Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged the National‚ Health and Allied Workers Union and the ANC’s alliance partners to emerge from their conferences more united than ever before‚ in order to strengthen the ruling party ahead of the 2019 national elections.
Ramaphosa said the ANC’s alliance partners must intensify their campaigns because opposition parties such as the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters had hit the ground running.
"Beyond December ANC’s national elective conference) comrades‚ we need to intensify our campaign for the 2019 elections. They must begin intensifying from December moving forward because then‚ the ANC will be armed with the best policies. It will have the best policies which are underpinned by revolutionary radicalism and policies that are going to be implemented‚" said Ramaphosa.
He was speaking at Nehawu’s 11th national conference at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg‚ east of Johannesburg, where he was the keynote speaker. The conference commenced on Monday and ends on June 29.
"These must be events of renewal‚ they must be events where we renew our strength where we reinforce our determination to be united. Let us seize these opportunities to decisively tackle the difficulties in our movement and in our alliance.
"This year‚ we have several opportunities to advance the renewal our movement and alliance [and] we must emerge from all these events. These are important iconic milestone events of our democratic movement and the alliance. We must emerge from there more united‚ more coherent‚ more capable of fulfilling our responsibilities to the people of our country‚" he said.
This was in reference to the South African Communist Party which is also due to have a conference in July and could possibly take a decision at the gathering to leave the ANC alliance.
The SACP and the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) are the only ANC tripartite alliance partners left that are still due to hold national conferences.
Cosatu have already had their own earlier this month where they yet again pronounced that Ramaphosa should take over the reins as ANC president in December.
The ANC will also hold its national policy conference from June 29 to July 5 and will host all provinces at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Soweto.
Turning to alliance partners speaking out against the wrongdoing of the ANC‚ Ramaphosa said they should continue doing so as it is not the time to keep quiet.
Ironically‚ President Jacob Zuma had in the past criticised the alliance partners who called on him to step down.
Earlier‚ Nehawu president Mzwandile Makwayiba told more than 1‚000 delegates the dysfunctional state of unions would sound a death knell for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, of which Nehawu is an affiliate.
He said drastic measures needed to be taken to save Cosatu and its affiliates from corruption‚ maladministration and infighting for senior positions.
"If nothing happens soon‚ this federation is going to diminish. I hope the commission will discuss this matter. We are not sangomas‚ we tell you what we see‚" said Makwayiba.
He said the trade union’s constitution needed to be modified to abet powers that would allow the federation’s national office bearers to intervene in unions that were struggling.
Nehawu is expected to close its nominations for new leaders on Monday evening.
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