President Cyril Ramaphosa, seated next to deputy president David Mabuza, seen during the 55th national conference held at Nasrec. Picture: Itumeleng English, African News Agency (ANA)
Johannesburg – The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says President Cyril Ramaphosa should use his next January 8 statement to unite the ANC and set the tone for resolving the mass social and economic problems plaguing the country.
The federation’s parliamentary representative, Matthew Parks, said Ramaphosa was faced with the mammoth task of ensuring that the ANC comes together. He said a divided ANC meant that the government would be dysfunctional and important policies would not be able to be filtered through.
For some time, the worker front has experienced tensions with the ANC leadership, with some calling for a breaking down of the tripartite alliance and allowing the SACP to contest elections.
Several ANC leaders, including Ramaphosa, had also been heckled by workers at mass gatherings of the working class. Factional battles within the ANC have also been playing out in the media, indicating bitter tensions within the party.
"The ANC needs to focus on several key things, including uniting the ANC and dismantling the factions. Society is not going to be coherent if the ANC is not coherent, they need to focus on reconfiguring the alliance and they need to focus on rebuilding government," Parks said.
Parks said the president also had to deal with matters of load shedding, unemployment, and issues of corruption and law enforcement in his January 8 statement. Parks said the president would also have to say something concerning the fixing of dysfunctional municipalities as well as restoring public confidence in the 111-year-old organisation.
The statement will set the tone for the year for ANC leaders and cadres, as well as the country and those involved in public service.
"He will have to deal with the matter of load shedding, which affects mining and manufacturing as well. For us, these are some of the key things because this will be able to reduce unemployment and get the economy going.
“They don’t have the luxury of time, and they don’t have the luxury of slogans either; if they can do that, society will begin to respond positively," Parks said.
This year’s January 8 Statement will be held in Mangaung, in the Free State. The ANC’s Secretary General, Fikile Mbalula, said he had noted concerns that the January 8 Statement had lost the flavour of its meaning, but said the message from the president was of historic importance and would set the tone after the national elective conference of the ANC, which was held last month.