Johannesburg - Church leaders will support the newly elected ANC members but the leadership must unite.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said the faith community would support the top 6 “if they work together to re-establish values-based, ethical and moral leadership”.
"On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and the National Church Leaders' Forum, I congratulate the new leadership of the ANC on their election.
"As people of faith, our hope is always in God and not in any political party or leader. But we do need leaders of integrity who will put the common good above all else,” Makgoba said in a statement.
Cyril Ramaphosa was elected ANC president, beating Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma by 179 votes at the national elective conference in Nasrec, Johannesburg, yesterday. Mpumalanga provincial chairperson David Mabuza is his deputy. Gwede Mantashe has been elected as chairperson while ANC Gauteng chairperson Paul Mashatile is the new treasurer-general.
ANC Free State chairperson Ace Magashule is the secretary-general with Jessie Duarte retaining her position as deputy secretary-general.
Makgoba said he was looking forward to “critical engagement” with the leadership.
“The country is looking to them to work for the common good, to promote equality of opportunity and to uphold the highest ethical standards. I look forward to critical engagement with the new leaders of the ANC. The country is looking to them to work for the common good, to promote equality of opportunity and to uphold the highest ethical standards,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) also welcomed Ramaphosa’s win.
“Of all the contenders for the ANC leadership, it was Ramaphosa who appears most willing to acknowledge and tackle the corruption scourge that has cost our nation dearly over the past decade under Jacob Zuma’s rule,” said OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.
He said the ruling party’s “internal election battle shows that the party is still riven with factions and the state capture group remains extremely powerful”.
“There is no easy solution ahead. Ramaphosa’s first real test in the anti-corruption war will be the appointment of a National Director of Public Prosecutions. This is an urgent and crucial matter and will give a clear indication of Ramaphosa’s ability and willingness to clean up,” Duvenage said.
The Star