Ramaphosa ahead of Jan 8 statement ‘We are not sleeping on the job’
President of the African National Congress (ANC), Cyril Ramaphosa has assured South Africans that the governing party will spend the year redressing social ills and reviving hope for the poor.
Speaking to community members outside Kimberley in the Northern Cape on Tuesday, Ramaphosa says the ANC is aware of the far-reaching challenges facing the country and vowed to address them.
The governing party is preparing to celebrate its 108th birthday in the province on Saturday where Ramaphosa will outline the organisation's programme for the year in its annual January 8 statement.
During his community engagement, Ramaphosa hinted that job creation and service delivery would be top of the ANC's agenda.
"The economy, yes, is in a bad shape, we all know that. There's less demand in the economy and the investment needs to be upgraded and we also have our own fiscal challenges and a combination of all these problems gives rise to the situation we have," says Ramaphosa.
"Many people in South Africa are unemployed and those are problems we are addressing n an ongoing basis."
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This comes after the suspension of Sol Plaatjie's municipal manager, Goolam Akharwaray, and Chief Financial Officer, Lydia Mahloko, over allegations of maladministration. The party will be convening in Kimberly this weekend to commemorate 108 years of existence and for the party's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to deliver its annual policy statement, known as the January 8 statement.
Ramaphosa vowed to address the country's challenges.
"All I can say is that we are not sleeping on the job, we know what the problems are, we know what the challenges are, and we are addressing them," he added.