incentive and a benchmark for all our Regions and District Municipalities. It demonstrates in concrete terms that disciplined leadership, organisational unity, and collective responsibility are the real instruments of governance. We commend the leadership collective at both the regional and District levels for working as one, for subordinating personal ambitions to the collective, and for proving that when the ANC moves as a united force, it governs with authority and legitimacy.
Comrades, unity must also mean zero tolerance for corruption. Let us be emphatic and uncompromising; corruption is not a minor administrative lapse; it is a betrayal of our people and a direct assault on the moral standing of our movement. It corrodes public trust, weakens our developmental agenda, and erodes the revolutionary character of the ANC.
This Lekgotla must send an unambiguous message that in the Eastern Cape, corruption will not be negotiated with, accommodated, or normalised. We stand for clean governance, ethical leadership, and accountability at every level of the organisation and the state.
Accordingly, we must commit ourselves to the professionalisation of administration across all our municipalities and provincial institutions.
Cadre deployment must never be a shield for incompetence, indiscipline, or mediocrity. We require skilled, capable, and ethical public servants who understand that serving the people is not a privilege, but a sacred duty.
Political leadership must provide direction and oversight, but administration must be run with efficiency, integrity, and technical excellence. Our people deserve nothing less.
Equally, we must be unambiguous on consequence management. Where leaders or officials fail the people, whether through negligence, corruption, incapacity, or wilful misconduct, there must be consequences. When taps run dry in rural areas, when roads collapse, when school transport falters, when service delivery deteriorates, someone must account.
Consequence management is not factionalism; it is organisational discipline. It is how a revolutionary movement proves that it takes governance seriously and respects the lived realities of the masses.
The remaining Regions, Amathole and Sarah Baartman, will convene their respective Conferences, Sarah Baartman from the 4 to 6 of February 2026 and Amathole Region on the 20 of March 2026. Once these Conferences have been convened successfully, we will be fully prepared to convene our Provincial Elective Conference.
We must therefore stand firmly behind our Comrades in these Regions and give them all the political, organisational, and moral support they require to ensure disciplined, united, and credible processes.
Let us therefore leave this Lekgotla united, resolute, and disciplined. Let us carry forward the example set by OR Tambo, a Region that has shown that stability, unity, and decisive leadership can deliver tangible results.
If we do this, we will not only strengthen the ANC in the Eastern Cape, but we will restore confidence in our movement and, more importantly, improve the lived realities of our people in every village, township, and town.
I thank you.
