Johannesburg - The first day of the ANC’s national elective conference ended on a chaotic note, with the party only able to achieve one of the eight items which were on the agenda of the day.
The always chaotic issue of registration came back to haunt the party as it was not able to register all delegates on Thursday as it was anticipated.
The registration process spilt over to Friday and it encountered further delays when national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe said the device used to register broke down.
That forced some delegates from provinces like the Eastern Cape to miss the delivery of the five-year report by the outgoing president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
To salvage the situation, around 3pm, seven hours after missing the mooted starting time, the programme got under way, but not without incident.
WATCH: At some point former President Jacob Zuma joined ANC delegates who were singing "Wenzeni uZuma" upon his arrival to hear party President, Cyril Ramaphosa dliver his five year political report. VIDEO: Pretoria News @IOL pic.twitter.com/2UPlhvL1RS
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) December 16, 2022
After officially opening the elective conference in his capacity as national chairperson, Mantashe surrendered the podium to Ramaphosa to deliver his much-anticipated political report.
It was that time when all hell broke loose with some unruly delegates disrupting him with continuous singing.
At some point, Mantashe threatened to call in security to remove the unruly ones if they don’t behave.
It also took the likes of ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, Siboniso Duma, to reason with some unruly party members who are believed to be from his province.
He was overheard scolding the member, saying he was unnecessarily disrupting a conference they were going to win in the end.
After the storm settled, Ramaphosa started delivering his speech and a few paragraphs into it, he had to yield when former president Jaco Zuma walked in.
#ANC55 - On last local government elections, Ramaphosa said: "'The 2021 local government elections were, however, a significant setback for the organisation and for the NDR. For the first time in the history of our democracy, our share of the national vote dropped below 50%."
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) December 16, 2022
Zuma’s majestic entrance prompted some party members to repeatedly chant “Zuma! Zuma! Zuma!” while he was making his way to take his reserved seat in the front.
The party member then erupted again, singing “‘Wenzeni Zuma awu phendule” and Zuma himself was seen joining them in singing the song.
The dust later settled and that allowed Ramaphosa to dip into his political report which took him hours to read.
He touched on several issues like how under the ANC they have implemented policies that are pro-poor and they have waded through the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also spoke about the fight against corruption and the need to foster unity in the government he is seeking to lead again.
“‘We need to acknowledge that, despite our efforts over the last five years, we are not as united, cohesive or effective as we should be.
“Some of the divisions that existed before the 54th National Conference continue within the organisation, including within the National Executive Committee.
“As we anticipated, the actions we were mandated to take against corruption and state capture have at times caused friction amongst us. As we implemented Conference resolutions, some leaders – including NEC members – have had to step aside pending the conclusion of criminal proceedings against them, and others have been required to present themselves to the Integrity Commission.
“While such steps as mandated by National Conference do not imply guilt, they are critical to the renewal of the movement and its standing in the eyes of society.
“The process of renewal of the ANC was given a great boost when, at the proposal of the ANC Veterans League, the NEC agreed to set up a Renewal Commission which will present its report during this conference
He also dealt with African and international issues like the Morocco - Western Sahara stalemate, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the US decades-long embargo on Cuba and the Russia-Ukraine war,
“In the Middle East, the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, and its ongoing expansion of settlements and policies despite UN Security Council resolutions condemning expansionist activities, continues to fuel conflict.
“Israel continues to violate international law, the provisions of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law.
“We continue to stand with the Cuban people as they stood with us in the struggle against apartheid and as they continue to provide support for our development. We reiterate our gratitude to the people and government of Cuba for providing South Africa with medical personnel at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We call for an end to the isolation of Cuba and for the lifting of the embargo and other restrictions directed at the country,” he said.
On Saturday, the most prominent item on the table is the nomination and voting for the top six office bearers.