ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed that the fight against corruption will continue until it is rooted out of the party.
He was speaking during his closing statement at the 55th ANC National Conference held at Nasrec, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
During his address, Ramaphosa outlined some of the issues that delegates in different commissions deliberated over during the five-day-long conference.
These include GBV, crime, economic development, land disposition, load shedding, youth empowerment and fighting corruption.
The solutions from the commissions were not adopted as many of the delegates had already left the conference after the steering committee decided for the conference to be adjourned and to continue on 5 January 2023 in Mangaung, in Free State.
President Ramaphosa says corruption within the ANC is a dire threat to the continued existence of the organisation and to the future of the National Democratic Revolution.
“Progress has been made over the last five years in tackling corruption to reverse the effects of State Capture and deal with its corrosive effects on the party and other institutions across society,” he told delegates.
Ramaphosa says during the commission, they agreed that government should consider establishing a vibrant and independent anti-crime agency as a structure to address corruption.
He says the party will take all the necessary actions to end corruption and patronage.
“We know from recent experience that such actions can be difficult and painful and they can be met with opposition and increase discord within our structures.”
“We either deal with corruption or the organisation will perish,” says Ramaphosa.
He says the high level of crime in South Africa remains a thorn in the country and requires mobilisation of all social formations and communities to root it out.
He concluded by noting his concern about the majority of the delegates at the 55th conference being men with fewer women representing branches.
“When we encourage 50% representation of women in all sectors, we also need to apply it in practice” says Ramaphosa..