Cyril Ramaphosa: No party has done more than ANC
No governing party on the African continent has changed people’s lives for the better as much as the African National Congress has, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
Addressing thousands of supporters at an ANC August 3 municipal elections rally at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo, he said the ANC still wanted to liberate South Africans from poverty and inequality.
Liberating people from apartheid was but one part of the struggle to bring social and economic changes to the people, he said.
The ANC would not tolerate selfish councillors who, after being elected, lived lavish lives and abandoned their communities.
Ramaphosa said other political parties were "dreamers" and had nothing to show for delivery to South Africans. The ANC had done well over the past years and he did not know of any party on the continent that had done what the ANC had.
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Ramaphosa assured the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the working class that the ANC was in discussions at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) to ensure that they attained a living wage.
The ANC also had a track record in addressing HIV and Aids, and there was hope that the battle against the spread of HIV would be won. More than 3.4 million people were receiving treatment for HIV and Aids.
“We are saving lives, when we go to the Durban Aids conference we will be able to tell a good story to the international community. In the past we use to bury our relatives every weekend, now we are burying few."
Ramaphosa said resources would be provided to councillors and ANC members should support the selected candidate councillors.
“They must know that they are being supported. But we don’t want councillors who will forget people and start to live a lavish life. We want councillors who will be dedicated to serve people,” Ramaphosa said.
ANC Limpopo chairman Stan Mathabatha used the rally to criticise Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema. Limpopo had given birth to a "mischief child" who had formed a political party after failing matric, he said.