Chairperson Gwede Mantashe, President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa,

Leadership of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO, comrades and friends,

COSATU along with millions of workers celebrates the 114th anniversary of our beloved movement, the African National Congress.

Whilst at times you may hear our words of anger when mistakes are made, do not doubt that the ANC belongs to the working class of South Africa. It is the product of generations of struggles by workers, and we will defend it to the end.

We have come far from the dark days of apartheid when Black people and workers had no rights and were treated little better than slaves, and over the past two terms under the leadership of President Ramaphosa as we end the cancer of state capture and corruption.

Whilst we applaud the many victories workers have won through the Alliance since 1994, we cannot rest when 4 out of 10 South Africans cannot find jobs, when poverty and inequality remain a lived reality for the working class from Christiana to Mussina.

2025 saw green shoots with the ending of loadshedding, the turnaround at Transnet and Metro Rail and South Africa exiting grey listing. More must be done to ensure electricity becomes affordable to save smelter jobs from the North West to Mpumalanga.

We expect the Budget to be tabled soon at Parliament to ensure our schools from Taung to Mthatha have teachers, that our clinics from Mahikeng to KwaMashu have nurses and our police stations from Brits to Athlone have the weapons they need to defeat crime.

We need government to do more to invest in the economy, to fix our roads, our water, ports and rail to attract the investment we need to create decent jobs for all our people, be it the mine worker in Orkney or Welkom or the farm worker in Zeerust or Warrenton.

We must raise sharply the plight of municipal workers who go months on end not paid or communities who witness the collapse of basic services, from Ditsobotla to Ngaka Modiri Molema. As we head towards the local elections, we need to see our municipalities fixed.

2025 and even 2026 have reminded the world of the importance of international solidarity. We must strengthen the bonds that unite us across the world to defend peace and ensure that global conflicts are resolved at the negotiating table not on the battlefield.

It is fitting that we are gathered in the North West, birthplace of Isithwalandwe Seaparankoe Ahmed Kathrada, Moses Kotane, and the Pahad family, a province of giants. We owe it to these giants and to all our people, in particular the working class, to ensure that the Alliance is reconfigured and united, on the ground, fixing the state, growing the economy and creating jobs.

This must include us resolving the outstanding matter of the modalities of the Alliance contesting the 2026 local elections. The 2026 local elections demand that we be united to ensure an overwhelming victory for the movement and our people.

Leadership of the ANC and our Alliance Partners, rest assured that the Federation of JB Marks, Elijah Barayi and Ray Alexander is with you on this journey of renewal. We dare not fail our people.

Thank you. Matla!

Issued by COSATU

Zanele Sabela

COSATU Spokesperson

Mobile: 079 287 5788

Email: zaneles@cosatu.org.za

Matthew Parks

COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator

Mobile: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za