AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) FOURTH NATIONAL GENERAL COUNCIL
(NGC), OCTOBER 2015
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

1 BALANCE OF FORCES
2 SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
3 ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
4 EDUCATION, HEALTH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
5 LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNANCE
6 COMMUNICATIONS AND BATTLE OF IDEAS
7 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
8 PEACE AND STABILITY
9 RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM

1

 1 BALANCE OF FORCES
1.1 African and International


There has been a change in global dynamics;



China now world’s second largest economy since 2011; and it overtook US as
‘largest global economy’ in 2014 + surpassed US as Africa’s largest trading
partner in 2009;



Global economic crisis brought to fore ‘dominance, adventurism and sheer power
of finance capital’…what some have referred to as the ‘casino economy’ which
‘brought the world economy to the brink of collapse…it has also generated
greater activism by regulators to limit the impact of financial crises on
governments and citizens’;



Rivalries among world’s biggest powers continue;



US using ‘containment strategy’ to undermine China’s relationship-building with
developing nations;



US narrow national interests still prevail to keep it the ‘dominant and uncontested
global power’;



Example of US’s ‘unipolarity’ is its ‘unilateralism’ in the fight against terror and
‘regime change’;



Unbridled market capitalism has lost its shine in last three decades;



Global economic crisis brought to surface role State can play in regulating the
financial sector…and the concomitant social ills resulting from this;



Neoliberal ideology faces ‘crisis of confidence and credibility’;



Africa both beneficiary and, in some instances, victim of changing global
dynamics;



Seven of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa;



Projections are that Africa’s collective GDP would almost double by the middle of
the 2020s;



African economic integration has not been pursued with the enthusiasm it
deserves;
2

 

How do these opportunities and challenges relate to South Africa’s own growth
and development? Is Africa Rising a threat or an opportunity? Barring countries
largely in conflict, South Africa is the economic growth laggard on the continent;



South Africa can also exploit the natural advantage of its geography – situated as
it is in the south between East and West;

1.2 South Africa


South Africa stable nation with progressive constitution - South African polity
essentially a stable one, with Constitution accepted across board as broad
framework for the regulation of socio-political relations. Its articulation of different
generations of rights lends it a progressive character for the pursuit of speedier
transformation;



ANC bemoans some sectors of society using courts to fight battles: a worrying
trend in the recent period has been the tendency for leaders of various sectors of
society, especially in the political arena, to seek judicial resolution for matters that
can be managed through other channels. These range from quarrels with a
puppet and the singing of songs, to legal challenges against constitutionally-valid
administrative actions by the Executive. On the one hand, such ‘lawfare’ can
suck up the judiciary into the maelstrom of day-to-day societal management and
thus unnecessarily splutter it with mud. On the other, repeated attempts of this
kind, into which huge resources thrown, do suggest that some privileged sectors
of society seek to undermine the popular electoral mandate;



It should also be noted that, from time to time, tensions have boiled over between
the judiciary and the other arms of the state, and between the executive and the
legislatures. Such tensions can be healthy – and are perhaps normal – in a
constitutional democracy. However, to the extent that these tensions may reflect
a slow pace of transformation in the judiciary, poor accountability by the
executive, or disdain for electoral outcomes by opposition parties and a poor
sense of inclusivity by the majority parties in the legislatures, these need to be
addressed in a systematic manner, with the fundamental aim of strengthening the
democratic system;



Service delivery protests a concern for the ANC: legitimacy of the polity and state
may be fraying due to protests as a form of democratic expression post-1994; the
ANC calls this the ‘flammable social tinder’; local government especially is where
this manifests;

3

 

ANC suffering damage to its brand, name and image: ANC coming under
increased scrutiny for purportedly not tackling corruption forcefully; as a result
‘legitimacy of the state and polity are undermined’;



Impression being created State failing in its duties to manage bodies under it…
state-owned entities…high management turnovers suggest ‘patronage’ coverups’ ‘poor decision-making’;



These elements threaten the ‘legality’ and ‘legitimacy’ of the system…with ‘forces
opposed to transformation’ both on the right and left using it tactically;



SA economy still ‘trapped in the path dependency of the mineral-energy
complex’;



Huge concentration and centralisation of capital, with monopolies dominating
most sectors of the economy, and some of them engaging in uncompetitive
practices, is a major challenge. Small, medium and micro-enterprises do not
enjoy the same broad proportion of GDP as in other developing countries;



National Planning Commission recognised the critical challenge is that the
economy creates too few jobs and economic opportunities. The skills
development programmes have been proceeding at too slow a pace. All this
impacts most negatively on youth, women and rural communities;



The distribution of wealth and income is largely still characterised by the racial
and gender demographics of the colonial past;



It is the combination of all these factors which have impelled the ANC to call for
radical economic transformation, as a critical pillar of the second phase of
transition to a national democratic society. As intimated above, such
transformation has to address, among others, issues of high rates of economic
growth, changing structure of the economy in terms of sector configurations,
equitable distribution of wealth and income, de-racialisation of ownership of
capital, better skills and training programmes, efficient provision of social and
economic infrastructure, and diversification of our international economic
partnerships;



High unemployment rates among young people, combined with urbanisation,
have created a large swathe of marginalised and alienated youth – with major
implications for social stability;



What deserves noting is that South African society (including particularly the
Black and Coloured communities) is more educated, with a higher proportion
4

 located in the middle strata and a smaller proportion made up of industrial
workers;


Recent surveys – notably by the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation – has
flagged that race relations have not been improving …poor and people from
lower LSMs excluded from inter-racial social integration;



The state has, as matter of policy, sought to implement redistributive policies and
to promote a spirit of human solidarity. However, the lived experienced of the
overwhelming majority in society, wherever each individual may be located, is
one of a nation driven by cut-throat competition, a rat race to climb the social
ladder, and the fear of falling among those higher up who thus use legal and notso-legal efforts desperately to cling to what they have. Apprehension about falling
down the social ladder afflicts especially the new, mostly-first-generation middle
and upper strata (essentially from the Black community), who have nary an
inheritance to fall back on;



The change in social demographics, with a growing numbers of Black ‘middle
and upper classes’, has not fundamentally changed the skewed racial distribution
of wealth and income. It has also brought to the fore social disparities within the
Black community itself. At the same time, the value system based on selfishness
and crass materialism is getting further entrenched in society;

1.3 Politics/ elections


ANC losing support since last two national elections;



EFF tapping into support from informal settlements;



Race still ‘largely’ determines vote choices;



But ‘white-based’ parties, combined, started at 24% in 1994, declined and are
back at 23% in 2014;



DA attracting more minority voters;



The most dramatic shifts have happened in the metros. Except for a marginal
gain in Buffalo City, the ANC’s support declined in these areas by an aggregate
of 10.3 percentage points, with the EFF gaining 11.4% and the DA increasing its
support by 6.5 percentage points. In these areas, the ANC seems to have shed
support among the lower and upper middle strata among Africans as well as the
poorest of the poor;
5

 

