PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that he is not getting any sleep because of the news that petrol will increase significantly on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa said that the increase in the price of petrol will affect the poor because it will increase the cost of living. He said this while speaking at the closing ceremony of the ANC leadership selection conference in Limpopo.
Petrol is expected to increase by R5 on Wednesday, while diesel is expected to increase by R9 per litre. The rise in oil prices is due to the ongoing war in Iran. Ramaphosa said that he has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr. Enoch Godongwana, to come up with ways to help people as the price of petrol will increase.
“Gondongwana told me that he is not getting any sleep. I told him that I am also not sleeping because of this problem. I told him that he and his colleagues should come up with strategies so that the increase in petrol is not too sensitive to the people because it will increase the cost of health.”
He criticized America and Israel for attacking Iran.
“We don’t believe in war and we don’t believe that superpowers have the right to oppress small countries. This war affects the lives of many people.”
Ramaphosa has separated the head and shoulders from ANC members who are also members of the SACP. He said that all members should campaign for the ANC, he said that those who will campaign for the SACP will find themselves in trouble.
“The executive body will decide what will happen to those who do not campaign for the ANC. When I closed the ANC conference last year, I said that all ANC members should campaign for the ANC. If we see you not campaigning for the ANC, campaigning for another party, you will get yourself into trouble.”
On the other hand, the Secretary General of the SACP, Mr. Solly Mapaila, urged the leaders of the ANC to respect the decision of the Communists to contest the elections independently. Mapalia said nothing will stop them from contesting the elections independently.
Meanwhile: The ANC was busy this weekend as it had organized conferences to select leadership in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape provinces. In Limpopo and Mpumalanga there was no surprise as the Prime Ministers, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, and Mr Mandla Ndlovu, were elected by us to lead the ANC in these provinces.
The one to choose the leadership of the ANC in the Eastern Cape, it failed after a court order. The court decided not to continue the conference because the terms were not followed when it was organized.
The race to lead the ANC in the Eastern Cape is between the Prime Minister, Mr. Oscar Mabuyane, and the Secretary, Mr. Lulama Honey bee. On Saturday, Ramaphosa visited KwaZulu-Natal, where he gave a speech at a dinner.