Johannesburg - The African National Congress (ANC) wants its members to undergo compulsory political communication training to effectively spread the party's views.
ANC subcommittee chairman on communication and battle of ideas, Jackson Mthembu, told a media briefing at the 54th ANC conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday that it was time communication was ''professionalised'' in the party.
''The politics education syllabus must include a chapter on political communication. Communication should not only be at national level, but at provincial, regional and even at branch level. Cadres should receive the required training,'' he told journalists.
''All of us, including Jackson Mthembu, must undergo training... whether you are a councillor, MEC or premier, you will undergo training as a deployee of the ANC. How will you engage in battle of ideas if you cannot communicate and articulate views and policies sufficiently?''
Branches and provinces should not rely on statements from Luthuli House and ''by extension, the media'', he added.
''The ANC must pair effective mechanisms to communicate with all its structures, we must have a direct line with our regions, provinces...we must effectively use ICT instruments for that.''
On the contentious television migration from analogue to digital, of which government has missed implementation deadline, Mthembu said conference wanted this ''fully implemented'' by June 2019.