Bloemfontein – The ANC concluded its 55th National Elective Conference in the early hours of Friday morning with declarations set to steer South Africa in a new direction.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the conference declared commitment to the agenda for equality by ensuring that women hold leadership positions.
“As the ANC, we must continue with the agenda for equality by ensuring that women hold leadership positions, including the LGBTQI+ community, who continue to play a critical role in development. We also believe that the state must play a significant role in realising the one plan and one vision through the district development model. In this regard, the conference declares commitment to long-term planning and makes sure that, through an intergovernmental relations framework, we respond to the challenges facing the people in a focused manner, as envisaged in the district development model.”
The party had also made a call to promote the economic empowerment of women. According to the ANC’s policy, women make up 46% of all National Assembly members.
The government has stated that they have set a target of 40% of public procurement for women-owned and managed businesses, but progress toward this goal has been uneven across departments.
These efforts are supported by training programmes for women-owned businesses to qualify for government tender processes.
The party says there are various initiatives to direct financial support to women-owned businesses and specific efforts to ensure women’s access to land, housing, and public employment opportunities.
“One of the aims and objectives of the ANC is to support and advance the cause of women’s emancipation. We have made significant advances. It is largely thanks to the ANC’s policy that 46% of all National Assembly members are women. For the first time, half of all Cabinet ministers are women. Out of 256 judges on the bench, 114 are women, and nearly half of all magistrates are women,” revealed the party in the report made by Ramaphosa.
The Star
