SACP Congratulates the ANC on its 55th National Congress, Looking Forward to the Continuation Session to Finalize its Outcomes

Tuesday, 20 December 2022

The South African Communist Party congratulates the African National Congress on its 55th National Conference held in Nasrec, Johannesburg, from 16 to 20 December 2022. Over 4,400 voting and non-voting delegates, including representatives of the Alliance partners and international fraternal organisations from Africa and overseas, attended the Conference.

The newly elected ANC leadership, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, faces the challenge of continuing to lead the renewal and unity of the ANC towards success. The SACP wishes the entire collective well.

As the President himself said in the Political Report, which he delivered to the Conference on Friday, 16 December 2022, the renewal and unity of the ANC will be incomplete without the reconfiguration of the Alliance and the renewal of ties with the masses of the people and their growing support.

Millions of the people live under material conditions characterised by the deeply concerning high levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality, which have engendered a crisis of social reproduction involving inability in the affected households to support their lives. Underpinning this situation are the problems of the prevailing economic system and structure, which leave much to be desired.

In advancing its renewal and unity, the ANC needs to work together more with the Alliance, as part of its reconfiguration, and other South Africans who support the emancipatory goals enshrined in the Freedom Charter, to solve the problems affecting the people and to overcome their challenges.

A thoroughgoing programme of systemic and structural transformation is essential to move South Africa out of the current situation, which badly affects the millions of our people. The people themselves consistently mobilised, meaningfully consulted and directly involved through participatory democracy, as well as adequately supported through public interventions and programmes, have a huge role to play in the process of economic and broader social transformation and development.

Overcoming the energy crisis and solving the problems behind the associated load-shedding to stop it as soon as possible is essential to unlocking the much-needed progress. This should include industrialisation, employment creation at scale and a more effective poverty eradication strategy, comprising both productive and social reproductive measures, not least a universal basic income grant.

The SACP is looking forward to the outcomes of the ANC 55th National Conference continuation session to be held on 5 January 2023, where the ANC will consider the reports from the policy discussions held in Nasrec and resolutions on renewal, unity, strategy and tactics, to name but a few areas.

The biggest political gathering in South Africa was expectedly complex to manage, with room for improvement, leading to the resolution the ANC 55th National Conference adopted on 20 December 2022 to adjourn and reconvene on 5 January 2023.

The SACP wishes all delegates a safe journey and festive season back home, and a prosperous new year. 

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY | SACP

EST. 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA | CPSA

Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo,

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