This is the full unedited script of Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the African National Congress (ANC) at the conclusion of its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday afternoon.

The ANC National Executive Committee has just concluded a special NEC meeting that focused in the main on key interventions to accelerate progress towards inclusive growth and faster job creation. This special NEC meeting follows an extensive discussion in August 2025, where the NEC discussed the state of the economy and outlined key actions that need to be taken to give effect to the Medium-Term Development Plan that has been adopted by government.

The discussion was informed by the three strategic priorities of the 7th administration: firstly, to drive inclusive growth and job creation; secondly, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and thirdly, to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.

We are in discussing all these matters guided by the resolutions of the ANC’s 55th National Conference of December 2022 and the 2024 National and Provincial Elections Manifesto, which reaffirmed our commitment to a fundamental transformation of our country’s economy.

The NEC reaffirmed our commitment to broad-based black economic empowerment to ensure that we correct the injustices of our past and end the inequality of the present moment. As the ANC, we have identified specific interventions to advance the vision of the National Development Plan and the economic programme of the Government and the Medium-Term Development Plan.

These interventions are intended to support government’s proposed implementation plan on growth and inclusion, and which inform the Annual Performance Plans of various government departments. In undertaking this work, we are not seeking to start from scratch.

We have made progress over the last few years in advancing economic restructuring and transformation, in improving our capacity to increase infrastructure investment, for which we have budgeted R1 trillion, and in using public programmes to support employment and livelihoods. We welcome in particular the progress made in resolving loadshedding, expanding generation capacity and establishing a competitive electricity market.

We have also seen great strides in the progress being made in the logistics sector, including steady recovery in the Transnet’s performance.

But the impact of this work is yet to be felt in our growth and employment figures. The intractable impact of poverty, unemployment and the high cost of living on the daily lives of South Africans is unacceptable. The persistence of low economic growth, severe unemployment and the impact of global trade instability require that we should take action. We must accelerate the pace and massively scale up our efforts. We will focus on implementation and delivery.

Specifically, we have identified 10 priority interventions to reignite growth in our economy.

The first intervention is to use electricity tariffs and investment in transmission infrastructure to drive economic activity. Among other things, this means preferential electricity tariffs for ferrochrome, manganese and steel. We will fast-track the Transmission Development Plan to install 14,500 km of new transmission lines for our electricity grid.

The second intervention is to accelerate the recovery of our freight and logistics sector. This includes the implementation of Transnet’s recovery plan, private sector participation in rail and port operations, and upgrading of export corridors.

The third intervention is to rebuild our chrome and manganese industries. We will finalise chrome and manganese export tariffs, implement defensive duties on dumped imports, and expand alloys and battery precursor production.

The NEC resolved that the fourth intervention must be to improve the capacity of the state to manage major projects. This is to address infrastructure delays due to weak capacity and fragmented coordination in making projects bankable and reach the stage of completion. We will professionalise the project management cadre, establish a cross-government coordination unit, and ringfence catalytic projects.

The fifth intervention is to drive local economic development and investment in local infrastructure. With a particular focus on townships, rural areas and small towns, we will establish municipal local economic development technical units. We will integrate local economic development into the District Development Model and link local infrastructure spend to industrial policy.

The sixth intervention focuses on labour activation initiatives as well as public employment. This requires a massive scale up of the Presidential Employment Stimulus and other public employment programmes. Importantly, it will include reskilling for industrial sectors and expanding artisan and apprenticeship pipelines.

The seventh intervention agreed by the NEC is to expand SMME support and investment by Development Finance Institutions. In particular, concessional finance and market access for SMMEs should be expanded. Development Finance Institutions will be transformed into catalytic investors.

The eighth intervention is to enable the growth of provincial economies outside of the main economic centres. This will include the revitalisation of industrial parks with localisation targets, aligning these with special economic zones and corridor planning. The focus will be on labour-absorptive sectors, such as agro-processing, light manufacturing, cannabis and textiles.

The ninth intervention is to accelerate the diversification of our trade partners, strengthen our participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area and address the impact of tariff and non-tariff barriers. This will include an emergency industrial support package for sectors affected by increased tariffs. We will expand exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area and exports to BRICS countries and to other markets where we will be paying visits in due course.

The tenth and final intervention is to ensure effective budget and macroeconomic coordination. We will develop a sustainable budget negotiation strategy in the context of the Government of National Unity. We will align fiscal, monetary, trade and industrial policy, and mobilise development finance institutions and pension funds for productive investment. In the course of this, we will craft innovative financing mechanisms and processes that will enable us to fund the key catalytic infrastructure projects. These ten interventions align with and support the work underway in all spheres of government.

They signal the urgency and intent of the ANC as we move rapidly to address an economic emergency. The NEC resolved that an Economic War Room be established in the Presidency to coordinate cross-government performance monitoring and publish regular scorecards on progress.

Fundamental to the success of these efforts is sound institutional governance. Professionalisation and merit-based appointments are going to be non-negotiable. The ANC supports the implementation of the Public Service Professionalisation Framework, ensuring that the public administration is skilled, ethical and insulated from factional politics.

The capacity of the state to deliver on projects requires serious engineering, financial and project management capabilities that need to be rebuilt. We will want to focus on this at all layers of government – national, provincial and especially local government. We need to rebuild and reform state owned enterprises to be effective developmental instruments. We are beginning to see progress in some our SOEs that are improving their performance and attracting talented and competent people.

Efficient and well-governed SOEs are vital to economic growth and national competitiveness.

Corruption corrodes competitiveness. We therefore insist on consequence management, lifestyle audits and enforcement of integrity standards across the public sector. The SIU reports are demonstrating that we are serious in fighting corruption and these reports will be acted on.

Governance reform is not only about compliance. It is about restoring public confidence and trust and enabling the state to lead investment and industrialisation effectively. Economic transformation is the moral and strategic mission of the African National Congress.

With coordinated industrial policy, strong institutions and an innovation-driven growth strategy, the nation can reclaim its role as Africa’s industrial leader. In this regard, many that we interact with globally see our country as a gateway into the rest of the continent. We need to strengthen this position.

This requires social partnerships to raise the levels of capital investment in strategic areas for growth, innovation and overall structural transformation. The effectiveness of these interventions must be measured in factories that are opened, infrastructure projects that are embarked upon and opportunities created for a new generation, and an increasing flow of international and local investors.

Transformation is not an event. It is a process of building capacity, building confidence and enhancing our sovereignty as a country. Through ethical leadership and collective effort, the developmental state will secure prosperity and justice for all.

Arising out of our meeting this weekend, the NEC directs its deployees at all levels of government to act swiftly to finalise economic interventions that will rebuild our economy through ensuring that their APPs are streamlined to achieve all three strategic priorities of our organisation.

Our organisation has significant policies and plans that can resolve the economic emergency we face. Our task is to ensure effective and immediate implementation. Through the Government of National Unity, through provincial and local government, through all our structures and working together, we will undertake these key interventions to reignite growth and create jobs.

Through this work, we will give effect to the mandate that we have been given to fundamentally transform our economy to meet the needs of all South Africans, leaving no one behind.