SOUTH AFRICA: ANC President Jacob Zuma vows to fight crime and corruption and condemns violence in Gaza

Record ID: 212637

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: ANC President Jacob Zuma vows to fight crime and corruption and condemns violence in Gaza
  • Date: 11th January 2009
  • Summary: EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA (JANUARY 10, 2009) (REUTERS) JACOB SPEAKING ON STAGE SUPPORTERS CHEERING FOR ZUMA (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) PRESIDENT, JACOB ZUMA SAYING: "Most importantly, the ANC will step up measures in the fight against corruption within its ranks and the state as part of the fight against crime. This will include measures to review the tendering system to ensure that ANC members in business, public servants and elected representatives do not abuse the state for corrupt practices." PEOPLE LISTENING TO ZUMA SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) PRESIDENT, JACOB ZUMA SAYING: "We condemn the current violence that has claimed more than 700 Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip and call for an urgent ceasefire and an end to the suffering of civilians. We support a two state solution as a model of peace between Israel and Palestine recognizing the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state and support the establishment of a strong and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders." PEOPLE LISTENING TO ZUMA'S SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) PRESIDENT, JACOB ZUMA SAYING: "The most important task of the beginning of the year is that the ANC returns a decisive election victory. To achieve this, ANC members must be knowledgeable about our manifesto and programmes and be an active part of then election campaign."
  • Embargoed: 26th January 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA577ADLOIGDAQICV4Q1MDDMAUA
  • Story Text: President of South Africa's ruling party, Jacob Zuma, vows to fight crime and corruption at the launch of the ANC's manifesto before this year's parliamentary election. He also condemns the violence in Gaza and says the ANC supports a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
    South Africa's ruling ANC on Saturday (January 10) vowed to create decent jobs, improve education and health and fight against crime in a clear shift to the left at the launch of its manifesto ahead of the 2009 election.
    Party leader Jacob Zuma told thousands of supporters who gathered for an election campaign launch in the country's coastal town of East London, that the ANC would implement a "strategy of continuity and change", focusing on five areas: job creation, health, education, food security and rural development, and fighting corruption and crime
    "The ANC will step up measures in the fight against corruption within its ranks and the state as part of the fight against crime. This will include measures to review the tendering system to ensure that ANC members in business, public servants and elected representatives do not abuse the state for corrupt practices," he said.
    The pledge to use government intervention more to fight poverty and secure jobs was welcomed by the ANC's leftist allies -- the labour federation COSATU and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
    But investors fear the left might pressure an ANC government to ditch policies that helped spur nearly a decade of growth in Africa's biggest economy.
    Former President Nelson Mandela, who has distanced himself from political life, did not attend the launch but urged the party in a statement to uphold its principles.
    Zuma also addressed the raging conflict in Gaza.
    "We condemn the current violence that has claimed more than 700 Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip and call for an urgent ceasefire and an end to the suffering of civilians. We support a two state solution as a model of peace between Israel and Palestine recognizing the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state and support the establishment of a strong and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders," he said.
    The ANC has ruled South Africa with a large majority since the end of apartheid in 1994, but is facing a challenge from the Congress of the People (COPE), a party of loyalists to former President Thabo Mbeki that broke away from the ANC last year.
    COPE, led by former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, has not released its election programme, but it has signalled that it will adopt centrist, pro-business policies similar to those pursued by Mbeki during his nine years in office.
    A South African court will hand down a judgement on Monday (January 12) on an appeal by prosecutors against a decision to throw out bribery, fraud and other charges against Zuma.
    Re-opening the case could hurt the ANC president's image and almost certainly overlap with his campaign for the presidency.
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