FOR

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 JULY 2022

ANC STATEMENT ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HELD ON 2 - 4 JULY
2022

The National Executive Committee of the ANC held its ordinary session on 2-4 July 2022, focusing on critical
issues facing the country and the world. These included the rising cost of living, the crisis caused by loadshedding,
and the state of local government. The NEC also discussed migration, climate change and geo-political stability as
further areas of concern. The NEC considered the ANC’s comprehensive response to the final report of the
Commission on State Capture, and dealt with a host of other internal organizational matters.
The NEC agreed that these burning challenges require a united and renewed ANC, focused on improving the lives
of all South Africans.
Condolences to families who lost children in the Enyobeni tragedy
The NEC mourned the deaths of a number of young people, some of them minor children, at the Enyobeni tavern
in the Eastern Cape. It is a profound tragedy that pains us all. The NEC extended its deepest condolences to the
affected families, friends and loved ones.
Energy Security
The NEC with grave concern deliberated on the energy security crisis facing our country and the devastating
impact of loadshedding on households, communities and businesses, and on national prospects for economic
growth.
It emphasized the need for immediate interventions to alleviate the plight of South Africans, as well as the pursuit of
longer-term systemic interventions to ensure sustainable energy security.
Whilst recognizing the need to protect the stability of the national electricity grid through loadshedding measures,
the NEC called for this to be confined to lower stages and to be phased out in the medium to long-term.
The NEC called on government and Eskom to ensure continuous communication and engagement with
communities affected by loadshedding and load reduction.
The NEC also called on government to act decisively in investigating and acting on reports of sabotage of the
country’s generation and distribution infrastructure. Furthermore, the NEC called for a campaign against illegal
connections to eliminate load reduction, which is placing an added burden on communities, and call on all South
Africans to join energy-saving measures to alleviate stress on the national grid.
The NEC urged government and Eskom to consider measures such as: (a) increasing maintenance and improving
the availability of existing supply, (b) that Eskom should acquire appropriate skills and experienced mentors, (c)
facilitate private investment in new generation capacity, (d) speed up the repurposing of power stations with
alternate energy sources, (e) accelerate the procurement of battery storage, (f) empower municipalities to procure
additional electricity and (g) encourage business and households to invest in renewable energies. Government
must speed up reforms in the energy sector.
Rising Cost of Living and Food Security
The NEC noted with concern that rising food and fuel prices, and increases in municipal tariffs and interest rates,
have placed severe pressure on the incomes and living standards of households still struggling to recover from the
socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Whilst South Africa is one of the most food secure countries, a number of global factors such as extreme weather
conditions, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have disrupted global food supply chains and led to
food shortages and sharp price increases.
The NEC commended a number of interventions by government to mitigate against rising food and transport costs,
such as the timely payment of social grants, the school nutrition programme and efforts by the Competition
Commission to protect consumers from unreasonable price increases.
The NEC called on government to intensify support small and subsistence farmers to ensure ongoing food security
and affordability of foodstuffs, including through building our capacity to produce fertilizers. In this regard the NEC
welcomed efforts to gain waivers to allow African countries to produce their own fertilizers.

