Johannesburg - African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday urged the SA Communist Party (SACP) to come up with smart and innovative ways of helping the ruling party-led government grow the economy, and also work towards forging unity in the tripartite alliance.
Speaking at the SACP 14th National Congress in Boksburg, Ramaphosa said the deliberations, decisions and programmes the SACP will adopt would have far-reaching implications for the direction, character and pace of the struggle for a national democratic society.
"We expect that this Congress will look beyond the challenges of the present towards the strategic decisions that will determine the future of the country and the alliance," Ramaphosa said.
"We need to look beyond the immediate towards the society we all seek to achieve, and, with precision and clarity, to chart the actions that we will undertake to build that society. The ANC Policy Conference has placed economic growth, job creation and transformation at the centre of policy."
Ramaphosa said the SACP Congress was taking place at a critical moment for the country and the future of its people. He said there was a feeling of restlessness among many people who were pondering how government was going to address the many challenges that face the country in relation to politics and the economy, particularly how government will get the country out of the recession and addressing the country's downgraded status.
"We look to this Congress to deliberate on the outcomes of the ANC policy conference, to complement the policy proposals, and to sharpen the measures identified to accelerate inclusive growth," Ramaphosa said.
"The SACP needs to support and enrich the discussions that will now take place in ANC branches on these policy proposals before they are adopted at the 54th National Conference in December. We look to this 14th Congress to provide crisp, clear direction on the urgent measures we need to take to reignite growth and create jobs."
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Ramaphosa added that the country could not advance transformation to any meaningful extent unless government created employment on a massive scale, particularly for the youth.
"For as long as one third of working age South Africans are outside of the productive economy, then all our other efforts to redress the injustices of the past will be of limited value," he said.
"But we cannot create these jobs if the economy is not growing, and the economy will not grow unless we achieve far higher levels of fixed investment."