The national executive committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) came together for the second day of its annual lekgotla (meeting) in Kempton Park on Saturday, the party said.
Spokesperson Steyn Speed said the meeting kicked off on Friday and would conclude on Sunday. ”It is held annually … it essentially develops the programme of action for the year,” he said.
All eyes will be on the ruling party in the year ahead as its new leadership will be elected at its 52nd national conference in December, preceded by the party’s national policy conference in July.
”2007 is a year for a critical assessment of both our movement and our programme, a time for the ANC to review the road map to its centenary … Clearly, the guiding principle of this road map must continue to be to move forward decisively to eradicate poverty and all other elements of the legacy of colonialism and apartheid,” the NEC said in a statement as the party celebrated its 95th anniversary earlier this month.
Reading from the party’s national policy statement for the year at the anniversary celebrations, President Thabo Mbeki said the ruling party’s ”central task” for the year ahead would be to ”liberate our people from the scourge of poverty in all its manifestations”.
During his speech, he also called for unity within the ANC and its alliance partners.
”As a leader of the national democratic revolution, our movement must ensure that it remains united around its strategy and tactics, its culture and conventions, and the programmes agreed by our constitutional structures and further elaborated by our government.”
This is one of the ”strategic considerations” to inform all ANC actions this year, Mbeki said.
In 2007 the government would work hard on job creation and education. This would see it increasing the number of schools to be exempted from paying school fees.
A media briefing would be held at the conclusion of the lekgotla on Sunday, Speed said. — Sapa