PRESENTATION OF THE POLITICAL REPORT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA TO THE 55TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS 16 DECEMBER 2022
National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe, Deputy President David Mabuza, Treasurer General Paul Mashatile, Coordinator in the SGO Gwen Ramokgopa, Former President Thabo Mbeki, Former President Jacob Zuma, Former Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Members of the NEC, Leadership of the Women’s League, Youth League, Veterans League and the MK Liberation War Veterans, Leadership of the Alliance Partners – SACP and COSATU, Leaders of Liberation Movements, Religious Leaders, Traditional Leaders, Business Leaders, Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Distinguished International Guests, Representatives of the media, Delegates and comrades,
forms of oppression, we honour the courage and the sacrifice of all those who served within the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe. We commend the veterans of Umkhonto we Sizwe who have forged a unified association called MK Liberation War Veterans to take forward the legacy and the memory of the people’s army. We cannot observe this day without paying tribute to the memory of the Chief of Staff of MK, Cde Chris Hani, and express our deep sadness and disappointment that his killer has been released on parole. Our thoughts are with comrade Chris Hani’s family Mme Limpho Hani and the party that he led as General Secretary, the South African Communist Party, as they try to make sense of all this and deal with it. We too in the ANC are deeply pained by this. Chris Hani was a great son of the soil and was among the most admired, the most beloved and without a doubt one of the most extraordinary in our revolutionary movement. We pay tribute to all those who fought in the liberation struggle and to those who paid the price for our freedom with their lives. Let us, in recognition and commemoration of this moment recognition, stand and observe a moment of silence in memory of all those who lost their lives in the struggle for liberation.
On behalf of the National Executive Committee, I would like to extend a very warm word of welcome to all delegates present here as well as our observers and guests for your attendance at this 55th National Conference of the African National Congress.
[Moment of Silence]
A special word of welcome to representatives of fellow liberation movements and sister parties who honour us through the presence here, thus demonstrating their solidarity and friendship.
As a democratic nation, we mark this day, the 16th of December, as Reconciliation Day. On this day, as South Africans, we gather as one people to reaffirm our shared commitment to heal the divisions in our society, to end inequality and to ensure that all may enjoy equal rights and opportunities.
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This opening session of the 55 National Conference is taking place on a day that occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of our people. It was on this day 61 years ago that Umkhonto we Sizwe, the people’s army, was formed, marking a new era in the struggle for liberation.
As the African National Congress, this day reminds us of our historic mission to unite the people of South Africa and to give effect to the desire of those brave women and men in Umkhonto we Sizwe who fought for the happiness and freedom of the people
Today, as we gather to take forward the struggle for the emancipation of all South Africans from all
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