Durban - The ANC has committed itself to eliminate the legacies of apartheid during “the second phase of transition”, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.
“The 53rd national congress (in Mangaung), deliberated around the impact of the racist legacy that persisted with poverty, unemployment and inequality,” Zuma told several thousand ANC members during his “January 8” statement in Kings Park stadium in Durban.
“As we enter the second phase of the transition… we commit ourselves to a program of action to speed up the elimination of these legacies and bring about socio-economic freedom.”
He said the African National Congress had made “substantial progress” since the first democratic elections in 1994.
“Our country's Constitution, which is one of the greatest achievements of the liberation movements, has its roots in key ANC human rights documents such as… the freedom charter,” Zuma said.
“We call on ANC members and citizens to celebrate, promote and defend the country’s Constitution at all times.”
He said the 101st anniversary celebration were taking place 100 years since the Land Act was passed.
“We meet 100 years since the promulgation of the 1913 Land Act which dramatically robbed the indigenous people of the country of 87 percent of our land and turned them into pariahs and wanderers in the land of their birth,” Zuma said.
Zuma detailed the hurdles the country had faced since the ANC was formed in Mangaung on January 8, 1912. - Sapa