The aggregation of political choices in accordance with self-declared socioeconomic policies does present an interesting picture. This is that Left of Centre
parties (ANC, UDM and COPE) had 74% of the vote in 2009, which came down
to 64% in 2014. Right of Centre parties (DA, IFP, NFP, UCDP, ACDP and FF+)
attained 24% in 2009 and 28% in 2014. The aggregate self-declared Far Left
(PAC, APC, AZAPO and EFF) had not performed much beyond 1% since 1994:
in fact it attained 0.4% in 2009; but went up to 6.6% in 2014;



The sentiment for social transformation remains strong; but some of the motive
forces no longer consider the ANC as the representative of such change.
Secondly, there is patent impatience with the pace of change – and this
expresses itself among the poorest in society as well as some African
professionals and youth. Thirdly, while white multi-class support for the DA has
remained solid, a section of the Black middle strata (Coloureds, Indians and a
small segment of Africans) now view this party as being representative of their
interests. Fourthly, the choices also reflect the rising primacy of current issues
such as manifestations of corruption and Gauteng’s eTolls in electoral decisions
– introducing an interesting (though still moderate) fickleness to South African
politics, especially among the middle strata;



Having sensed this tentative shift with regard to popular confidence in the ANC
and the government, the opposition parties – particularly the EFF and the DA –
believe they have drawn blood and can inflict further blows to undermine the
ANC. The disruptions in parliament and some legislatures, campaigns to occupy
land and others that border on illegality, are all meant to, or do in fact have the
effect of, undermining the legitimacy of the ANC, of the government and
ultimately of the state as such;



A coup d’état is not possible in South Africa. Some of the disruptive and nearillegal campaigns may have the effect of initiating mass uprisings or other actions
that may goad the state into precipitate action; as has happened with the
unseemly disruptions in Parliament and, on the extreme, the Marikana tragedy.
Whether this would be by default or by design – on the part of the adventurists –
is a matter of conjecture;



The obvious intention of these forces is to improve their electoral prospects and,
by democratic means, to displace the ANC as government across the spheres.
This is rough, clumsy and distasteful; but it is legal political engagement all the
same. It behoves the ANC to develop tactics that obviate the impact and
attractiveness of these trickeries;
6

 

The ANC currently remains the only primary force capable of driving the project
of social transformation. However, this is dissipating. The ANC’s leadership
status and role are under threat; and other political forces seek to exploit its
weaknesses to dislodge it;



The ANC is ‘losing the moral high ground’;



Party problems identified from previous conferences persist: ‘factionalism and
money politics’, ‘improper conduct’ by leaders and members, splits in the trade
union movement, ‘business unionism’ and distance between workers and union
leaders;



In brief, the ANC needs seriously and systematically to embark on organisational
renewal in order to maintain, and indeed strengthen, its status and role as a
vanguard in this second phase of transition to a national democratic society;



A serious turn-around is required. Otherwise, the National Democratic Revolution
is in grave danger!

2 SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION


Progress made in past 21 years; millions still left out of economy: whilst in over
the past twenty years of Freedom and Democracy, significant strides have been
made in building a socially inclusive society, made progress in reducing poverty,
closing the gap between the poor and the rich. However, despite this progress in
fighting and reducing poverty, inequality and unemployment, we still face
challenges of race, gender and slow economic growth which results in many
excluded from the economy;



Social grants making tangible difference in lives of SA’s poor: Child Support
Grants (CSG) - Internationally, the grant has been recognised by the World Bank
as amongst the best unconditional transfers in the world. In a recent report
entitled The State of Social Safety Nets 2014, the World Bank ranks the CSG
amongst the top five programmes across the world in terms of absolute number
coverage as well as percentage of the population coverage. The Child Support
Grant was ranked the largest social safety net in the continent;



More attention to be paid to SA’s younger population as they are the future:
children make up 31.3% of the population, and therefore require interlinking
strategies to ensure that the adults of 2030 are active agents in implementing the
vision for South Africa envisioned in the NDP;

7

 

Given the positive impacts of the CSG, the ANC-led government will work
towards universalising the Child Support Grant so that no deserving child is
excluded. However, South Africa has approximately 1.5million double orphans
and approximately 4million poor children who have mothers, but due to poverty
and other social problems reside with their extended families. These are all
children in need of foster care. The foster care system is cumbersome, with
significant administrative delays that impact negatively on orphaned children’s
rights to adequate and timeous social assistance as is constitutionally required.
Over the next five years, work will be done to review the CSG and FCG to align
the benefits and create a universal child benefit;



Youth aged 15–24 years account for almost 20% of the country’s population
while those aged 15–34 years account for 37%. The majority of the youth are
poor, with more than half of all 18–24 year olds living under the lower bound
poverty line of R604 per month in 2011. More than two-thirds live under the
higher bound poverty line of R1 113 per month and that about half are
unemployed and about two-thirds are inactive. Employment projections show that
even if average annual growth were to rise to 5%, unemployment amongst 15–24
year olds would be 44% and 31% by 2020 and 2030 respectively, in the absence
of special other interventions. In addition, the youth are unduly burdened with all
key social challenges including unemployment, substance abuse and HIV and
AIDS;



Amendments will be made to the Social Assistance Act to ensure that children
over the age of 18 who are still at school are able to continue accessing the Child
Support Grant so that their basic needs can be met;



The ANC-led government will universalize the State Old Age Pension over the
next 5 years. This will ensure that no older persons are left vulnerable due to
exclusions currently associated with the means tests that are applied;



The current housing mandate restricts subsidies to households earning less than
R3,500 per month. This was premised upon the assumption that end-user
finance would be accessed for the construction of houses by income groups
above R3500 per month. This has not in fact occurred and there is a growing
disjuncture between subsidised and non-subsidised residential accommodation.
This impacts negatively on the operation of the residential property market. In
order to address this problem, a new subsidy mechanism is to be introduced to
facilitate the availability and accessibility of affordable housing finance
products/instruments to medium income households (earning R3,500 to R 7,000
p.m.) by providing a mechanism to overcome the down-payment barrier;
8

 

Section 10A of the Housing Act prohibits the sale of government-subsidised
property for a period of eight years. This section was enacted to protect subsidy
beneficiaries from downward raiding. The provision has also had the unintended
consequence of undermining beneficiary choice and housing mobility and has
created a significant barrier to formal secondary transactions. For this reason, an
amendment to Section 10A of the Housing Act, 1997, is to be introduced to
reduce the prohibition period following occupation to five years;



Within the urban context, there is a need to focus on “changing the face” of the
stereotypical “RDP” houses and settlements through promotion of alternative
technology and design. The Department will investigate measures and incentives
to enhance housing design and promote and alternative technologies, including
support and protection of indigenous knowledge systems;



A phased-approach to the introduction of compulsory African languages in
schools will be adopted;



The NDP proposes that every ward should have adequate facilities for basic
exercise and sporting activities and suggests improving public services and
spaces as well as building integrated housing and sports facilities in communities
to ensure sharing of common spaces across race and class. It also encourages a
holistic approach to low-cost housing developments that include local
recreational facilities. Daily interactions on an equal basis build social cohesion
and common understanding. These interactions will be promoted effectively
when South Africans share more public spaces;



For the transformation vision for sport to be realised, school sport must be
adequately resourced. The government must ensure, that there are adequate
facilities for the majority of the population to play sport and that these are
adequately maintained. This does not need expensive buildings, but recreational
environments with basic facilities that can function as community hubs.
Communities should organise sporting events, leagues, championships and
generally look after the sports facilities once they are installed or developed.
Corporate investments in grassroots sport should also be encouraged.

