COSATU Message of Support: ANC NEC Lekgotla

Comrades chairperson, Gwede Mantashe,

President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe and Deputy President Baleka Mbete

Leadership of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO,

All protocols observed,

Thank you for inviting the Alliance Partners to one of the most important Lekgotla for not only the ANC, but the entire movement and the National Democratic Revolution. 

Whilst appreciating this, we must register our concerns that we are meeting after the GNU Cabinet has had its own Lekgotla. This poses the challenge of how the decisions of this Lekgotla will find expression into the mandate of the GNU? 

We are at a crossroads as the liberation movement, where the electorate, and in particular the working and middle classes, have handed a painful verdict on our performance with a below 50% result for the first time ever.  This result was not a surprise given the many challenges we have had to struggle with and our own failings.

The challenge for us collectively is to ensure we understand the causes of this setback, including the massive decline in ANC voter turnout.  Society is correctly angered by the decade of state capture and corruption, loadshedding, deteriorating municipal and public services, a stagnant economy and rising unemployment, poverty and inequality. 

Voters are exhausted by the manner in which we conduct ourselves as cadres, where we have become synonymous with corruption, immorality and arrogance. 

Workers have lost faith as they have been battered by retrenchments, below inflation salary increases, a rising cost of living, the non-payment of pension and medical aid benefits, attacks on collective bargaining and painful budget cuts to frontline services.

It is important we reflect on our inability to manage discipline and differences.  Over the past two decades we have seen massive internal hemorrhaging from COPE to the EFF and the MKP plus many independents at a local level.  Whilst some of those expelled could no longer be tolerated, we have paid the price at the ballot box.

We have felt the consequences of neglecting workers.  Similarly, in the course of our factional wars, we have seemingly abandoned the need to constantly nurture the spirit of non-racialism and build the movement across all communities.

Despite our painful setback, we are pleased that against very difficult electoral odds, we managed to elect governments led by the ANC nationally and in seven provinces. 

It is disconcerting how the ANC treated the Alliance during this very sensitive process.  Whilst we received an initial Alliance Secretariat briefing, this was after the ANC had begun negotiations.  We were left to hear the NEC decision on establishing a GNU on TV.  Commitments to include the Alliance in the GNU negotiations were not honoured.

The reality is the Alliance had little if any input on the composition of the GNU or the various alternatives to it.  We have raised similar concerns with regards to the composition of Cabinet, in particular which portfolios were allocated to other parties, and the massive increase in Deputy Ministers.  We are equally dismayed we handed the chairs of several parliamentary committees with Ministers from GNU parties.

If we are to avoid the relegation of the Alliance, we need to formalise Alliance engagements and not treat them as an afterthought.  There must be set Alliance Secretariat meetings and Alliance Political Councils throughout the year. 

The Alliance must be given space in the GNU policy mandating and deadlock resolution processes.  Lest we find our GNU partners displacing the Alliance.

It is critical the Alliance provides political leadership to the GNU’s envisaged social dialogue.  It should be led by the Presidency and coordinated by Nedlac.  This is important to avoid creating a festival of ideas and no concrete plan of action and social compact, as well as to affirm the ANC’s election manifesto as our policy anchor. 

The danger of delegating this to Parliament is it hosts a series of noisy mini rallies that produce a shopping list of contradictory unimplementable demands.  This matter must be handled strategically, led by the Presidency and coordinated by Nedlac.

As we unite and build the Alliance, it is incumbent upon Alliance Partners to not only ensure the Alliance is reconfigured but that we resolve areas of disagreement and in a manner that builds unity and the prestige of the movement in the public’s eyes.

One must appreciate these are uncharted waters for all of us, including Cabinet deployees.  It is essential, Cabinet Lekgotla notwithstanding, that the anchor of the GNU Programme, remains the ANC elections manifesto and it be binding upon all Ministries, be it FF Plus, DA, PAC or PA.

Within the Manifesto, and in the run up to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, we must prioritise high impact interventions that will grow the economy, create jobs, provide relief to the poor, rebuild the state and tackle crime and corruption.

Key interventions need to include ensuring Eskom and Transnet have the support they need to unlock the economy, to capacitate the state to implement the infrastructure programme, and put in place turnaround plans for our embattled and once thriving SOEs, in particular Metro Rail, the RAF, Post Office and Postbank, SABC and Denel. 

Interventions are needed for struggling municipalities and those who routinely fail to pay workers, in particular in the Free State, North West, Northern and Eastern Cape. 

Reckless budget cuts to frontline services must be stopped and critical vacancies filled in Health, Home Affairs, Police and Education. 

The remarkable turnaround at SARS where competent management was appointed, corrupt officials removed, critical vacancies filled, and capacity boosted; has shown the value of investing in public services that benefit workers and boost the economy.

The manifesto is boldly anchored upon a massive industrialisation and localisation programme but to move this from an ideal to a reality, it must be matched by a massive shift in funding in the MTBPS for industrial and export financing as well as ramping up customs enforcement.  Words will not build factories.

Whilst these are done, we must action the very clear commitments of the President’s Opening of Address: to increase relief to the poor and unemployed by drastically increasing the intake of the Presidential Employment Stimulus to at least 2 million simultaneous participants, raising the SRD Grant to the Food Poverty Line and linking its recipients to skills and employment opportunities, ensuring eligible indigent households receive their free electricity and municipal services, extending the scope of essential food items from VAT, and reviewing and reducing price of fuel.

Questions will be asked where will the funds come to pay for these?  First by tackling the network obstacles, the economy will take off. 

Second, by allocating SARS the resources they require to increase tax compliance from 64% to 70% over the next two years, will generate the revenue the state requires to fund its mandate whilst servicing debt. 

Similarly, once the mining rights application system is actioned, we can once again see the mining industry attract the investments the economy desperately needs.

The President has done well signing many key Bills in recent months and trust his pen has enough ink to sign the remaining ones shortly.  It is critical the 7th Parliament be more efficient in processing and passing legislation and not leave Bills to literally the last minute, more so now that we no longer command an outright majority.

Comrade leadership, we have less than two years until the 2026 local elections.  Society has put us on final notice.  If we do not deliver, then we should prepare ourselves for a devastating loss of local government.

Our opposition, be it the EFF or MK outside, or the DA inside the GNU, are not waiting.  They are on the ground mobilising, claiming deliveries and victories.

We need to deliver our manifesto commitments in a way society can relate to and communicate our victories and setbacks in a way workers and voters can understand.  We need to build our structures from ANC to SACP Branches, civics and unions.

It is critical we take action to boost voter turnout, including amending the Electoral and Public Holidays Acts to enforce a non-trading holiday and extending voting times.

The local elections will be won or lost by what we do or fail to deliver over the next few months.  If we lead and deliver, workers and voters will rally around us, if we continue to sleepwalk our way through life, then we must prepare to hand over power.

Given the serious challenges facing the movement, the need to intensify its renewal and prepare for the local elections, it is surprising none of the nine commissions set for this Lekgotla has been set aside for this task.  This should be reconsidered.

COSATU for its part is working to ensure the Alliance lives, it leads, it delivers, and it will be returned to its rightful place as the leader of society and the majority party.

Thank you.  Amandla.