Charles Molele
Ramaphosa said the governing party was planning a major overhaul of the education policy to prepare young people with the new technological and digital advances in order to master the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We have a massive plan to roll out ICT in our schools. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us … We will scale up skills development for the youth in all these areas. The ANC government will ensure that our education curricula at all levels prepares learners to be active participants in the technological change that the global economy is experiencing,” Ramaphosa said.
“We will scale-up skills development for the youth in data analytics, the internet-of-things, blockchain and machine learning. A social plan will be designed to address retraining and support for workers displaced by new technologies. Government will open up opportunities for young people to develop new software and applications, devices and equipment through specialised start-up support programmes. Enhanced support will be given to existing Innovation Centres and Hubs over the next three years.”
2. National Health Insurance
Ramaphosa said the ANC government would expedite the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system through finalising enabling legislation and putting in place the National Health Insurance Fund. All South Africans must be able to access quality health care based on need and not on their ability to pay or their overall socio-economic situation,” said Ramaphosa.
“To achieve this seismic shift; we must promote social solidarity and work towards the cross-subsidisation of services – where those who can afford to pay more assist those who cannot pay; where the young subsidise the old and where the healthy subsidise the sick. The NHI is a chance for South Africans to contribute to the collective health and well-being of one another and extend access to quality healthcare to everyone.”
3. On Free Education
Ramaphosa said the governing party will from this year expand the provision of fee-free education for students from poor and working class backgrounds as this will now extend to cover qualifying second year students.
“We are committed to ensuring that this support continues and extend to accommodation, transport and study materials for qualifying students at public TVET colleges and universities,” said Ramaphosa.
4. On the Economy and jobs
The most pressing task for the ANC and his administration in 2019 was to set the economy on a higher path of shared growth and job creation.
“The ANC is forging ahead with plans to bring about a more inclusive economy. We will draw more women, more rural people and more youth into the economy through programmes that extend ownership to workers, through expanding access to digital skills training to young people, by developing and supporting technological and digital start-ups, and a more concerted focus on SMMEs, cooperatives and township and village enterprises,” said Ramaphosa.
“We remain steadfast in the national ambition to raise R1.2 trillion worth of investments over five years to drive job creation, the eradication of poverty and bringing about a more equal society.”
5. On Land
Ramaphosa said the ANC will accelerate land reform and land expropriation within the prescripts of the South African constitution.
In effecting redress, the ANC recognises and will continue to promote a range of land ownership reforms – public, private, cooperative, family and communal, he said. We are making sure that everything we do to address the original sin is done within the prescripts of our Constitution and will advance economic development, agricultural production and food security, and transform the unjust spatial realities in urban areas.
The ANC resolved at our 54th National Conference to pursue, with greater determination, the programme of land reform and rural development as part of the programme of radical socio-economic transformation. The ANC-led government will give special focus to land administration and management to support accelerated land reform. The development of skills in land related careers such as land valuations, land surveyors, town and regional planners will be prioritised.”
6. On the unity and renewal of the ANC
Ahead of the elections, ANC will continue to intensify the unity and renewal of the party, according to Ramaphosa.
“All leaders and members should focus their efforts on strengthening unity and working together to address challenges facing communities. Our branches must be strong organs of civil society that reflect the broader composition of communities where they are located and that lead in addressing community concerns,” said Ramaphosa.
7. On gender-based violence
Ramaphosa said geneder based violence was a national crisis and called on men in the stadium to stand and commit to end gender-based violence against women and children.
“We call upon all South Africans to end gender-based violence and patriarchal practices,” said Ramaphosa.
8. On civil servants
Ramaphosa said civil servants must stop doing business with government.
“We are warning transgressors that there will be consequences for those who do not comply,” said Ramaphosa. “We want our civil servants to deliver medical services and medicine to those who need them in a speedy fashion.’
9. On crime and punishment
Ramaphosa said government will strengthen police visibility in all communities by increasing the number of policemen and women.
“We are working to ensure that law enforcement personnel are better trained to investigate cases and improve success rates; and that there is better co-operation between prosecutors and investigators,” said Ramaphosa.
“The ANC-led government has re-established the anti-gang units and they have been in operation throughout the areas of Bishop Lavis, Nyanga and Bonteheuwel in the Western Cape since October 2018. These areas are hardest hit by gang violence and we are working very hard to ensure that people living there are protected. We pledge to you that the anti-gang units will remain active until the situation in the Cape Flats and the greater Western Cape return to normality. The anti-gang units will be rolled out across the country wherever the need arises.”
10. On political killings in KwaZulu-Natal
Ramaphosa said the ANC-led government has established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to address the scourge of political killings and it is widely acknowledged that the work of this Committee has paid off.
He said the number of political killings has reduced significantly and suspects have been arrested and are now being prosecuted.
“The ANC wants to say to you that one political killing is one too many. We will show no tolerance for these acts and will not give an inch in prosecuting perpetrators of such heinous acts,” he said.