The NEC called upon all South Africans to join hands during Mandela Month in July 2022 in a focus on food,
including by establishing and supporting community and backyard food gardens and the planting of fruit trees.
Letsema Campaign - Clean, Food secure and Safer Communities
The NEC welcomed the report on the Letsema Campaign, through which ANC members and communities are
working together every Friday or Saturday to clean their communities, fix potholes, work in community gardens and
campaign against gender-based violence.
The ANC calls on all communities to strengthen organs of people's power, such as community policing forums, and
work with law enforcement agencies to promote community safety . Together with the ANCWL, these efforts will
enhance the Molo Makhelwane programme as part of knowing your neighbours, securing communities, and taking
forward the fight against gender-based violence.
Through the Letsema Campaign and the Molo Makhelwane Campaign spearheaded by the ANC Women’s League,
we will during Mandela month mobilise ANC members and structures, community members, civil society and
faith-based organisations to improve food security.
ANC Response to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture
The NEC noted that the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has now submitted its final report. While detailing
the nature, extent and scope of state capture, the report also makes critical findings about our movement and its
government, and individual members of the African National Congress. The NEC received a presentation by the
task team led by cde Jeff Radebe on an action plan to deal with the recommendations of the Commission on State
Capture.
The NEC noted that some of the observations and findings are indeed unsettling, but vow that the movement will
honestly and openly deal with all aspects of the Commission’s report. This should strengthen the renewal of the
movement, to identify shortcomings and take the necessary steps to address them.
The NEC adopted the following immediate action plan:
a) Proposed Constitutional, Legislative and structural changes were referred to relevant NEC Committees for
deliberation. The NEC must complete this work by end of August 2022.
b) On recommendations for action by specific entities, the NEC agreed that these are either part of the normal
mandate of these entities which they should act on, or directed at specific industry bodies.
c) On findings on weaknesses and lapses by the ANC, the ANC will, among others, review its policies with
respect to cadre deployment policy and practice; party funding principles; organisational discipline and
accountability; and Parliamentary oversight. The task team will make recommendations on key principles in each
of these areas.
d) Individuals mentioned or implicated in the Report: All such ANC current and former leaders and ANC
members, without prejudice, must immediately take the initiative and present themselves to the Integrity
Commission (IC).
Policy discussion paper on Corruption
The NEC received a presentation and made inputs on a discussion paper on the fight against corruption and
measures to reverse and prevent the recurrence of state capture. This paper will be discussed in all ANC
structures, in the processes leading up to and at the National Policy Conference later this month. The ANC will
engage its Alliance partners and civil society in soliciting inputs before and after National Policy Conference on this
critical national issue.
On Local Government
The NEC agreed that we have a range of progressive measures to address the situation at local government and
that we must now implement these measures. There was, once again, acknowledgement that many of the issues
at this level are as a result of the lack of political will to address the “political-administrative interface” and lack of
consequence management.
The NEC agreed the time has now come to act against leaders of the ANC who flagrantly defy the organisational
directives, instructions and prescripts, and will ensure a focused programme to rebuild local government,
strengthening the district development model, as per ANC local government manifesto and pledges.
Policy discussion on Migration
The NEC received a presentation on migration, and the urgent need for review and reform of the national system of
migration, in the context of the national and global obligations. The NEC affirmed that South Africa’s approach to
migration remains premised on protecting our national interests, our commitment to maintaining peace and
friendship, and on promoting progressive Pan-Africanism.
Whilst the comprehensive review is in progress, we must immediately take concrete action on the following areas:
• Improving border security through the Border Management Agency, which is now in the process of being
operationalised.
• Institute legislative reform to address contradictory regulations.
• Improve the capacity of Home Affairs to process applications and implement the regulatory environment in a
manner which does not undermine the economy or abuse human rights and which prevents abuse of the
immigration system.
• Law enforcement authorities to crack down on human trafficking and other forms of abuse of immigrants.
The issue of migration will be on the agenda of the ANC National Policy Conference expected to be held in Nasrec
- Johannesburg - Gauteng Province from the 29th - 31 July 2022
Economic Reconstruction and Job Creation
The NEC reiterated the ANC’s policy that if we are to meaningfully address poverty, inequality and unemployment,
we must fundamentally alter the racial and gender composition of the ownership, control and management of our
economy. We will continue to build a South African economy that truly reflects the composition, diversity and
interests of the South African people.
The NEC noted that to give full expression to the vision of the Freedom Charter, we must continue through all
available instruments to address the concentration of ownership in the economy, as many significant economic
sectors continue to be dominated by just a few companies. Not only does this make transformation more difficult by
limiting the scope for new entrants, but it also stifles competition, keeps prices high and encourages inefficiency.
We will continue to diversify our economy through the development of local industrial capacity, and by beneficiating
our abundant minerals and agricultural produce, to realise their full potential value.
The NEC reaffirmed that the immediate priority remains speeding up inclusive growth and creating employment.
