Tripartite alliance members – the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) – have outlined their goals going into the new year with much focus put into addressing challenges the working class faces.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says despite challenges faced in 2024, the party has listened to the concerns of the people.
This comes as Mbalula reflected on the past year, saying the ANC has prioritised issues of trade relations, improving governance, reducing the backlog and enacting transformative legislation.
Mbalula has also called on all South Africans to unite in building a better future for South Africa in 2025.
“The ANC calls on all South Africans to join us in embracing progress from the transformative BELA Act to energy stability, the quest for economic emancipation, and the fight against gender-based violence. We welcome President Ramaphosa’s announcement on Reconciliation Day that the process towards the National Dialogue in 2025 is on track to ensure all South Africans contribute to the direction of the country and its pressing challenges,” says Mbalula.
Meanwhile, the SACP has highlighted the need for continued efforts to push for solutions to the challenges that the working class is facing.
The party’s national spokesperson, Dr Alex Mashilo, says the working class is struggling to make ends meet.
He’s called for a united front in seeking solutions to these challenges.
“These negatives overwhelm the positives and the commendable massive advances realised by the working class following our hard-won April 1994 democratic breakthrough. That cannot be allowed to continue. Let us unite to build the South Africa defined in the Freedom Charter, at least in economic terms. A South Africa in which the wealth and basic resources of the nation belong to the people and serve the people as a whole and are not manipulated by sections of individual entities groupings, be they black or white,” says Mashilo.
Solly Phetoe, General Secretary of COSATU, the third member of the tripartite alliance, also highlighted the importance of fighting for the advancement of the working class agenda next year.
“Our message to workers is that: get ready for the fight next year, get ready for making sure that we will fight to advance the working class agenda and improvement of the condition of service and conditions of workers in this country, and good luck for the 2025 new year.”
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