Johannesburg – It was a tough day at the office for President Cyril Ramaphosa, who received a torrent of jeers from a belligerent KwaZulu-Natal ANC delegation that refused to give him a free pass, as he delivered his political report on the first day of the 55th ANC National Conference in Nasrec on Friday.
That resulted in these delegates being told to stay behind while other delegates from other provinces left the conference venue where Ramaphosa delivered his five-year political report to members of the ANC.
Many voting delegates indicated that they wanted to see Ramaphosa removed as ANC president as he had failed to deliver meaningful progress for ordinary South Africans, amid chants of "Change, Change" and the popular anti-Ramaphosa song, Wenzen uZuma.
The message for the KZN delegates to remain was delivered by ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe, who said he was only passing on a message from the KZN ANC leadership.
“The ANC leadership in KZN has asked me to convey the message that all the delegates from KZN should remain behind as we adjourn for the day. I am not sure what they want to discuss with you, but I have been told to pass (on) this message,” Mantashe said.
Ramaphosa was booed and jeered for most of his two-hour -plus speech. However, he did not let these disruptions get in the way of his opening address to the conference. Ramaphosa used the opportunity to pay tribute to some of the departed struggle icons of the ANC, including Chris Hani, Winnie Mandela, and Jessie Duarte.
On the renewal of the ANC, he was jeered once again when he blamed state capture for the woes of power utility Eskom, with a vociferous KZN delegation shouting “Phala Phala Farm” each time he mentioned state capture.
“The insecurity of the electricity supply continues to be one of the greatest impediments to economic recovery. Poor policy decisions in the past, together with inadequate maintenance, mismanagement, and widespread corruption, have left our electricity system in a critical state.... An important part of the work to reverse the effects of state capture is the recovery of funds that were paid illegally, or improperly, to a number of companies. To date, nearly R3 billion has been recovered by Eskom alone, and a further R5bn is being claimed in various court processes,” he said.
The Star