Job creation remains the most effective driver of inclusive growth, the most direct route out of poverty, and the best
way to address inequality.
The NEC recalled that the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan calls for the leveraging of public
infrastructure investment far more effectively, using this to develop the country’s manufacturing capabilities and
local suppliers, and creating conditions for the growth of businesses, large and small. It also includes the potential
of public and social employment programmes to provide unemployed people with livelihoods, skills and experience.
The NEC further emphasized that for transformation to be successful, black economic empowerment needs to be
integral to efforts to grow the economy, with empowerment and growth as mutually reinforcing. By bringing more
black South Africans into the economy – as owners, managers, financiers, industrialists and employees – we are
expanding the capacity of our economy. The NEC reaffirmed the commitment of the ANC as governing party, to
use the levers of state procurement more effectively to affirm black-owned companies.
The NEC also reaffirmed a skills revolution as central to social and economic transformation and shared prosperity.
The efforts to ensure that all children have access to quality basic education, to make higher education accessible
to all, and to equip our young people with skills appropriate to the workplace of tomorrow, will lay the firmest
foundation for development, growth and inclusion.
The NEC reiterated the need to tirelessly build a capable developmental state that can effectively direct resources
towards areas of greatest economic and social benefit, including its implementation, planning and monitoring
capability. We also need to build our state owned enterprises to fulfil a clear developmental function, and ensure
they are governed effectively, manage their finances responsibly and are led by capable, honest and accountable
people.
The NEC welcomes work currently underway at NEDLAC to conclude a social compact for economic recovery and
job creation. The ANC will continue to engage fellow members of the revolutionary alliance to build consensus on
the principles that must inform the social compact.
International matters
The NEC noted that the world is just emerging from the global Covid 19 pandemic. The pandemic exposed the
vulnerability of the developing world, but also showed the strength of nations acting in unity and highlighted the
need for greater solidarity and collaboration between developing and emerging economies.
South Africans showed tremendous strength and determination in the face of a devastating pandemic that took so
much from so many of us. We have yet to fully reckon toll on our people and country, but we can say that thus far
we have endured. The pandemic is not over and we must remain cautious. However, we can now face the future
with the knowledge that as a people and a continent, we have the necessary tools to manage and live through
pandemics like these.
The world continues to face multiple crisis, including slow post Covid 19 recovery, other threats of infectious
diseases, rising inequality exacerbated by energy challenges and food insecurity, the war in Ukraine, migration and
internal displacements continue to be a major issue of our time, and the crisis of global warming and climate
change.
Climate change has seen more and more extreme and unpredictable weather events across the globe: prolonged
droughts, wildfires and unusual heatwaves, mudslides and severe floods, and hurricanes and freak hailstorms.
Despite the fact that Africa has and is the least contributor to global emissions, climate change continues to impact
on us most severely.
In our own country, climate change caused the recent tragic floods in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern
Cape. Our initial response, as the movement, civil society and as government, was compassionate and we
succeeded in moving people out of danger and into temporary shelters with the necessary speed. However, the
NEC noted that it is equally true that government has been unacceptably slow in constructing permanent dwellings
for displaced people in a number of areas. We now need to move faster to ensure those people who still remain in
temporary shelters are assisted and the delivery of houses are fast-tracked, with all three spheres of government
working together.
The African continent’s own commitment to silencing the guns remains unwavering. The SADC region continues to
work to assist the process in Lesotho, to resolve the crisis in Eswatini and to find lasting solutions to the conflicts in
Delgado, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The NEC noted that Congo Republic and
Senegal will hold national elections and Tunisia a constitutional referendum in July, and in August 2022 citizens of
Kenya and Angola will go to the polls in general elections. We wish these countries peaceful, free and fair
elections.
The NEC welcomed the recent engagements at the 14th BRICS Head of State Summit and the G7 Summit, which
reinforced the correctness of the ANC’s position on strengthening multilateralism.
BRICS remains an important forum to drive progressive reforms of multilateral institutions and ensure increased
participation and representation of developing countries on the global stage. It is also an important forum to spread
progressive policies on the global stage and many more countries want to be part of BRICS. Many countries have
joined the BRICS Bank and we must make greater advantage of the funding available from BRICS.
Congratulations to Banyana Banyana, you made us Proud!
The NEC congratulates Banyana Banyana, the South African national women’s soccer team for their stunning 2-1
win over Nigeria in the African Women’s Cup group stage competitions.
The formidable Super Falcons, as the Nigerian team is known, is by far the most successful African women’s team,
and has emerged as champions of the African Women’s Cup of Nations 11 times. The Super Falcons is also the
only CAF team to represent the continent in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Worthy opponents indeed!
The NEC applauds the Banyana Banyana players, coach Desiree Ellis and support team for keeping the South
African flag flying high. Their sterling performance is testimony to the illogic of the gender pay gap in sports, which
must be closed so that all our sports persons, men and women, are able to reach their full potential.

ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

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