Durban - President Cyril Ramaphosa has slammed greed within the public service, saying it had contributed to government’s failure to effect transformation.
Ramaphosa was delivering the ANC’s annual January 8 statement at the party’s 107th anniversary at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday - where he detailed the party’s plan for the year ahead.
The party also officially launched its manifesto for the general elections, which are scheduled for May.
He said efforts to rebuild the country were bound to fail if they were not supported by a capable public service.
“We therefore will not tolerate those in the public services or in political office who are negligent or use public resources for their own selfish gains,” he said.
Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to give the ANC another chance to govern ahead of the upcoming elections, saying the party - under his leadership in the in the past year - had reversed its regressive practices.
He said both the party and the country had entered an era of renewal under him.
“Where necessary, we have taken measures to deal with cadres who have undermined the integrity of the movement and the ethical standards expected of public representatives and ANC leaders. This is amongst the most difficult of organisational tasks, but we remain resolute in our efforts to stamp out deviant and abhorrent practices,” Ramaphosa said.
“We will appeal with all humility to the South African people to once again express their confidence in the ANC to lead society in pursuit of shared growth, job creation, radical economic and social transformation and national unity,” he said.
Ramaphosa said while the ANC was proud of the great progress that had been made, it had the duty to acknowledge that mistakes which stalled some areas of transformation had been made under it.
“We must acknowledge that state capture and corruption have weakened several of our public institutions, undermined effective governance and contributed to the poor performance of our economy. We must also acknowledge that factionalism and patronage has diminished the ability of the ANC to lead the process of transformation and fulfil its mandate to the people,” he said.