Charles Molele
The African Nation Congress will win the upcoming general elections with an absolute majority, President Cyril Ramaphosa told tens of thousands of party supporters at a rally to launch the its election manifesto in Durban on Saturday.
A confident Ramaphosa believes his party has turned the corner by dealing decisively with endemic corruption within the State, left by former president Jacob Zuma.
The ANC, after the disastrous administration of Zuma, experienced a significant decline in electoral support, especially among the overwhelmingly young, urban and educated members of the party.
This was due to corruption, patronage and the former president’s links with the powerful Gupta family.
But since Ramaphosa took over as president of the party and government, he has established a number of initiatives to deal with corruption.
These initiatives include the Judicial Commission of Inquiries into State capture, the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into the SA Revenue Services and the Public Investment Corporation, among others.
He said his administration would continue to tackle state capture despite resistance from some within the ANC ranks who still wanted to benefit from corrupt deals.
Ramaphosa’s no nonsense approach has given him and many in society confidence that the ANC would regain the lost ground come the 2019 elections.
“We will mobilise for a decisive victory in the 2019 elections,” said Ramaphosa.
He added: “The ANC will contest these elections to achieve a decisive mandate for societal renewal, faster social and economic transformation and national unity.”
“Members of the ANC, working with communities and various sectors of society, should expose corruption and state capture, understanding that there will be resistance to our efforts to build an ethical society. The survival of our democracy and the sovereignty of our nation are at stake, and we must heighten our vigilance and activism.”
The latest Ipsos survey shows six in every ten registered voters in South Africa will put their mark next to the name of the ANC in a national election.
The ruling party is followed distantly by the DA (14%), EFF (9%) and IFP (2%).
Ramaphosa urged young people to go out in their numbers to register to vote at the end of January during the voter registration weekend organized by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
“Vote ANC. Now is the time. Let’s go and vote for the ANC. Vote ANC,” Ramaphosa said.
“Since the ANC remains the most effective vehicle to unite the broadest cross-section of society, all our structures, members and public representatives must work diligently to ensure that the ANC receives a clear mandate to intensify the efforts to build a better life for all South Africans.”
Ramaphosa added: “ANC branches and members must spread the message of the ANC far and wide, be consistent and humble in highlighting the many successes and be frank about our challenges. Cadres must also use mobilising efforts towards the elections to recruit members to the ANC.”
