#SACP: What Ramaphosa said about Guptas and the ANC

ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa speaking at the SACP's 14th National Congress in Boksburg. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha

ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa speaking at the SACP's 14th National Congress in Boksburg. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha

Published Jul 12, 2017

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Johannesburg - Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the SACP 14th National Congress in Boksburg on Wednesday, criticising the corruption that has damaged the ANC under President Jacob Zuma and urging the SACP to stay in the tripartite alliance.

Here are 6 quotes from the deputy president.

On the Guptas:

"We know that we as tax payers of this country paid for a lavish wedding that took place in Sun City. We also know that these are resources that rightly belong to the people of South Africa. Should we remain quiet when all this happens? I am one of those who will not remain quiet."

On the Bell Pottinger saga:

"It is a matter of grave concern that a public relations company from outside of our country was able to so effectively poison the political discourse in our country."

On the SACP's possible split from the tripartite alliance:

''As you ponder and look at this motion on whether the SACP should go off on its own and contest elections, I would like you to pause before you sign on that resolution... pause a little bit comrades. Ask yourselves whether are we better off divided or united?

''There is still a long way to go... this is the moment friends would not dare stay apart. We do not expect decisions out of this congress that are going to weaken the alliance. On the contrary, we expect decisions that are going to unite and strengthen the alliance.'' 

On his expectations of the SACP congress:

"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. 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."

On the economy:

"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. 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."

On the aftermath of the ANC policy conference:

"We have now embarked on a journey of renewal as the movement and as a country following the policy conference. The rank and file of our movement has sent us on this journey so that we seek a renewal of the values of the ANC and the alliance... that conference established a platform for renewal.

"Having been guided by a brutal analysis of the diagnostic report, we took off our gloves and spoke the real truth about challenges facing us. I believe we emerged out of that conference, leading up to the December conference, having built a platform that we need to strengthen... and we see this SACP congress as part of strengthening that platform.'' 

African News Agency and Reuters

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