PRESIDENT’S SPEECH

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa’s keynote speech at the sold-out PBF Gala Dinner on 15 December 2022 inspired confi dence in SA’s future

The ANC Gala Dinner, hosted by the Progressive Business Forum (PBF) on the eve of the party’s 55th National Conference, was a resounding success. More than 300 guests – including businesspeople, corporates, representatives of small, medium and micro enterprises, NEC members and diplomats – attended the event on Thursday night at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg. PBF Convenor Sipho Mbele said the purpose of the event is to raise funds for the ANC. He added, “This event is also to give businesspeople an opportunity to network with the ANC.” The Gala Dinner kicked off at 7pm, with the following keynote address delivered by President Ramaphosa to a captive audience.

Members of the ANC National Executive Committee, Distinguished Guests, Comrades and Friends, Thank you for being here this evening, as members of the Progressive Business Forum and as friends of the African National Congress. Your presence here speaks to shared ideals, values and aspirations. It speaks to a common commitment to promote economic development for the benefi t of all. Members of the PBF can confi rm that it is the progressive policies of the ANC that have supported the ongoing transformation of our country’s economy. These have been diffi cult times, for the country, for the economy and indeed for our movement. In the space of just fi ve short years since we held our 54th National Conference, our country has been caught in strong headwinds. First came the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the 2021 social unrest, catastrophic fl oods earlier this year, the Russia-Ukraine confl ict that sparked a global cost of living crisis, and now, a debilitating energy crisis. The fi rst of these crises hit less than 10 months into the term of the sixth administration. We have had to fulfi l the 2019 electoral mandate and at the same time steer the ship through unexpectedly rough waters. Likewise, the ANC has been experiencing turbulence. We have borne witness to tendencies that are an affront to the values and traditions of the ANC. Remaining fi rmly on the path of unity, renewal and socio-economic transformation has not been easy. But we have stayed the course.

Two years since the emergence of Covid-19 plunged our country and the world into a state of fear, uncertainty and chaos, the pandemic is in abeyance. This is thanks to a coordinated and effective national response that brought together all sectors of society. It is thanks to the pro-poor policies of the ANC-led government that ensured that society’s most vulnerable were sheltered from the worst impacts of the pandemic. We designed and implemented a special social relief of distress grant that reached more than 10 million people and increased existing social support. We implemented a range of relief measures to support businesses in distress and to enable them to pay their employees. When vaccines became available, South Africa was at the forefront of global advocacy to ensure that they were made available to all. We subsequently rolled out the largest mass vaccination programme in our history. Just as we have been able to see out the worst global health emergency in living memory, we are now seeing the green shoots of economic recovery. The size of the South African economy now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, and real GDP grew by 1.6 per cent in the third quarter of this year. Despite the impact of the pandemic, last year South Africa posted its largest trade surplus on record. Over the past year around 1.5 million new jobs were created. While employment has not yet recovered to pre-Covid levels, the latest employment fi gures are encouraging. The Presidential Employment Stimulus has now reached over one million participants, providing opportunities to South Africans who would otherwise be unemployed. The process of economic reform to kickstart growth, create more jobs and attract higher levels of investment continues to bear fruit. Fundamental structural reforms to improve the business operating environment have taken place or are underway. In 2018 we announced an ambitious drive to attract R1.2 trillion in investment over a fi ve-year period. This year we held the 4th South Africa Investment Conference, which attracted R332 billion in investment pledges. We are now more than 90% of the way to reach our target. Over the past two years we have also

made signifi cant progress in orienting our society and economy along a low-carbon, climate resilient development trajectory. We recently released a groundbreaking investment plan that paves the way for a sustainable and fair energy transition. The ANC-led government has stayed the course on broad-based black economic empowerment. The inaugural Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council that will guide government on the process of intensifying economic transformation met for the fi rst time this year. We held the fi rst Black Industrialists Conference. Over the past 11 years, this key programme has supported black enterprises to the value of R55 billion. We are strengthening the transformative impact of public spending through the draft Public Procurement Bill, which will go to Parliament next year. This year has also seen legislative changes around employment equity, another key tool of transformation. The amendments to the Employment Equity Act are aimed at bringing about greater compliance and to regulate sector-specifi c targets.

Next year we will mark two decades since the passage of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act. It will be an opportunity to refl ect on how far we have come in leveraging this law to transform the racialised ownership patterns of our economy. This has been a year of intensifying the fi ght against corruption. The State Capture Commission has fi nalised its work and government has submitted a detailed implementation plan to Parliament. The NPA’s Investigating Directorate, the Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks and other law enforcement bodies are coordinating the investigation and prosecution of several corruption cases related to state capture. Within our movement, there has been renewed momentum towards fulfi lling the resolutions of the 54th National Conference on eliminating corruption. Comrades and friends, It is a test of whether we will continue to remain faithful to the renewal of the ANC and to the transformation of our economy a nd society. Only a united ANC can unite the South African people. Only an ANC that has rid itself of undesirable tendencies and practices can deal decisively with corruption. Only an ANC that is comprised of loyal, selfl ess cadres whose only desire is to serve the cause of the South African people can ensure that the public service refl ects the same values. The ANC is our political and ideological home. The task we face is to make the ANC the political home of all the South African people. As the renewal of the ANC continues to gather momentum, we have the utmost confi dence that we will restore the glory of our movement and regain the trust of the people. We recall these words by Martin Luther King Jnr: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifi ce, suffering and struggle, the tireless exertions, and passionate concerns of dedicated individuals.” Gathered in this room are the dedicated individuals of which Dr King speaks; dedicated to a better South Africa and to an economic recovery that leaves no-one behind. South Africa is recovering. The ANC is being restored to its founding values. Our country is moving forward. With your support and through your commitment, we will build on the progress we have made over the last fi ve years to build the country that we all seek and need. I thank you.

These are not insignifi cant gains. They are a demonstration that the ANC is making progress. We still have huge challenges, but change is taking place and things are getting better. The aspiration of common prosperity cannot be realised without a dynamic and growing economy that creates jobs and brings dignity to all. Despite the many challenges we have faced over the past fi ve years, we have been able to stay on course to deliver on the resolutions of the 54th National Conference. We recall that the conference mandated the state to “actively seek partnerships with the private sector and provide leadership to guide the country towards its developmental goals”. The message to the Progressive Business Forum and to the friends of the PBF is that we cannot grow and transform our economy without you. This year’s conference is a watershed in many respects.