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President Jacob Zuma assumed the moral high ground at the ANC's elective conference in Mangaung on Sunday, speaking out against violence, corruption, and bribery.
He began his 90 minute speech by sending well wishes to former president Nelson Mandela who is still in hospital.
Zuma then went on to boast that ANC membership was up from 600,000 in 2007 to 1.22 million.
In his speech, which started about three hours late, condemned violence, bribery, and corruption within the party,
ironically charges which he himself, or his allies, had been accused of.
Zuma also briefly shared a few words on stage with his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, who had been nominated to challenge his
leadership of the former liberation movement-turned ruling party.
The ANC president spoke of divisions within the ANC at the previous conference in Polokwane, in 2007, when Zuma defeated former president Thabo Mbeki.
"The road to Polokwane was full of division and turbulence," he said during his political report.
"It was necessary that we start healing the organisation and working for unity after the conference. "Some successes were made while some provinces still have pockets of factionalism and disunity."
Zuma also spoke out against party political violence, in a clear reference to the killing of ANC North West official, David Mosiane Chika, 33. He was shot dead outside his house in Alabama, Klerksdorp, on Friday morning.
A disgruntled group of North West ANC members failed this week in a court bid to alter the province's representation at Mangaung.
As Zuma spoke, another disgruntled group from the Free State province addressed a media conference, saying no immediate
court challenge would be launched about the participation of some delegates.
Zuma also condemned the "alien tendencies" of people who had tried to buy the ANC's support. They were turning ANC members into "commodities".
Turning to the tripartite alliance, Zuma said this needed to be handled with care while adding that some labour strikes were illegal, violent and appeared to undermine collective bargaining.
He said the campaign against corruption was continuing. The tender system was an area of vulnerability in the government.
"Even a granny in a rural area knows about a tender," he said in isiZulu.
Zuma urged teachers to be more diligent, telling them to be "in school, in class, on time, teaching for seven hours every school day of the year". This would be enforced, he said.
Zuma ended his speech as he started it with a song.
