Photo: The Citizen/Picture: Nigel Sibanda
President Cyril Ramaphosa took his Letsema Campaign to Philippi in the Western Cape where he will interact with African National Congress (ANC) branches and members.
Ramaphosa said he is also there to meet with “ordinary people, mobilising for the ANC, and getting ready for 2024”.
He said: “So that’s what we’re here for, and also just to come and see the terrible conditions under which our people are living, issues of gender-based violence (GBV)”.
Ramaphosa told reporters that GBV “is a real concern in this area”.
Later today he will be shown a region where “a number of women’s bodies have been dumped after they’ve been killed by the men of our country”.
If the murdered women aren’t enough of a draw card, the president will also deliberate on the “issue of crime”, because “gangsterism is a major one here as well”.
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He also addressed questions about Eskom and load shedding, saying residents must give the newly-appointed board “a chance to wrap their minds around Eskom”.
He said as communicated earlier, rolling blackouts will “be a problem for us going forward but government is committed to bringing load shedding to an end”.
He also tried to convince residents that load shedding was not a deliberate act on Eskom‘s part, it’s “just what we are dealing with in terms of power stations that are breaking”.
Ramaphosa could provide a time frame, instead saying the sabotage, lack of maintenance and so force has “been happening for quite some time”.
Meanwhile, stage 5 load shedding was implemented on Saturday morning until further notice.
Ramaphosa will be joined by staff members “who have a number of suggestions and proposals to take up” with Philippi residents.
He believes these proposals will assist in “dealing with the challenges our people have on the ground”.
“We’ll be spending time with our people, hearing exactly what their lived experiences are”, the president said.
When asked about the upcoming elective conference and his ‘political report’, Ramaphosa said he didn’t deliver such a report.
“I attended the meeting of the NEC as an ordinary member and as the President of the ANC, so there was no message that I had to put forward”, he said.
Ramaphosa added: “We were dealing with the preparations for the conference. That’s all”.
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