Ramaphosa: ANC to prioritize candidates with integrity in the upcoming local elections

Ramaphosa delivered the closing remarks on Sunday evening, following the ANC’s NEC lekgotla held over the weekend.

Political parties are preparing for the local government elections expected to be held later this year and Ramaphosa has reaffirmed the party’s commitment to elect capable candidates with integrity.

“The lekgotla was unambiguous in its resolve to strengthen consequence management and accountability in municipalities through strengthening public accounts committees, acting against public servants’ conducting business with municipalities, increasing transparency of supply chain management systems and strict enforcement of the listing of municipal officials and service providers implicated in maladministration.

“As we approach local government elections, we need as the Alliance to select candidates for local government that are capable, experienced and are respected in their communities.

We have agreed that all existing councillors must go through an intensive evaluation, particularly in municipalities that have performed poorly or where their allegations of corruption,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa says the party will be working more closely at local level to “Ensure that municipalities are well-governed and managed, that they are accountable and transparent, and that they remain focused on the developmental needs of communities.”

Listen to Ramaphosa below:

The meeting identified challenges across a broad spectrum that relate to local development projects which have been started, but not completed.

“We have therefore resolved on a comprehensive audit of unfinished infrastructure projects, which will inform interventions to complete projects and perform necessary maintenance.

“We need to speed up implementation of our decision to establish an ANC Electoral Committee to lead the candidate selection process," says Ramaphosa.

The party also reflected on another of the ANC’s priority tasks for 2021 - as South Africa’s term as the Chair of the African Union (AU) draws to a close.

“The lekgotla agreed that we need to continue to be engaged with several of the priorities of our term. These include the continental response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the access of all African countries to sufficient dose of vaccines.

 We will continue to be actively involved in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, giving particular attention to our initiatives on the economic empowerment of African women,” 

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