Follow us on:   

ANC sets 2030 deadline for change
January 21, 2013, 10:02 am

mining-SA

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe has called for greater unity among workers in the face of instability in the mining sector. [AP]

The ruling African National Congress has set a deadline of 2030 to resolve the country’s pressing problems.

The commitment was made by Baleke Mbete, the ANC’s national chairperson, in an address to party supporters in Philippi, as part of their anniversary celebrations on Sunday.

Hunger, poverty, and the crippled education system were on her list of South African woes, but she asserted that by 2030, all this would be history.

Mbete said ANC expected the Government to work harder on its turnaround strategy.

The 2030 target can only be achieved if the party follows the National Development Plan put forward by the ANC, said Mbete.

Meanwhile, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe has called for greater unity among workers in the face of instability in the mining sector.

Speaking at a lecture by the National Union of Mineworkers in Carletonville, he also said that unprotected strikes that have recently gripped the country are a symptom of weak trade unions.

Mantashe said they met with Amplats this week to discuss their restructuring plans and the party’s concerns.

Earlier this week, Amplats, the platinum mining company in Rustenburg announced its restructuring plans which could see the closure of four shafts.

He had earlier called for an investigation into whether Amplats intentionally misled government when it applied for a licence renewal.

“That is the question that we must look into – whether companies present their plans to government to get licences or if they are genuine plans.”

Mantashe had earlier reassured the country that the government has no plans to nationalise unsustainable mines.

“Let me tell you why (these mines) should be put up for public auction. Let me give you the logic. If government takes over liability, that is not nationalisation,” he had told reporters on the sidelines of an ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Pretoria on Thursday.

Source: Agencies