South Africa's ruling ANC celebrates 106th anniversary

CAPE TOWN, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) celebrated its 106th anniversary on Monday with a pledge to pursue radical socioeconomic transformation.

As part of its transformation program, the ANC will fast track land redistribution by creating the legislative framework to pursue expropriation of land without compensation, ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

The ANC has adopted a radical program to achieve this goal, Kodwa said.

More details on this and other programs will be contained in the birthday statement to be delivered by newly elected ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa at the birthday celebration to be held in East London, Eastern Cape Province on Saturday, according to Kodwa.

In celebrating the last 106 years since the ANC was founded on January 8, 1912, "we must never lose sight of the selfless sacrifices of thousands of people, many remain nameless and faceless who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today," Kodwa said.

As the oldest liberation movement on the African continent, the ANC is now more than ever more united and determined to lead the struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society, said Kodwa.

"This will however only be achieved when we work together to address the persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality," he said.

The ANC has identified the following four key priorities in its program of radical socioeconomic transformation: placing the economy on a better trajectory, deepening transformation and consolidating the gains of democracy, relentlessly fight corruption in all its forms and build unity within the ANC and the country as a whole.

He said the ANC's 106th birthday celebration is particularly important as it immediately followed the party's 54th National Conference held in December 2017.

At the conference, the ANC recommitted itself to radical socioeconomic transformation.

Radical socioeconomic transformation has been on the cards of the ANC-led government for years. But little progress has been achieved as the economy is still dominated by the white minority due to the legacy of apartheid.

Radical socioeconomic transformation refers to fundamental change in the structure, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership, management and control of the economy in favor of all South Africans, especially the poor, the majority of whom are African and female.

The government has identified mining, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, tourism and ICT (information, communication and technology) as priority sectors for the participation of black people who were excluded in the past.

The ANC has introduced programs such as promoting and supporting black industrialists and black small businesses so as to change the patterns of ownership of the economy. Enditem