Cape Town
- South Africa’s ruling party pledged to ensure the country’s black majority
secures a bigger stake in the economy and do more to create jobs, as it seeks
to claw back support lost in the wake of a succession of scandals implicating
its leader, President Jacob Zuma.
The
African National Congress, which has led the country since white-minority rule
ended in 1994, marked the 105th anniversary of its founding at a rally on
Sunday at the Orlando stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, where it outlined
its policy priorities for the year. The party packed out the 40 000-seat venue.
“Radical
economic transformation remains at the core of our economic strategy,” Zuma
said in his keynote address. “More decisive steps must and will be taken to
promote greater economic inclusion and to advance ownership and control and
real leadership of the economy by black people.”
The ANC’s
support slipped more than 8 percentage points to a record low of 54.5 percent
in local government elections in August, with the party ceding control of
Johannesburg, the capital Pretoria and the southern port city of Port Elizabeth
to opposition coalitions. Voter disenchantment has centered around Zuma, a
74-year-old former intelligence operative whose second five-year term as ANC
leader is due to end in December this year.
Resignation calls
“The ANC
has heard the message that the people have delivered at the Aug. 3 local
government election,” Zuma said. “We accepted that we have made mistakes and
shall correct these mistakes. The ANC must be a listening and humble
organization.”
Zuma has
faced calls to resign since the Constitutional Court ruled in March that he
violated his oath of office by refusing to repay taxpayer money spent on his
private home. A campaign to remove him gained impetus on November 2, when the graft
ombudsman released a report suggesting that he may have breached the code of
ethics in his relationship with members of the wealthy Gupta family, who are
his friends. It detailed allegations that the Guptas may have influenced the
appointment of cabinet members and received special treatment for a coal
business linked to the family and Zuma’s son, Duduzane.
Read also: How much will the rand gain if Zuma quits?
While Zuma
has denied ever intentionally breaking the law, disgruntlement with his
leadership is rife within the ANC. In November, a number of members of the
party’s National Executive Committee, its top leadership structure, joined
scores of party veterans in calling for his ouster.
Land redistribution
Zuma
didn’t directly refer to his travails in his speech, saying only that the media
should report fairly and factually and that ANC members should show integrity.
He also highlighted plans to implement a national minimum wage, improve working
conditions in the nation’s mines and improve access to land, education and
health services.
“Too many
of our people continue to suffer from the historic injustice perpetrated by the
horrendous land dispossession,” Zuma said. “This year we shall begin to utilise
the expropriation of land act to pursue land reform and land redistribution
with greater speed and urgency, following the prescripts of our constitution.”
The ANC
acknowledged that internal divisions are hindering its ability to provide
decisive leadership.
Read also: Eskom, Gupta dealings exposed
‘The
people have told us that we are too busy fighting each other and we do not pay
sufficient attention to their needs,” the party said in a statement on its
website. “People abhor the apparent preoccupation with personal gain. People
are clear, their main priorities are jobs, fighting crime and corruption.”
The
Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, said Zuma’s speech showed the
ANC was out of touch and incapable of addressing its internal problems.
“The
people of South Africa do not trust the ANC anymore, and last year’s election
results showed just that,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in an e-mailed
statement. “After almost 23 years of democracy, words and empty rhetoric are
simply not enough. While the ANC celebrates in lavish style today, we live in a
country where 9 million of our people are without work and have given up any
hope of finding a job.”
BLOOMBERG