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ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa says the governing party will go into the upcoming Local Government Elections well aware of the challenges facing citizens and the governing party’s own shortcomings.
Facing the media on Wednesday night, Ramaphosa said the ANC was committed to addressing these challenges, adding that in the months and years ahead, South Africans will “experience the ANC’s sincerity” about meeting their needs.
He said the ANC would appoint people of integrity into key positions at the local government level, saying that there has been a rigorous selection process and there will also be a stringent vetting process to ensure that their councillor-candidates are people of integrity.
“We understand the frustration and anger of many communities and hear the call for the ANC to do more, and better to answer this call,” Ramaphosa said.
“We are ready to serve South Africa.”
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa fielded pointed questions about the length of time that it took to release publicly the SIU report into the Digital Vibes scandal, in which former Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize is implicated and could face criminal charges.
He said the SIU had submitted various “iterations of their report”, but once their work had been completed he had to give those implicated time to respond. Ramaphosa said only when that time had elapsed, was he able to release the report, which he did on Wednesday.
Asked if he would condemn the actions of the former Health Minister, Ramaphosa said “we condemn all acts of malfeasance” adding that Mkhize’s resignation was, in his view, “honourable” having realized that there was no way forward.
He said his acceptance of Mkhize’s resignation was an indication of his stance on this issue, but it was now up to the state agencies to deal with the SIU report.