3 ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION


The core structural weakness of South Africa’s economy is its continued
incorporation into the global division of labour as producer and exporter of
9

 primary commodities, and importer of value-added, manufactured products. This
growth trajectory – typical of many colonised countries in Africa – constrains our
ability to create jobs at an appropriate skill level and in sufficient numbers to
address South Africa’s unemployment challenge, and bestows the benefits of
local value-addition (jobs, company profits which can be re-invested in the
economy, tax revenue and industrial deepening) on our trading partners;


Given the current and forecast subdued demand for South Africa’s key
commodity exports and weak prices, our current growth trajectory cannot be
sustained, nor has it proven to be supportive of inclusive growth;



It is therefore crucial for South Africa to improve the competitiveness of the
domestic environment;



Compared to its peers, South Africa is shown as a serious underperformer.
Growing at rates that are out of sync with its peers;



Despite a low interest rate environment, private sector investment has fallen
since the 2008 crisis and remains weak. Consumption-led and import-intensive
growth has evaporated with dangerously rising household indebtedness and the
emergence of a substantial current account deficit. In the past 3 years, prolonged
strikes in the platinum and manufacturing sectors, and at the South African Post
Office have severely disrupted economic growth;



Rising government debt and a wide current account deficit make South Africa
vulnerable to global economic shocks;



Growth remains too low and job creation insufficient. A key constraint to
achieving our industrial growth is the national electricity shortage;



The NDP envisages that over time annual public and private investment levels
should be raised from the current 19% to 30% of GDP;



Investment by state owned enterprises rose sharply from 2007 and continued to
grow at a lower rate after 2008. General government investment (mainly
construction of social infrastructure like hospitals, schools and police stations)
remained low during the recession, but is now growing strongly. However, private
sector investment remains very weak;



Some, on the left, argue that low private sector investment proves that South
African capital is unpatriotic, that it is on an investment strike and that it would be
better if the state enlarged its role in order to advance economic transformation;
10

 

Others, on the right, argue that it is in fact the state that is retarding private
investment, that if more state assets had been privatised and the state had
reduced its role in the economy then growth and investment would have been
higher;



Production and employment in the manufacturing sector (now 12% of GDP from
19% 14 years ago), has continued to decline due to fierce competition from –
sometimes illegal or subsidised – imports, low productivity, low rate of reinvestment, falling technology development and inadequate skills formation;



From 2000 to 2014, employment in the agriculture sector fell from 1.4 million to a
mere 600,000. During this period, average farm size increased through
consolidation and became more mechanised, capital intensive and more reliant
on chemical inputs;



While the sector is now more efficient both in its production outputs and net farm
income, it has not been accompanied by concomitant increases in transformation
nor employment, despite support programmes such as the Re-capitalisation of
Land Reform, BBBEE charter, and various other programmes aimed at
addressing transformation;



The State must therefore re-think the design and implementation effectiveness of
its programmes to address the structural challenges of economic transformation,
growing market dominance and increasing job losses within the sector;



TARGET: A condition must be added to all incentive programmes funded by the
state, that 5-10% of produce procured by manufacturers and commercial farmers
must come from SMMEs and smallholder producers in the sector. This would
require a state registry of all farmers;



TARGET: we must dedicate a significant percentage of resources (ideally 40%)
to unemployed youth graduates in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries;



TARGET: All supermarkets must procure 5% of its fresh produce and processed
food products locally and from smallholder farmers;



The pace of land reform is accelerating;



Since 1994 7.4 million hectares have been delivered, 5.3m between 1994-2009
and 2.1m over the past 5 years;



Number of employees in the agricultural sector has fallen by 20% between 2008
and 2014;
11

 

Oil and gas resources are emerging as another potential game changer in South
Africa;



Acceleration of oil and gas exploration including shale gas exploration and coalbed methane (CBM) can only be successful through a comprehensive approach
the upstream sector in the oil and gas sector;



Another sector which holds great potential for job creation, especially in rural
areas, is tourism. However, barriers to entry into the value-chains of the sector
that are faced by SMME’s, Black-owned enterprises, particularly the youth and
co-operatives need attention. We need to draw lessons on how to improve the
integration of Black people, women, the youth, SMME’s and co-operatives into
the tourism value-chain;



If we add up all the indirect impacts, tourism generated 9.7% of South Africa’s
GDP in 2013 – and supports more than 1.4 million jobs in the country;



We must continue to encourage the creation of new businesses, cooperatives
and the expansion of small business, by reducing the costs of compliance with
government regulations, making it easier for companies to ‘do business’ with
government, making sure that government pays its invoices on time and
strengthening the role of our development finance institutions;



Small and medium enterprises and co-operatives have a potential to create more
job opportunities, particularly for the youth. The best way of taking investment
opportunities to poor communities is by supporting SMME’s and Cooperatives in
those communities. Once these SMME’s and cooperatives thrive, larger firms,
such as banks, begin to open up services and economic activity improves. The
strategy should be to promote SMME’s and Cooperatives in poor communities;



Recognising the enormous potential of the ocean in contributing to economic
growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty, key Government departments must
cooperate in enhancing the ocean economy in four new growth focus areas,
namely marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration,
aquaculture and marine protection services and ocean governance;



The South African economy continues to be dominated by monopolies and
oligopolies in strategic value-chains. Monopoly and cartel pricing directly
undermines the growth of the economy by increasing prices of key products for
downstream industry and those that are essential for low income consumers. In
addition, tight knit insiders raise barriers to entry for new participants including
black owned and managed firms, and lobby to protect their position through rules
12

 and regulations that favour incumbents. These have served to stifle the
development of downstream, labour-intensive industries, small and mediumsized enterprises, cooperatives and Black-owned firms;


The world has become more connected, networked, and interdependent. At the
centre of this inter-connection is ICT. This sector is a key enabler of innovation
and is a fundamental resource for a developing economy. It can open many
avenues for growth and employment. There is a need for a comprehensive
national approach to the deployment of the ICTs to modernize government, the
economy and service delivery within the context of a national e-strategy and an
integrated e-government policy;



Widening disparities in income, wealth, and opportunities have risen to the top of
our concerns;



The capacity of the state is a macroeconomic issue because it influences the
behaviour of the economy as a whole. It is therefore important that we reemphasise the need to continuously improve the capacity of the state;



However, one of the key challenges of the South African Public Service is to
develop and retain competent leaders, technical staff and managers. Experience
has shown that during the time of political changes of government, there is
normally a high level of movement that can be expected, and most senior
managers have accepted this reality;



