Newly elected ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa
Corruption and land expropriation were some of the highlights in Cyril Ramaphosa maiden speech delivered early on Thursday morning at the Nasrec Expo Centre.
The new ANC president promised to act fearlessly against alleged corruption and abuse of office by ANC members.
Conference, he said, has resolved that corruption must be fought with the same intensity and purpose that we fight poverty, unemployment and inequality.
"We must confront the reality that critical institutions of our state have been targeted by individuals and families through the exercise of influence and the manipulation of governance processes and public resources," said Ramaphosa.
This has led to the weakening of our State Owned Enterprises whose governance structures need to be revamped.
"We are going to revamp our SOEs. Given all these challenges, we are called upon to act against corruption. We are also called upon to act against collusion and other economic crimes prevalent in both public sector, as well as the private sector."
Said Ramaphosa: "Whether we call this state capture or simply corruption, this has undermined the integrity of our institutions, cost our economy hundreds of billions of rands and contributed to the further impoverishment of our people."
He also promised to investigate without fear or favour the so-called ‘accounting irregularities’ that cause turmoil in the markets and wipe billions off the investments of ordinary South Africans.
This Conference has resolved that this must be acted upon and stopped, said Ramaphosa.
He also spoke about the actions of Comrades who are deployed to government saying they should always be informed by the interests of our members and our people, not personal gain.
"Their actions should always be a source of pride, and not a cause for embarrassment.
"They should take us closer to the National Democratic Society to which we aspire, not undermine it.
Ramaphosa said that under his administration, the ANC would not be a party of words but a party of action.
Land expropriation and Radical economic transformation
If there is a matter that has caused a great deal of poverty it is land and education, said Ramaphosa
He said the ANC has resolved to go ahead with expropriation of land without compensation and said the move it will not undermine the economy.
He said the party would accelerate its programmes of land reform and rural development as part of the radical economic transformation (RET) programme.
"This needs to be done with care to avoid undermining the economy, agricultural production and food security. "The ANC has always taken care to seek to manage the economy of our country in a way that will advance the interest of our people," he said.
Ramaphosa promised delegates that the newly elected national executive committee (NEC) will manage South Africa's economy with "due care".
The ANC's committee on economic transformation has agreed to amend the Constitution to enable land expropriation without compensation.
ANC Integrity committee
The ANC's integrity commission has been empowered to do its work without fear, favour or prejudice in order to restore the Integrity of the ANC and help cultivate and promote ethical leadership.
Veterans
The Conference has resolved that "we engage and pay heed to the views and insights of the veterans of our movement, organisations that have always worked with us, and many others.
"We will reach out to community organisations and other organs of civil society, understanding that they are critical for the exercise of people’s power and are valuable partners for development. "
We shall do so because we have a historic responsibility as the ANC to lead society.
The Alliance
The Alliance has faced many challenges and problems in the recent past.
We will work with our Alliance partners to repair relations between the four formations that our people expect to lead the National Democratic Revolution.
Thanking Zuma
Finally, I would like, on your behalf, to thank President Jacob Zuma for the 10 years he has spent as the President of our movement and for a lifetime of service to the people of this country. It was during your tenure Nxamalala, and thanks to your vision, that the National Planning Commission was established and produced the country’s first National Development Plan. This is a framework for economic and social change that will guide our country for many years to come. History will record that it was at your insistence that South Africa expanded its antiretroviral programme rapidly and progressively to be the largest in the world. Through your intervention, we have made great strides in combating the epidemic, many lives have been saved and many infections prevented.
