Comrade Secretary general Fikile Mbalula,
Comrade President Matamela Ramaphosa,
Leadership and delegates of the ANC, SACP, COSATU, SANCO and all formations of the liberation movement, I bring you revolutionary greetings on behalf of your trusted ally, the biggest trade union federation of workers in the country, the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
It is no exaggeration to state that this is one of the critical Makgotla of the movement. In a few days Cabinet will sit, the State of the Nation of Address and the Budget Speech be delivered.
It is critical that this Lekgotla not merely gather to reminisce about glory days, or lament about the elections results, but to come with concrete proposals on the way forward, not only for government and the movement, but the nation for the year ahead, and to ensure we set the path for the Alliance to emerge once again with an outright majority in the 2026 local elections.
Voters, and in particular the working class, don’t want to hear vague promises of a better life, they don’t want to hear about our factional spats or extravagant slogans.
Society wants to see a sense of humility, to know we have heard their anger and are addressing our mistakes. They want to hear from us a clear plan of action of how we will improve their lives.
Key to this is fixing the state, moving away from reckless austerity budget cuts that collapse the ability of the state to deliver the quality public services that the working class and the economy depend upon.
We must avoid the temptation of falling for naïve neo-liberal slogans that say slashing funding for hospitals, clinics, schools, police stations and social services will miraculously restore public services, stimulate growth and create jobs. Comrades, there is no country in the world that was able to rebuild and grow its economy with an austerity budget. Similarly, we will never balance the budget through measures which reduce national income. That’s why we are still firm on our call for a review of the country’s macro economic policy.
We argue that there are three levers to reduce unemployment in the country:
- GDP growth
- Re-industrialization
- Public employment programmes (Presidential Employment Stimulus, EPWP and Community Works programme)
When unemployment is 41.9% and over 12 million people unemployed, we cannot tolerate sending CWP workers home to join the unemployment queue or slashing the Presidential Employment Programme. The private sector must come to the party by putting in place internship and artisanship programmes, not retrenching workers. We need a Marshal Plan for South Africa, a vision and plan with 6% growth target that is binding on National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank
When the President makes progressive commitments at SONA, Treasury must to ensure the Budget speaks to these priorities of our government.
Eskom and SARS have shown that if debt relief is provided, competent management appointed, corrupt and criminal elements are removed, critical vacancies are appointed and infrastructure invested in; that once embattled SOEs and public entities can be stabilised, rebuilt and once again be enablers of and not burdens to growth.
We have made progress on tackling state capture but we will not win the war against crime and corruption, if we do not ensure the SAPS, NPA and the judiciary have the resources and leadership they need to successfully prosecute criminals.
COSATU is firm in our determination to see a well capacitated developmental state that is unashamedly biased towards the working class. The role of the state in defending and advancing the National Democratic Revolution and laying the foundations for a society premised upon the principles of socialism and equality are fundamental.
We need a state that can deliver reliable and affordable electricity. Whilst applauding the work by the Ministry of electricity to minimize loadshedding, we must deal with another from of loadshedding called load reduction. We are raising this because as afar as our people are concerned, there is no difference between load shedding and loadreduction. The fact of the matter is that we still have electricity cuts in Soweto and many other places in our country. We must run efficient freight and passenger rail, operate modern ports and tax collection, that can provide our youth and workers with the skills needed to find jobs in the economy of today and tomorrow.
We need the state to accelerate the rollout of the infrastructure programme, to rebuild municipal services to rural communities and townships, to ensure our roads are paved and water and sanitation delivered.
The state and private sector must aggressively support local procurement and SMMEs and abandon the rush to import goods at the expense of local industries and jobs. We must aggressively support the Proudly SA’s campaign to buy locally made products.
Whilst we grow the economy, we must expand relief for the unemployed by transforming the SRD Grant into a Basic Income Grant, drastically expand public employment programmes and be accompanied by the skills, training and experience needed to find permanent work.
Whilst at times we are frustrated by our comrades’ own goals or the pace at which they move, we must commend government led by the President comrade Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC for its steadfast defence of the NHI, BELA and Expropriation Acts. COSATU stands with you on signing these bills into law comrade President. We expect all Ministers without exception to implement legislations of the country. Those from the DA who refuse to implement laws of the country, don’t hesitate comrade president, we have capable Deputy Ministers in those portfolios. Now we must accelerate transformation and deliver.
The 2026 local elections will be won or lost over the next few months. We will be judged by voters on whether we deliver public services, grow the economy and create jobs and tackle crime, corruption, poverty and inequality.
Equally critical to winning the most difficult local elections to date and to restore the Alliance to its natural role as the leader of society, we must be united. The ANC, the SACP, COSATU, SANCO and the entire movement must be united.
The Alliance must be one. When we are seeking to recover from a 40% elections humbling, then we must end our squabbles and be united. We must stop shouting at each other and urgently convene our alliance meetings to discuss difficult questions facing our revolution and the alliance. The programme to renew the ANC alone will not be complete without the renewal of our revolutionary alliance..We must focus on implementing the ANC’s elections manifesto, building our structures, being on the ground with working class communities and improving the lives of our people.
If we spend the next year boxing each other, then we must not be surprised when voters abandon us. We have seen in the recent by-elections, that voters want to see and will support a renewed ANC.
Comrades, the tasks are clear, the challenges are daunting, but the solutions lay in our hands. It is up to us here to rise to the occasion, to build the movement, to unite the Alliance, to fix the state, to grow the economy, to protect the poor and workers, to slash unemployment. We are confident and determined as COSATU that, together we can navigate these difficult path and deliver our promises to the people.
Thank you. Amandla!