The strategic role of the state should be accompanied by increasing the
economic planning capacity of the state, restoring its long-term economic
perspective, which should provide an anchor around which private sector
investment decisions should be made. This will require that we build state
capacity, establishing high standards of employment in the public service, raise
the levels of professionalism, discipline and a commitment to serve. The public
sector must strengthen its planning capacity and project management skills;



LABOUR MARKET - Currently, 95% of the unemployed do not have tertiary
education, 62% have less than secondary education, and 60% have been
unemployed for more than a year. Unemployment affects young people the most;
40% of the unemployed are new entrants to the labour market, which are most
likely to be young people; 72% of the unemployed are young people. Tackling the
unemployment challenge is to a large degree similar to tackling youth
unemployment; our objective is to attain full employment – with adult South
Africans either employed or in meaningful self-employment. By 2030, the
unemployment rate, broadly-defined, should not exceed 6%. Ideally, the majority
13

 of these should be in decent jobs characterised by a living wage, decent
conditions of employment and appropriate benefits.
4 EDUCATION AND HEALTH
4.1 Basic Education


To promote school safety, the DBE and PDEs (provincial departments of
education) are implementing in all provinces the 2nd phase of the Partnership
Protocol of linking schools with police stations and the establishment of Safe
School Committees. 15514 schools have been linked to police stations as at
June 2014 and Safe School Committees have been established;



The DBE and PDEs are implementing a comprehensive programme focusing on
Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) and education outcomes to keep girls in
schools. The Subcommittee will receive a progress report on the implementation
of recommendations of the 2009 DBE report entitled Teenage pregnancy in
South Africa – with a specific focus on school-going learners. The DBE has come
up with a draft policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy.
This policy is an alternative to the previous policy that punished learners for
falling pregnant. The proposed new policy considered the rights of the learner to
education, dignity and the right of privacy. The draft policy would be circulated to
Provincial Education Departments;



Engage trade unions for members to accept re-deployment and re-skilling;



In order to promote Inclusive Education, the sector has initiated a process of
developing the South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum for grades R
to12, whose implementation will follow a phased-in approach starting at
Foundation Phase and grade 9 from 2015 to end with implementation at grade
12 in 2018. Training focused on more than 250 teachers and Deaf Teaching
Assistants from the implementing grades in 45 schools will be implemented from
2015 onwards;



Information Communication Technology will be prioritized for implementation at
schools to act as an anchor for the radical transformation of the basic education;



Teacher Development will be prioritised to enhance teacher performance and
quality of learning and teaching support through increasing the depth of content
knowledge of our teachers;



Mobilise communities to oppose tendencies to target schools as part of civil
disobedience;
14

 

Improve the efficiency of scholar transport provision;



To embed our constitutional values and principles as well as those of the
Freedom Charter in the Curriculum;



Improve efficiency in the roll out of the National School Nutrition Programme
(NSNP);



Commitment by all parties to maintain labour peace during the period of salary
negotiations;

4.2 Higher Education (DHET/ HET)


A Ministerial Task Team was established to ascertain whether community service
for graduates is feasible within South Africa and to propose a model for
implementing community service for graduates. A report on this matter was
supposed to have been finalised by the end of March 2015. The HET sector
expects that this report will be approved by the Minister by the end of June 2015;



A report on transformation in public universities has not been submitted. The
Subcommittee noted that the DHET established in January 2013 an Oversight
Committee on Transformation in South African Universities;



The Subcommittee has not received a report on the review and improvement of
the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) aimed at encouraging
students from working class and poor communities to go to tertiary institutions.
The Subcommittee has noted that the DHET has increased the NSFAS funding
at Universities from R2.2 billion in 2010 benefitting 148387 students to R3.693
billion in 2013 assisting 194923 students. This has been increased to
R4.095billion in 2015, which means that the fund has been doubled in five years.
NSFAS student bursary funding at TVET colleges increased from R318million in
2010, benefitting 61706 students to R1.953billion in 2013 assisting 220978
students. It also noted that NSFAS students in their final year were provided with
full cover of costs to study in 2011 with 57667 students benefiting in the 2011
and 2012 academic years totalling R1.9billion with final year students, who
successfully completed their studies, had their loans converted to a 100%
bursary, as an incentive. The number of students covered by NSFAS at
universities will not be able to grow without the injection of additional funding.
Currently only 205000 university students can be supported per annum. The
26804 final year students who were funded and graduated as part of the final
year programme amounted to R1.1billion;

15

 

The Subcommittee has noted that the program of the re-opening of teacher
training colleges is being implemented albeit without urgency;



The unbundling of MEDUNSA from the University of Limpopo has been
completed. The MEDUNSA campus has been incorporated into the Sefako
Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) on 01 January 2015;



The Subcommittee has noted that the DHET is working towards the finalization of
a policy on student accommodation; that it has allocated R1.652billion towards
student housing over the period 2012–2015; and that it works with various
partners to address the provision of student accommodation in the post-school
system. R1.413billion has been ring-fenced for historically disadvantaged
institutions and campuses. Existing infrastructure funds for the period 2012–2013
to 2014–2015 have been allocated largely to those universities with the greatest
needs and backlog;



The DHET has intensified its Campaign against Corruption. An amendment to
the Higher Education Act was done in 2012 to ensure that university Council
members and management declare their business interests to prevent them
benefiting from contracts with institutions. Student governance rules to stop
students from being part of tender committees have been instituted. There is no
university currently under administration;



The HET sector did not finalize the policy on free higher education to all
undergraduate level students for adoption before the end of 2013. The
Subcommittee noted that the Ministerial Working Group on Fee-Free Higher
Education completed its report in mid-2013 and that the Minister elected not to
publish the report, but rather to work with its recommendations to develop a draft
policy statement;



The target date for amendments to NSFAS Act and draft regulations to be
published for public comment is March 2017;



The DHET has not introduced a newly structured National Student Financial Aid
Scheme (NSFAS) to enable fee-free education from 2014 onwards. However,
NSFAS has implemented a new student centric model on 7 October 2013 which
makes it possible for eligible students at higher education institutions and TVET
colleges to apply directly to NSFAS for funding;

4.3 Health


Elements that are still ‘works in progress’: Strengthen health-specific
management capacity for programs and facilities, especially hospitals; Evaluate
16

 and strengthen the District Health System and Primary Health Care; Review all
policies, legislation, regulations and directives that led to the closure of nursing
schools and colleges; Expand the scope and numbers of Community Health
Workers; Strengthen programs against MDR-TB and XDR-TB; Improve drug
supply and management; Draft plans for the establishment of a state-owned drug
manufacturing entity;


Strengthen provincial departments of health capacity to deliver and maintain
health infrastructure for primary and secondary health facilities;



Non-negotiables for health, e.g. pharmaceuticals, security, vaccines, food, dry
dispensary, have been adopted as a policy and good practice for hospitals and
clinics and a strategy of monitoring availability of essential goods and services.
The sector will report on the monitoring of implementation of this resolution and
incidents of shortage plus plans to prevent the said shortages;



