#ANC54: ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa ready to fix state enterprises
In what was seen as a jibe at his predecessor Jacob Zuma, Ramaphosa said the ANC will confront corruption within the state as state institutions have been “targeted by individuals and families”.
Without mentioning any names he said these individuals and families had used their influence and the manipulation of governance processes to target state institutions.
“This has led to the weakening of our State Owned Enterprises whose governance structures need to be revamped. We are going to revamp our state owned enterprises,” Ramaphosa said during his maiden speech as ANC president.
This was believed to be directed to the Guptas, who have been accused of using their proximity to Zuma to capture SOEs like Eskom.
Duriing the speech delivered after midnight due to delays in the programme of the conference, Ramaphosa said corruption must be brought to a stop and that must happen with immediate effect
“We must also act fearlessly against alleged corruption and abuse of office within our ranks,” he said to loud cheers from the thousands of ANC delegates.
He said actions of ANC deployees should always be a source of pride and not embarassment.
Ramaphosa continued to take veiled potshots at his predecessor who had used his conference speech to lambaste the media, the ANC veterans and the party’s alliance partners.
The newly-elected president of the ANC reached out to these institutions. On veterans, Ramaphosa said the ANC will take heed of the views of the veterans of the organisation reminding Zuma that he too was about to be part of the veterans. Reaching out to the alliance partners he said: “We will work with our Alliance partners to repair relations between the four formations that our people expect to lead the National Democratic Revolution. As this Conference, we are in agreement that the ANC cannot be strong and effective unless we are part of an Alliance that is strong, united and cohesive.”
He also thanked the media for reporting on the conference saying the ANC recognises “the vital role that the media plays in facilitating the free flow of information and in promoting transparency and accountability.”
The tone was also conciliatory in tone as Ramaphosa preached unity and reached out to those seen as his main opponents within the party.
He thanked Zuma for his service to the ANC and sung the praises of Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma saying she had demonstrated commitment to the ANC during the campaign for the ANC presidential position.
bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za
Cape Argus