Cape Town - The ANC “adjourned” its 55th elective conference without delivering key resolutions on important issues, such as adopting constitutional amendments on, the contentious step-aside policy and land expropriation, among others.
The delivery of conference resolutions will be made on January 5, the conference’s steering committee confirmed in a report issued to delegates on Tuesday.
Re-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was nothing untoward about the adjournment.
The steering committee report said: “The steering committee was also mindful that certain matters on the programme of the 55th national conference, such as amendments to the ANC constitution, require a two-thirds majority of all delegates present and voting.
“It was clear to the steering committee that (the) national conference would have neither the time nor the required majority to adopt constitutional amendments.”
The conference’s commissions were expected to deal with pressing issues, such as Eskom’s worsening rolling power outages and the step-aside policy, which refers to a party regulation where rogue members are instructed to vacate their positions after being criminally charged.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and other leaders of the party, who are aligned to the radical economic transformation (RET) faction, have been categorical about their plans to do away with the step-aside policy.
Commissions allow ANC delegates to influence policies and adopt policy conference resolutions.
But the resolutions stemming from the commissions will now be delivered in January, newly-elected secretary-general Fikile Mbalula confirmed to a media briefing.
Despite pictures on social media showing poor attendance in the commissions, Mbalula said the commissions “had produced good results” and that claims to the contrary were unfounded fabrications.
Ramaphosa said the conference had chosen a “path of principled unity, in the finest traditions of our movement”, despite moments that tested their unity and cohesion.
Ramaphosa said although the conference had done its part to fight corruption, “we have also acknowledged that we have not done enough to end corruption, to reverse the effects of state capture and to deal with its corrosive effects on the ANC and institutions across society”.
“Five years ago, in this very hall, we set out on a journey of rebuilding, unity and renewal. It has been a difficult journey. We have encountered many challenges.
“At times, we have met fierce resistance. We made some errors along the way.” He said they had stuck to the course of the “restoration” of the ANC.
He also acknowledged that party members were growing impatient with the ANC.
“This conference has expressed impatience at the pace of change and has given our deployees in government, in Parliament and legislatures and across society an instruction to act with extraordinary effort, urgency and purpose to implement these resolutions,” he said.
Ramaphosa said conference deliberations had set out the path towards “comprehensive and sustainable social protection, and to the provision of affordable housing and basic services for all”.
“We have deliberated on the actions we must take to, once and for all, redress the original sin of land dispossession. We have agreed on measures to accelerate land reform and provide support for the productive use of that land.
“We undertake land reform not only because justice demands it, but because it is a necessary condition for the growth of an inclusive economy that can realise the potential of our plentiful natural resources and the capabilities of our people. This conference has prioritised the safety and security of the South African people.”
Mbalula said the conference would adjourn to January 5 because the voting had “taken a lot of time, but we’ve managed to convene a lot of the commissions.”
Mbalula said resolutions from the commissions will be delivered on January 5.
Videos and pictures of empty commission rooms abounded on social media, with the general commentary.