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Mbeki appeals for unity at crucial ANC policy conference
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 27 - 06 - 2007


A major four-day policy conference of South
Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party opened with an
appeal for unity from South African President Thabo Mbeki amid
growing social unrest and a split within the party over who will be
its next leader, according to dpa.
The think-in, which takes place every five years, risks being
dominated by a row over whether Mbeki should stand again for a third
term as party president in December.
Leftist factions within the party support populist ANC deputy
president Jacob Zuma over the pro-business Mbeki or businessman Tokyo
Sexwale.
Addressing the opening of the conference Mbeki ridiculed talk of a
leadership showdown at the conference as "propaganda" and downplayed
tensions within the ruling tripartite alliance.
A rift has emerged in the alliance of the ANC, the South African
Communist Party and the Confederation of South African Trade Unions
(COSATU) over the liberal slant of the government's economic policy.
"All of us may perish, but the alliance will live forever," a
confident Mbeki predicted, while emphatically ruling out any shift
towards socialism within the ANC.
The "tasks of socialist revolution" fell to the SACP; the mandate
of the ANC was a broader "national democrative revolution," he
emphasized.
Recurring riots in poor neighbourhoods and the largest public
service strike in years testify with growing disillusionment with the
ANC among its poor black poor base.
Figures released last week showed 43 per cent of South Africans
live on less than 3,000 rand (416 dollars) a year while the country's
official unemployment rate of 25 per cent is one of the world's
highest.
Responding to criticism of the ANC's failure to improve the lot of
millions of South Africans in its 13-year rule, Mbeki said: "It is
not possible to resolve problems that have accumulated over 350 years
(since the Dutch landed at the Cape) in 13 years of democratic rule."
Yet the government still had "a long way to go to deliver a better
life for all our people," he conceded, listing unemployment, poverty,
a low skills base, rising inflation of 6.3 per cent, the need to
diversify the economy and poor international competitiveness among
the issues requiring particular attention.
The conference takes place amid an ongoing, month-long strike of
public service workers which has crippled services in schools and
hospitals.
COSATU, which called the strike, warned the ANC Wednesday against
becoming "a movement of the bourgeoisie....in which they (members)
can reap profits and make lucrative deals."
The "morality" of fat-cat ANC politicians engaging in major
business deals is one of the topics up for discussion at the
conference.
Policy recommendations emanating from the think-in will only be
put to vote at the leadership conference in December.


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