Regulations on diet and salt content in foodstuffs to enforce salt reduction in the
food industry were signed on 18 March 2013;



The NHI fund has not been set up as yet using state revenue. The resolution
directs that the fund be set up urgently by 2014. However, discussions have been
initiated between the Department of Health and the National Treasury through
the facilitation of the Presidency;



ANC and government are working to mobilize of broad social support for the roll
out of the NHI. The Gauteng ANC and government have undertaken roadshows
to popularise NHI in the NHI Pilot districts in 2013;



In order to accelerate the training of health professionals in collaboration with the
Ministry of Higher Education and local Universities and where necessary to
extend training to outside the borders of our country; the DoH has expanded the
Mandela-Castro Health Collaboration by increasing intake of students from about
90 per annum to close to 1000 per annum in 2012. Most local universities have
expanded their training platform for medical students thereby increasing their
total intake per annum;



An Ombudsperson responsible for Quality of Health Care has not yet been
appointed. The deadline for this appointment was 2013;



The National Pricing Commission to regulate the health care costs in the private
sector was not established in 2013 as per resolution. The DoH is waiting for the
finalisation of and recommendations from the Market Enquiry into the Private
Health Sector Costs to inform appropriate interventions;
17

 

Laws to abolish marketing of alcohol products were not passed by 2013 as
directed by the resolution;

4.4 Science and Technology (DST)


The announcement on 25 May 2012 that South Africa has won the bid to host the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA)radio telescope project marked the completion of a
mandate for the DST to lead in the effort of getting a project of massive scientific
significance to South Africa, Africa and the Southern hemisphere. This is
significant as it includes the recognition of the MeerKat telescope, a South
African product, as a critical component of the SKA project;



The DST has contributed to about 2000 graduates and students placed in the
DST funded work preparation programmes in Strategic Energy Technologies
Information Systems (SETIs) including its science councils, national facilities and
museums for the past two to three years;



The first dish of the MeerKat, which will form 25% of the first phase of the SKA,
was launched in March 2014. This project is on course and continues to
contribute to assist South Africa to attract other radio-astronomy initiatives such
as the C-Band All Sky Survey (C-BASS) and the Precision Array for Probing the
Epoch of Re-ionisation (PAPER);



A highlight of the 2012/13 financial year was the expansion of the broadband
connectivity to all the major campuses of tertiary educational institutions through
the continued implementation of the SANReN programme. A total of 139
research and educational sites have been connected with high-speed networks
ranging from a minimum of one to a maximum of 10 gigabits per second;



The DST is implementing the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and MeerKAT
project coordinated through the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating
Committee (PICC). The Board of the international SKA Organisation in March
2015 agreed on the design of the first Phase of the SKA, called SKA1, which will
fit into the € € 650 million budgeted for its construction. The detailed design is
now proceeding and construction of SKA1 is expected to start in 2018. The first
dish of the MeerKat, which will form 25% of the first phase of the SKA, was
launched in March 2014. This project is on course and continues to contribute to
assist South Africa to attract other radio-astronomy initiatives;



Continue to ensure that funding for Science and Technology reaches 1.5% GDP
and at least reaches the investment equivalent to African Peers;

5 LEGISLATURE & GOVERNANCE
18

 5.1 Challenges identified with regard to resolutions from 53 rd National Conference


The implementation of major transformative policies around reconfiguration of the
state has, in some cases, not been as speedily as mandated. The specific shortcomings are:



The resolution on Review of Provinces – adopted in two National Conferences –
It has not been implemented;



The resolution on creating a Single Public Service is also progressing at a slow
pace;



The resolution on Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Service has not met the
required targets;



Addressing Local Government institutional challenges, such as the viability of
some municipalities, fiscal arrangements and the two-tier system, has not been
implemented as mandated;



The resolution on Municipal Demarcation has also not been adequately
addressed;



The National Conferences resolved to strengthen the legislatures and ensure
deployment and retention of capable cadres in National and Provincial
Legislatures, and Local Government Councils. However, the realisation of this
resolution remains a serious challenge;



Similarly, the implementation of National Conference resolutions on mechanisms
to strengthen participatory democracy, community participation and an activist
parliament has been lacking;

5.2 Legislatures


The Fifth Parliament has been characterised by unity of the opposition with the
intention of destabilising Parliament. This has been demonstrated through the
attempted motions of no confidence targeting ANC leadership in parliament; the
unruly and disobedient behaviour, walk outs; and flagrant disregard of electoral
doctrines that underpin the role and character of the democratic Parliament;

5.3 Local Government


The 53rd National Conference further mandated that relations between councillors
and traditional leaders should be improved in the interest of service delivery and
development. The policy paper on traditional leaders will adopt practical
19

 mechanism and guides to improve the relationship between councillors and
traditional leaders;
5.4 Electoral Issues


The overall electoral system has been endorsed by the National Conference. The
Conference noted that the proportionality and allocation of PR seats in municipal
councils, vis-à-vis ward councillors, needs to be reviewed;



In the recent election, an observation has been made around the eligibility for
election as a President, Premier and Presiding officers. The Constitution provides
for the President to be indirectly elected from the National Assembly, as is the
case of other Office Bearers, including Premiers in the Provinces. There is a
need for further clarification and exploring the possibility of whether a distinction
between a ‘natural born” citizen and a “naturalised” citizen can be made when
considering eligibility for assuming the Office of Presidency, Premier or Presiding
officers;

5.5 Demarcations


The ANC conferences have mandated that the structure, role and mandate of the
Demarcation Board be reviewed. The review of the Demarcation Board is
informed by the development and maturity in the system of governance and our
democracy;



The frequency of boundary reviews has been a constant source of concern for
the ANC and communities;



The Ward Delimitation process, as mandated by the Demarcation Act, is also a
policy area that ANC Conference has resolved on;



The role and responsibilities of the Municipal Demarcation Board are being
reviewed. A Task Team has reported to COGTA and further work is being done to
address these and other issues. At the same time, there is a need to clearly
define the framework within which re-demarcations occur. The NEC has resolved
that re-demarcation of boundaries must be aligned to the census;



Government is considering the creation of further Category A municipalities and
also the possibility of strengthening Districts through applying the District
Management Model to dysfunctional municipalities;



The delimitation of wards is also under review given that every time ward
boundaries change, it impacts on structures of the ANC and government. Given
20

 the importance of wards in municipal planning, mechanism must be found to
reduce the frequency and extent of ward boundary changes;
5.6 Service Delivery Protests


The NEC resolved to establish a Rapid Response Team (RRT). The RRT was
tasked to investigate the root causes of protests and identify hotspot areas where
there are high levels of protest. The RRT was also mandated to introduce
remedial measures to stabilise and reduce protests;



Hotspot municipalities are prioritised based on service delivery protest(s),
institutional instability, and lack or inadequate infrastructure impacting negatively
on service delivery;



