The ANC says it is gunning for the hearts and minds of the people to ensure that it wins the upcoming elections convincingly this year.
The ANC, which is currently preparing for its much-anticipated January 8 Statement to be addressed by party leader Cyril Ramaphosa next Saturday, has been meeting in Mpumalanga to drum up support for its upcoming programme in celebration of its 112th anniversary following a series of NEC meetings in Mbombela.
Ahead of the statement, the task team of coalitions led by Parks Tau and David Makhura held a media briefing on Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium.
Makhura and Tau delivered a report prepared by the National Task Team on coalitions which sought to outline the Municipal Coalition Framework that was adopted by the NEC.
The task team was established in April 2023 with the mandate to look into how coalitions will impact on the upcoming elections as well as hung municipal councils.
Speaking to the SABC on the sidelines of the NEC meeting in Mbombela on Saturday, Makhura said the ANC adopted a framework to look into the participation of the ANC in coalitions and review those that are not working for the ANC in some of the hung municipalities.
“In April 2023, the NEC adopted the framework on how the ANC should deal with coalitions in hung municipalities, especially the 81 hung councils across the country where coalitions are necessary because no single party has a 51% majority.
“We looked at how we should approach this and we adopted a framework in April. In October, the NEC adopted a decision that we should review our participation in the coalitions that are not working for communities,” he said.
He said the party is not prepared to work with parties that do not reflect the mandate of the ANC. Despite the recent challenges, the ANC remains confident that it will do well in the upcoming elections, he said.
“We doing everything to win the confidence of the South African people and that they will give us an overwhelming mandate.
“This National Executive Committee is very clear: we are not asking the people to consider who we must work with. Coalitions in the context of our country – coalitions are not going to produce greater progress, which is what the people need.
“We are absolutely clear that we are looking at a full and clear mandate, which is what we are seeking from the people of South Africa,” he told the SABC.
The Star