President Jacob Zuma has decried the ANC's loss of its two-thirds majority in parliament‚ saying this was the reason the party could not move in promulgating laws that would make the lives of black people better.
Speaking at eZakheni township outside Ladysmith during the ANC Youth League's 73rd birthday celebrations‚ a bullish Zuma reiterated that political power was not enough and would not sustain the ANC.
"With the majority we have right now‚ we cannot make or change certain laws. To do that you need a two-thirds majority‚ something we no longer have‚" said Zuma.
"We have decreased the two-thirds majority hegemony we once wielded in 1994 ... we only have political power but we want economic power."
Zuma steered clear of this week's controversies‚ including presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma being sent to the National Assembly as an MP. He was surprisingly silent on political killings currently ravaging the province.
He said that with the majority the ANC currently holds‚ every law they try to create gets scrutinised and often taken to court.
"We have vast tracts of land that the government cannot expropriate because we do not even know who the owner of that land is. Maybe he does not even live in South Africa‚" he said.
Zuma‚ who arrived before 3pm after his flight from the Congo‚ urged the ANCYL to emulate the youth of 1944‚ which comprised the likes of Nelson Mandela‚ Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu.
He said their radicalism and militancy changed the course of history and transformed the ANC forever.
"The youth of today has the chance to take its place in the sun and liberate South Africa. The year 1994 was only the start to attain political freedom. We need radical socio-economic transformation because even this political power we have gets scrutinised‚" he said.
He urged the ANCYL to stoke fires of radical socio-economic transformation.
"When you are in the hinterlands of this country‚ sometimes it just doesn't feel you are in South Africa‚ especially when you come from the urban areas. So‚ for that to change‚ it is the ANC‚ and in particular the ANCYL‚ that will liberate those people‚ the downtrodden‚" said Zuma.
Turning to leadership issues‚ Zuma slammed the scramble for positions. If he had his way‚ the ANC would discuss leadership last and occupy itself with policies and programmes of the party‚ he said.
"As we are going to conference in December‚ I wish for us to look at the calibre of people we elect as leaders. We don't just elect someone because they can toyi-toyi and chant slogans. Once we discuss policies and programmes‚ that's when we would say: now‚ who can lead us in implementing such programmes?" he said.
"The ANC should emerge from the conference smooth and shiny like a snake after shedding its skin. It shouldn't come out with rogues and oskhwini phambana . For you‚ as young people‚ it's OK to be radical‚ be militant and to be reprimanded. We once were all like that."
Without mentioning the EFF‚ he warned the league that they should not turn be like an opposition party.
"Don't be like a certain party that adorn clothes whose colour I cannot say‚" he said.
-TimesLIVE
Zuma decries lack of ANC power‚ ignores political killings
Speaking at eZakheni township outside Ladysmith during the ANC Youth League's 73rd birthday celebrations‚ a bullish Zuma reiterated that political power was not enough and would not sustain the ANC.
"With the majority we have right now‚ we cannot make or change certain laws. To do that you need a two-thirds majority‚ something we no longer have‚" said Zuma.
"We have decreased the two-thirds majority hegemony we once wielded in 1994 ... we only have political power but we want economic power."
Zuma steered clear of this week's controversies‚ including presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma being sent to the National Assembly as an MP. He was surprisingly silent on political killings currently ravaging the province.
He said that with the majority the ANC currently holds‚ every law they try to create gets scrutinised and often taken to court.
"We have vast tracts of land that the government cannot expropriate because we do not even know who the owner of that land is. Maybe he does not even live in South Africa‚" he said.
Zuma‚ who arrived before 3pm after his flight from the Congo‚ urged the ANCYL to emulate the youth of 1944‚ which comprised the likes of Nelson Mandela‚ Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu.
He said their radicalism and militancy changed the course of history and transformed the ANC forever.
"The youth of today has the chance to take its place in the sun and liberate South Africa. The year 1994 was only the start to attain political freedom. We need radical socio-economic transformation because even this political power we have gets scrutinised‚" he said.
He urged the ANCYL to stoke fires of radical socio-economic transformation.
"When you are in the hinterlands of this country‚ sometimes it just doesn't feel you are in South Africa‚ especially when you come from the urban areas. So‚ for that to change‚ it is the ANC‚ and in particular the ANCYL‚ that will liberate those people‚ the downtrodden‚" said Zuma.
Turning to leadership issues‚ Zuma slammed the scramble for positions. If he had his way‚ the ANC would discuss leadership last and occupy itself with policies and programmes of the party‚ he said.
"As we are going to conference in December‚ I wish for us to look at the calibre of people we elect as leaders. We don't just elect someone because they can toyi-toyi and chant slogans. Once we discuss policies and programmes‚ that's when we would say: now‚ who can lead us in implementing such programmes?" he said.
"The ANC should emerge from the conference smooth and shiny like a snake after shedding its skin. It shouldn't come out with rogues and oskhwini phambana . For you‚ as young people‚ it's OK to be radical‚ be militant and to be reprimanded. We once were all like that."
Without mentioning the EFF‚ he warned the league that they should not turn be like an opposition party.
"Don't be like a certain party that adorn clothes whose colour I cannot say‚" he said.
-TimesLIVE
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