The ANC in the Western Cape was urged on Sunday to hold reviews of its 2019 manifesto so that the party could get a sense of what happened in the delivery of services and what could not be achieved.
Party second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa, speaking at a packed OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha on Sunday, said: “I hope you will have regional reviews and sectoral reviews with churches, the elderly people and young people, so that we can know exactly what the way forward is and what the ANC needs to do.”
Addressing hundreds of ANC members and supporters at the manifesto review rally, Ramokgopa said the people in the province were hungry for the ANC.
“We say that we also understand that we will never be able to bring back the Western Cape if you are not here.
“The Western Cape will come back because of you,” she said. “If you are here as active branches, you can show the people on the ground that there is an ANC and that it wants to serve the people,” she said.
Ramokgopa told the crowd that the ANC was, in 2019, given a mandate, Thuma Mina (send me), to speed up the delivery of services in reaching the people.
She said some of the challenges included the Covid-19 pandemic, floods, the 2021 July unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and now the Russia-Ukraine war as well as load shedding, corruption and service delivery challenges.
Having to ignore those who made a noise when speakers delivered their speeches, Ramokgopa went through some of their achievements during the period.
These included investments of more than R1.5 trillion, master plans to grow economic sectors, and the Presidential Employment Stimulus project that provided more than 1.2 million people with job opportunities and livelihood support.
Ramokgopa said the ANC led-government built 21 000 kilometres of rail and 750 000 kilometres of road and lent support to the taxi industry through the recapitilisation programme that helped owners buy 85 000 new 16-seater taxis.
There was support towards universal early childhood education, as 90% of public schools were no-fee schools and nine million children received a daily meal at schools.
“We continue to support over 700 000 students from poor families through NSFAS.”
ANC provincial chairperson Vuyiso Tyhalisisu said the party’s members should come out in numbers to campaign for the ANC in the 2024 elections.
“We want to bring back the ANC in the Western Cape in government,” Tyhalisisu said.
He urged the party’s members to behave themselves and not engage in infighting.
Tyhalisisu said a divided ANC could not win elections in the province.
Cape Times