Rapid Response Specialists comprising of former DG’s, Municipal Managers,
CEO’s of public sector entities was established, with requisite expertise and
experience to resolve governance and institutional challenges that leads to
protest and instability;

5.7 2016 Local Government Elections


In the context of preparing for the 2016 Local Government elections, the ANC
must be decisive in addressing the following issues:



The calibre and quality of Councillors deployed in municipalities;



Accountability and transparency of councillors to their communities;



Management of consequences and performance management of deployed
cadres;



Leadership and Management Training for deployed cadres;



Micro management of municipalities by ANC structures (PEC’s, REC’s, BEC’s);



Occupy moral high ground and deal decisively with fraud and corruption; and



Campaigns and programmes targeted at changing the image and credibility of
Local Government;



There is a need to improve the quality of engagement between government and
citizens. It is not sufficient to increase service delivery if this is not done in
consultation and through engagement with local constituents;
21

 

Public-elected representatives across all spheres of government need to
communicate better on the work that government has done. Many politicians and
officials spend significant amounts of time in meetings, which limits their ability to
engage with communities and undertake the tasks they are entrusted with.
Meetings must be minimized so that delivery and action can take centre stage
and so that government is more responsive to local needs;



The need to create more active citizenship and more responsive State;

5.8 Urbanisation


The rapid urbanization and growing urban sprawl presents a serious challenge to
urban management;



Within the twenty years of democratic governance we have not been able to
reverse the apartheid spatial legacy is a paramount concern. The
characterization of the key issues affecting Cities, Metros and urban areas
should be how to deal with issues of rapid urbanization informal settlements
upgrades, spatial integration, urban management and issues associated with
providing basic services and understanding the interest of an urban voter;



The significant growth of the metros over the past decade makes a compelling
case for ANC to pay special attention to metros. The backlogs that already exists
in all major cities, due to increased population growth means that cities are facing
major infrastructural backlogs and challenges;



The voting trends in the metros require the ANC to review its strategies and
launch a programme dedicated at reversing the current trend. The programme
objectives will be to consolidate the ANC electoral base, recover the lost
electorate and advance into new electoral support;



Clearly millions of people still remain living in informal settlements even though
great strides have been made to build formal housing in the major metros. Most
major cities had a growth of between 5% and 15% in the number of people living
in formal housing between 2001 and 2011;

6 COMMUNICATIONS AND BATTLE OF IDEAS
6.1 Battle of Ideas


The news media has been filled with raging attacks on the nature and character
of the movement. Opposition parties who lost the elections have been provided
with ample space to question the outlook of the mass democratic movement and
22

 substitute with their own visions. There is a ganging up on the ANC and the
movement’s representatives by the media analysts, media commentators, the
ultra-left and ultra-right forces. All the media outlets including unfortunately the
public broadcasting outlets are dominated by the persistent attack on the NDR;


The ANC has not been able to systematically respond to this escalating
ideological and political attack. The spokespersons of the ANC remain largely
lone voices as there is no coordinated machinery that draws on the collective
political and ideological base of the movement. As a result the ANC has failed so
far to set the agenda in the national discourse through the limited dialogues on all
media platforms. In the meantime, the ANC cadres deployed in Government
have not actively contributed to the degree required into ANC publications;



Some progress has been achieved in the re-organisation of the ANC
Communications Team to provide capacity to engage the media and counter the
onslaught;



The ANC has not effectively demanded its rightful share of the media space. In
many instances the “right to reply” to baseless attacks have not been followed
upon. It is now usual to hear one sided discussions, attacking the ANC, in print,
radio and television platforms without ANC cadres and spokespersons
participating. There is a need for coordination of the participation by ANC Cadres
on the different platforms where the ANC voice is in deficit;



Facilities to manage multiple digital media platforms must be utilized to actively
monitor news and debates on all media platforms and develop daily message in
collaboration with the ANC communications team and disseminate the
messages;



ANC should measure its successes where it governs, package the success
stories and disseminate them through all media platforms;



An ANC Business Plan for communications must be developed;

6.2 ANC Internal Communications


The ANC Media Charter (1992) must be reviewed guided by the new
technological developments, SA Constitutional dispensation, the current media
landscape and the need to respond to the radical transformation agenda. The
revised ANC Media Charter should outline the role of media in the development
of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society. It should also outline the role
of public media (including the Public Broadcasting Services and the
Parliamentary Services) in the provision of platforms for the effective participation
23

 of all the people in the democratic dispensation. The Charter must outline the
role of independent media regulation and accountability within the framework of
the new SA Constitutional dispensation. The evolution of community media and
the participation of small and medium sized commercial media entities should
form part of the policy principles. The funding mechanisms that will support
public, community and small/alternative commercial media in order to realize
media plurality and diversity. The Charter should also provide an ANC policy
perspective on the reflection of African voices in the global arena including SADC
platforms for regional reflection and continental platforms;


There is a need to train ANC communicators at all levels of the organization and
continuously train all deployed cadres in media handling. ANC cadres deployed
in Government must be obligated to attend media coaching and training.
Strengthening the ANC’s own network of sympathetic circle of analysts and
journalists is important;



Effective and coherent government communication aimed at rendering effective
structure and services informing people of government programmes has not yet
been fully addressed despite all efforts. The problem of coordination and
integration between municipalities, provinces and national government has not
been achieved;



ANC should support Legislature’s communication where it governs and ensure
effective and coherent communication;



There is a huge number of government communicators in all three spheres.
Government communication stills lacks coherency in the different spheres. This
needs intervention in order to transform the way government communicates to its
citizenry;



In this regard, there is a need for the development of a National Government
Communications Policy to provide a framework for communications at different
spheres of Government. This frame-work should provide for a coherent structure
to communicate Government programmes and activities, and enable the
interaction of the people with Government in all spheres;



The National Government Communication Policy should provide for the use of all
official languages and all platforms to reach all citizens;



Government communication and messaging need to be coordinated and reflect a
one united country and one united Government;

24

 

Government media buying patterns should not reinforce media concentration and
media monopoly, instead its bulk-buying strategy should ensure that
communication reaches targeted audiences and support media diversity agenda.
All spheres of government should advertise in the community and small
commercial media that produce media in the languages spoken by communities,
to assist with media transformation and diversity, and the sustenance and growth
of these media;



There is a need to review Government policy that mandates placements of
advertising on national newspapers, as this reinforces media monopoly, as this is
not relevant to local and provincial Government needs. These so called national
newspapers are not available in all local municipalities and rural areas. This
policy therefore is not reflective of the real media landscape in our country, in
terms of national coverage platforms;

6.3 ICTs/ Broadband/ Cellular Coverage


The fixed line segment continues to be dominated by Telkom whereas the
wireless segment is dominated by two operators namely Vodacom and MTN.
Even though new licenses have been issued in all market segments the reality of
the market is that the established players have consolidated their market share to
such an extent that issuing new licenses no longer leads to any significant
changes in market behavior. The same situation is playing out in the
broadcasting subscription market. In this market even though others have been
licensed Multi-Choice continues to dominate and this dominance cannot be
challenged any time soon;



