South Africa: Day Two of ANC Policy Conference On Wednesday

Photo: Presidency of the Republic of South Africa
President Jacob Zuma. The ruling party's four-day conference will discuss and debate 13 policy documents in order to achieve major social and economic transformation.

Johannesburg — The second day of the ANC's policy conference will get underway at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

Day two will consist of commissions discussing the party's 13 policy documents. Commissions will report back on the third and fourth days.

On Tuesday, the conference was opened with an address by ANC president Jacob Zuma followed by a closed plenary session.

Zuma said the African National Congress needed to come up with a radical shift in policy to address the problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

The "second transition" must focus on social and economic transformation in the next 30 to 50 years, he told about 3000 delegates.

He reassured South Africans that the plight of those without land would be addressed -- without changing the Constitution.

In the lead-up to the conference, there had been calls for a change to section 25 of the Constitution, which refers to property rights and sets out conditions for the expropriation of land with compensation.

Zuma said the real economy was still mainly in the hands of white males, and this needed to be addressed soon.

He touched on the main points of each of the 13 policy documents to be debated.

The ANC will elect new leaders at its Mangaung conference in December.

The party's top officials have warned its members not to nominate their preferred leaders before October, or discuss succession before then.

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