Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised the achievements of the ruling party in its fight for workers, and said despite the challenges which persisted, he remained confident about the party’s revitalisation and victory in the upcoming elections.
President Ramaphosa joined the ANC’s Tripartite Alliance partners, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU) and the SA Communist Party in celebrating the role played by trade unions and other labor movements at the Workers’ Day Rally held at the Athlone Stadium, Cape Town on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa said that as the ruling party and the revolutionary alliance, the leadership will continue to fight for workers, for the poor, for those who do not have land, for those who are unemployed, and for those who do not have houses.
The President recalled the sacrifices that were made, the lives lost, and the suffering that was endured by so many in the struggle to achieve freedom.
“Today, on Workers Day, we say that we will continue, with all the strength that we have, to fight against oppression and exploitation,” he said.
The President conceded that there is still much work to be done to address the lasting effects of apartheid and called for the ongoing need to provide the essentials for a decent quality of life.
However, Ramaphosa said that the party remained confident of its victory in the upcoming elections and that the people are determined to ensure the party does not fall below the 50% mark.
“There are various political parties who run around the country and say all manner of things, saying that the ANC is going to fall below 50%. The workers and people of this country won’t allow that, they are working for an outright majority for the ANC,” he said.
The President said that an ANC-led government is planning to revitalise South Africa’s job market for young people while also emphasising the importance of making people over 35-years employable.
COSATU president Zingiswa Losi said victories are possible when workers understand who stands with them in the trenches.
Losi said workers today enjoyed the fruits of the struggles borne by the ruling party in its drive for transformation in the country.
“It is not the DA, it is not the MK Party, it is not the EFF…It is not any other political party except the African National Congress,” Losi said.
SACP Secretary General Solly Mapaila took the opportunity to renew the party’s attacks on the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and said that it had stolen the identity of the ANC liberation army and that this was unacceptable.
“The history of our liberation army cannot be stolen by any individual. We will never allow that,” Mapaila said.
In his address before Ramaphosa and its alliance partners, Mapaila called for supporters to vote for the ruling party in this month’s elections.
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