Choice of technology due to socio-economic and other realities should not
deepen inequalities within and between communities;



Infrastructure and services should be aligned within social and economic
development plans of communities and Government;



The management of the spectrum and other scarce natural resources is
emerging again as crucial to the success or failure of interventions to broaden
the sector beyond the number of players that currently dominate;



The roll-out of e-government services has not progressed as fast as it should
have possibly done, due to the fragmented approaches to the deployment of ICT
infrastructure and systems within government. There is a need for a national egovernment strategy that involves all spheres of government. This strategy must
inform all the spheres of government in planning e-government services;
25

 

SA should expedite the development of a comprehensive cyber-security policy,
which should be in place by the time of the 54th ANC Conference. In its nature,
cyber-security is a shared responsibility and thus policy development should be a
coordinated effort. National policy should also encourage/support citizens to take
active interest in the security of their own information in the cyber-space;



The rights of South Africans to use the ICTs for their freedom of expression,
cultural and artistic expression will be protected and regulations will ensure
adequate space for South African content. Policy will promote the production of
South African content and impose measures for the display of predominant South
African content;



The protection of the minors and the vulnerable will receive uttermost
consideration in the regulations dealing with obscene violence, pornography and
gratuitous sexual display during times when these vulnerable groups are able to
watch;

6.4 Broadcasting Services


The public broadcasting system, beset by many structural, managerial and
funding problems, needs to be restructured and repositioned to prioritise public
service as opposed to the commercial focus that it has displayed;



The 51st, 52nd and 53rd ANC Conference resolutions on funding have not been
implemented due in part to the failure to develop a public broadcasting model
that is not reliant on commercial programming, failure to cost the mandate as well
as different interpretations on the role of public broadcasting in government;



The series of crises at the public broadcaster reflect a lack of leadership, lack of
accountability and poor management. In confronting the crisis more emphasis
has been placed on reporting processes without a corresponding attention to
holding those responsible to account for the financial and organisational
maladministration that has brought the public broadcasting institution to the
crisis;



There are a range of issues relating to the SABC/public broadcasting which need
to be covered in a new White Paper, taking into account the strengths and
weaknesses of the current system and the impact of digitization and
26

 convergence. There is a need for a discussion on the nature of the converged
services, the structure, funding, governance and management;


The SABC must be restructured to prioritise public services in the digital age.
There is a need for the reconsideration of the mandate, structure and services of
the SABC in view of the con-vergence of the transmission medium, services and
devices. Policy must determine the scope of SABC’s responsibilities in terms of
publishing in all the digital platforms. In line with the principle of regulatory parity,
under convergence, the definition of broadcasting must be reviewed to take into
account the emergence of non-linear television or radio like services such as
video-on-demand, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and over-the-top services;



As part of this process, the government must, in line with the resolutions of the
53rd conference, increase its funding of the SABC. This must be implemented
progressively over a reasonable period. Government funding must be ring fenced
to be targeted towards public programming such as indigenous languages,
developmental and educational programming. In addition to government funding,
the SABC requires a long-term sustainability strategy based on a people
centered approach to public broadcasting;



Programming that is supporting education, health, poverty eradication, rural
development, crime prevention and other societal priorities are miniscule
compared to programming that is entertainment based. Budgets devoted to
developmental programming are reflective of the miniscule programming output
targeting the developmental agenda. This needs to be revised as a matter of
urgency;



SABC reach to the African continent must be enhanced in order to support
African rise, NEPAD and BRICS. Partnership with the BRICS countries in respect
of relevant programming must be explored;



There are a range of issues to be noted regarding the SABC which take into
account the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, in the context of
policy review. These include; the nature of the services, the mandate, the
structure and funding of the future SABC. The ANC must ensure there is political
will and skilled capacity to implement these resolutions;



The ANC reaffirms that a stable corporate governance mechanism is required to
provide long-term stability. These include strengthening the SABC’s
accountability to parliament, shareholder (government) and the public. The public
ownership of the SABC is central to its existence and sustainability;
27

 6.5 Print Media


Information and content gap is widening between the haves and have nots.
Agenda is set by (amongst others) a white monopoly media, established media
and driven towards neoliberal paradigm. The media space is filled by attacks on
the positions of the movement and the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) by
both the ultra-left and neo-liberals. In this context, the long dormant ultra-left
forces have been resuscitated and provided ample space used to at-tack the
democratic forces;



South Africa has lagged behind in terms of the transformation of print media in
respect of the entire value chain, viz. publication, printing, advertising, circulation,
newsrooms, content, languages, class, gender, conditions of employment, etc;



Quality of journalism continues to deteriorate with increasing signs of gutter
journalism;



On the skills front, young graduates in media studies have been exposed to a
media studies curriculum and journalism in the respective School of Journalism
that supports the status quo of media landscape, promote sensational reporting
and lacks a great deal regarding development communication and with little
training in terms of government communication;



Many young people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds come out of the
Basic Education system that does not promote the media literacy and the culture
of reading. This prevailing information and content divide, have constrained the
ability of many citizens to participate in the mainstream economy thus
entrenching the spectre of poverty and underdevelopment afflicting many people
in the world as a whole and in our country, in particular;



Changes in respect of patterns of ownership and control of the media (broadcast
and print) is slow, in some cases in respect of broadcasting gains achieved post1994 are reversed away from a diverse media back towards a monopoly. The
dominant “big 4” namely Naspers, Times Media Ltd, Caxton and the Independent
Media Group (which has changed ownership to Sekunjalo) continue to dominate
the print media space, despite the buyout by Sekunjalo Group of the Independent
Newspapers Group and the establishment of The New Media (TNA). The print
sector is still dominated by four big players. These companies also dominate the
entire value chain of the market especially printing, distribution, advertising and
research. This integration and the very market structure is perhaps the biggest
bar-rier to market entry and potentially show possible anti-competitive behaviour.
Other main-stream media players include the M&G Media and TNA Media;
28

 

Issues of media transformation should continue to focus on ownership and
control, management, editorial, reporting on children, gender, rural, class,
language and content diversity, as well as other demographic considerations
across the entire value chain from publishing, printing, distribution, research,
advertising, audit of bureau of circulation (ABC certification), editor’s forum, etc;

6.6 Post Office


The digital revolution has become the disruptive innovation to the traditional
business of postal service. With several different communications channels
competing for consumers, the postal service needs to modernize its role to
accommodate for the digital age. This therefore necessitates for the future of
postal services to be defined within the context of these technological
developments. The postal service should consider new products and services
that reflect the evolving mandate to bind the nation together in a new world
where people are increasingly communicating digitally;



Post Bank should be considered as a State Bank/ Banker of Government. All civil
servants should be paid through the Post Bank;

7 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS


The ANC as an organisation proposed six pillars (at its 53 rd National Conference)
to deal with the International community. They are: building a better Africa and
world; continental and international solidarity; party-to-party, intra-party and multiparty relations; transformation of global governance; and policy development
issues;



