Durban – The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has slammed the national government for its failure to establish state entities that would speed up the transformation of the economy.
The ANC said it was part of the resolutions of the Mangaung and Polokwane conferences to establish a state pharmaceutical company, a state mining company and a state bank while transferring land to black people.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala said on Sunday the government’s failure had cost the ANC support from voters, something that he said should be blamed on those who had been deployed to the government to implement the resolutions.
“We cannot fail to acknowledge the fact that at the level of radical economic transformation at national level, we have not heard of that radical approach."
“We have been radical in terms of pronunciation, but not in terms of implementation,” said Zikalala.
He was addressing hundreds of ANC branch, regional and provincial leaders who were attending the Cadres’ Forum held at the Durban Exhibition Centre.
The event, which will end on Monday, is to look at the overview of the state of the country and the ANC.
Delegates will come up with issues to be debated at the party’s elective conference.
However, in pinpointing the government’s faults, Zikalala spared President Jacob Zuma.
“Yes we have got the president, but there are ministers to deal with these issues, we have the NEC, subcommittees that should hold people accountable,” he said.
He said those who had failed to deliver the mandate of the ANC should not be elected to positions during the ANC’s 54th conference.
“When we look at leadership to elect, we must first look at the contribution you made in failing to give people land, a state bank, a state pharmaceutical company and the state mining company,” he said.
Zikalala said it hurt that the ANC was good at pronouncing its radical change policies, but lacked follow-through in delivering those policies.
“In Polokwane and in Mangaung we said we must have a state pharmaceutical company, but that has not been realised."
“We said we must have a state mining company."
“Yes, we are told about its existence, but we will never know about it as we have not heard how much profit it has declared,” he said.
Zikalala questioned why leaders who had failed to implement party resolutions should be voted into positions of power.
He also cautioned against preoccupation with leadership positions instead of issues that would take the ANC and the country forward.
Zikalala said KwaZulu-Natal should take a different approach to other provinces in preparation for the conference.
“As KZN, we should deal with unity, and move with organisational renewal and inculcate the traditions of the organisation."
“Whether those people would be speaking about CR17 (Cyril Ramaphosa 2017) or Premier League, our task should be about the needs of the revolution, and how we are positioning the ANC to advance the revolutionary course of the movement,” he said.