By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned those seeking to divide the party that there is no room left for anyone opposed to the renewal of the party.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the gala dinner at Imvelo Safari Lodge in the Free State on Saturday night ahead of Sunday’s January 8 celebration.
This process of renewal is not only irreversible, but it’s also irrevocable, it cannot be stopped,” he said.
Delegates at the ANC’s 55th national elective conference had agreed to no longer allow “harmful organisational practices that have contributed to the decline of the ANC in recent years,” he said.
“They stood firm to renew and unite our organisation.”
“They said this unity must be forged through the process of renewal and a programme of action that places the needs and interests of South Africans above everything and anybody else.”
Vintage wines, tailored designer suits, billionaires and an unlimited supply of champagne were the order of the night at the gala dinner.
Tickets to the gala dinner ranged from R5 000 to about R1.2 million per seat.
The resolutions adopted at the conference focus both on the immediate challenges facing the country and the fundamental transformation of social and economic relations necessary to build a better life for all South Africans.
The resolutions also set out clear actions needs to be taken as a matter of urgency to resolve challenges like load-shedding in the shortest possible time and ensure the country’s energy security is well positioned in the future.
“Those resolutions place inclusive economic growth and employment creation as central among the tasks that we must undertake. This requires that we intensify the investment drive and for us it is so important to have so many of you who are in business, who drive the investment process.”
The ANC, he said, is now focused on ensuring it creates an environment for businesses to invest. “We are working to reduce the red tape and to include the competitiveness of our economy through far-reaching reforms in a number of sectors of our economy.”
The conference also resolved that infrastructure investment needs to be increased substantially and the plans translated into the construction of roads, fixing potholes, building bridges, dams, water treatment plants, schools, houses and enhancing power lines.