Free primary-school education, curbing spiralling housing costs and accelerating land reform are some of the issues to be thrashed out at the upcoming African National Congress (ANC) policy conference.
Briefing the media on the discussion taking place around the party’s social transformation policy in Johannesburg on Monday, Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza — in her capacity as an ANC national executive committee (NEC) member — said: ”Since the ANC distributed its policy discussion document to branches in March, there have been notably high levels of engagement among ANC members.
”These engagements have been largely characterised by robust debates regarding the ANC’s policy direction, content and implementation.”
The ruling party’s policy conference will be held next week at Gallagher Estate in Midrand from Wednesday to Saturday.
ANC members have called for a review of the government’s ”willing buyer, willing seller” policy on land reform. ”We must revisit the matter to ensure that we obtain [our] target in land delivery by 2014,” Didiza said.
The ANC will also debate how foreign land ownership can be regulated without affecting investment.
The party will examine cost drivers behind the increasing housing prices, and the issue of eradicating apartheid settlement patterns will also be mulled over.
Other issues to be addressed include finding a single national emblem for all sporting codes and the viability of forming of a state-owned pharmaceutical company to address the affordability of medicines.
Debate on aligning the way the three spheres of government — national, provincial and local — work is also expected to feature at the conference.
Deputy Education Minister Enver Surty said while the ANC supports the government’s no-school-fee policy, the party will consider whether the first seven years should be free. Concern has been raised about excluding secondary-school pupils. This issue will be debated at the conference.
The policy conference will determine how the ruling party can improve governance, and provide the party with an opportunity to measure its performance against resolutions made at the last national conference, held in Stellenbosch in 2002.
At the policy conference, the ANC will make recommendations on the issues addressed. The party’s stance on these issues will then be adopted at the national conference in December.
Didiza ended the briefing with well-wishes to President Thabo Mbeki on his 65th birthday, celebrated on Monday. — Sapa