ANC sees need to strengthen multilateral institutions such as SADC, AU and UN
to “achieve the overall objectives of creating a just, equitable and humane world”;



The transformation of SADC Parliamentary Forum to a full legislative organ of
SADC must serve to reinforce regional integration ensuring that it addresses the
needs of the peoples of the region;



The ANC has been engaging various role players on recent changes in the
continent as a result of the uprisings in North Africa (the “Arab Springs”), the
situations that ensued in CAR, South Sudan, Chad, Madagascar and Libya as
well as analysing the impact of the recent economic recessions in Europe and
the United States (US);



US effectively uses its “aggressive foreign policy to advance its national
interests”;
29

 

Lack of democracy used as excuse for US intervention in areas where its
national interests are under threat; ‘national interest’ become important factor in
determining the world balance of forces;



Trade between RSA and China surpassed USD $400-billion in current year;



US does not “appreciate resurgence of China and Russia as dominant factors in
arena of international power relations”; it has instead declared a Cold War
against these two emerging world powers;



On Africa, the ANC seeks to promote “developmental integration” across the
existing Regional Economic Communities culminating in the eventual
establishment of a continental Free Trade Area is a common endeavour agreed
by the continent;



Integration of African regional blocks and multilateral structures remain at the
heart of ensuring continent occupies its rightful position in arena of global socioeconomic power relations. Unity and cohesion of Africans remains the backbone
of international relations policy;
Stats from the Department of Trade and Industry estimate that trade between
RSA and the rest of Africa was R11.4-billion in 1994 and today stands at R389billion. On the other hand, RSA trade volumes with Asia and the Middle East
were at R42-billion in 1994 and now at R788-billion. Trade with the European
Union (EU) now amounts to R439-billion;



The renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) presents an
opportunity to increase trade with the US;



Globally, terrorism remains one of the most serious concerns;



On the Middle East situation, this has attracted the interest of Western powers
and others deploying militarily in the region, ostensibly to fight the rise of
extremists, but in the process helping to further complicate the situation in the
volatile region;



On the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ANC assets that the organisation
has “gradually diverted from its mandate and allowed itself to be influenced by
powerful non-member states”. To the party, the ICC is “tending to act as a proxy
instrument for these states, which sees no need to subject them to its discipline,
to persecute African leaders and effect regime change on the continent…it is
being used as a court against Africa, deliberately oblivious to the fact that African
countries themselves were vocal in their support for the necessity of such a
30

 mechanism, with for example, Senegal being the first country to ratify the Rome
Statute”;
8 PEACE AND STABILITY


Discussion on the transformation of the judiciary forms part of SECTION 8,
PEACE & STABILITY, of the NGC discussion documents, pages 194 – 198;



“Good progress” made in relation to transformation of the justice system;



Decision to restructure judiciary and integrate courts affirmed by Superior Courts
Bill and 17th Constitution Amendment Bill…both signed into law during 2013;



The Superior Courts Act brought together a number of separate pieces of
legislation relating to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and
the High Court. The Act also rationalised the 13 High Courts, which included
those inherited from the former apartheid homelands into a single High Court
with a fully functional divisions of the Court established in each Province;



The 17th Constitution Amendment Act on the other hand paved the way for the
Constitutional Court to be the apex court on all matters. This Act has also
enhanced the independence of judiciary and strengthened the separation of
powers;



Department of Justice and Constitutional Development also started to implement
the alignment of the magisterial districts to municipal districts. In this regard, 36
magisterial districts within Gauteng and North-West province have been
identified for alignment to the municipal districts with effect from 1 December
2014. The process will continue across the other provinces over the next two
years;



Legal Practice Act finalized and signed into law. This Act will help in removing
barriers to entry into the legal profession and in the long-term increase the pool
of legal professionals from which potential judges and magistrates can be drawn.
At the same time, the Act will strengthen the independence of the profession,
whilst at the same time allowing for greater accountability of practitioners;



On 17 September 2014 Cabinet noted the transfer of administrative functions
and staff attached to the Superior Courts from the Department of Justice and
Correctional Service to the Office of the Chief Justice. The transfer of functions
and identified staff commenced on 1 October 2014. This is in line with the
constitutional requirement for the separation of powers and an independent
judiciary.
31

 

On the South African Police Services (SAPS), the Annual Crime Statistics for the
period 2008/09 to December 2013 indicate a continued general decrease in
serious crime. The general decrease in serious crime can be attributed to a
number of factors including a huge investment in policing and the criminal justice
system since 2009;



However, a worrying development has been the 0.5% increase in the number of
contact crimes (murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, and assault with
intention to inflict grievous bodily harm, common assault, robbery with
aggravating circumstances and common robbery);



The fact that SAPS provides the crime statistics on an annual basis implies that
trends can only be known after a year. This prevents efficient intervention as
plans to circumvent the trends can only be developed once the plans are known.
This impacts negatively on what can be shared with the public at media briefings
and it impacts negatively on planning interventions as trends and hotspots are
not immediately known;



Interaction with communities through street and ward committees needs further
attention to augment the work done through community policing forums and
community safety forums;



The ANC still aims to have a Single Police Service to maximise effective policing
in RSA. This resolution is in a process of being realised;



On presidential pardons, challenges remain in dealing with certain persons who
require pardons and have received high media attention;



On corruption, major strides have been made towards establishing a resilient
anti-corruption system, with more than 800 persons currently under criminal,
financial and/or forensic investigation, with pre-trial proceedings initiated against
298 persons during the 2013/14 financial year;



Since 2010, 169 criminal cases involving 945 persons have been under
investigation and led to 54 convictions;



In the same period, freezing orders totalling R1.811-million were obtained; assets
to the amount of R1.039-million were seized and criminal assets to the amount of
R105-million were forfeited on Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) cases;



During the first quarter of 2014/15, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) finalised
freezing orders to the value of R511-million, exceeding the quarterly target with
R344-million (206%);
32

 

On military veterans, a number of positive developments have been noted in this
regard. Firstly, the National Treasury has consistently increased allocations to the
Department of Military Veterans from R20 million in 2010/11 to R504 million in
2014/15;

9 RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM


Phase 1 of the land audit has been completed and the report has been made
public. Phase 2 will be completed by September 2015, including race, nationality
and gender information;



The ANC reaffirms land-related resolution taken at the 53rd National Conference:
to replace the willing buyer willing seller prescript with the “just and equitable”
principle in the Constitution immediately where the state is acquiring land for land
reform purposes; Expropriation without compensation on land acquired through
unlawful means or used for illegal purposes having due regard to section 25 of
the Constitution; Expedite the promulgation of the new Expropriation Act;



There has been overall progress regarding the redistribution of former whiteowned agricultural land in RSA, 82-million hectares to be specific;



A key challenge remains the Expropriation Act of 1975 which is still in effect and
not aligned to the “just and equitable” principle as enshrined in section 25 of the
RSA Constitution. Government is therefore being charged market-related prices
in instances of expropriation, rather than “just and equitable” compensation as
per section 25(3) of the Constitution. This impacts negatively on land reform;

33