ANC delivered on Freedom Charter, says Ramaphosa

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has maintained that his party, which failed to secure a majority government last year, used the Freedom Charter to implement progressive policies.

He said over the past three decades, since the dawn of democracy, the ANC has ensured that it lives up to the ideals of the Charter, which was drawn up on June 26 in 1955, in Soweto.

Delivering a keynote address at the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter on Tuesday night, he said: ''Since 1994, we have enacted laws that seek to advance the transformation of our economy. We have anchored the Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Equity Act. The progress we have made is undeniable. We need to be alive and aware of the progress that has been made...Those who say the Freedom Charter has not been implemented are lying."

The commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter was a foundation that helped establish a non-racial South Africa, he said.

The anniversary of the Charter should have taken place in June, but the party decided to delay the event and only commemorate it after the G2O Summit, which concluded last month.

He said ANC-led government ensured that many South Africans lived a quality of life that was not there before the advent of democracy.

“Since the start of democracy, the country has held free and fair elections, and these elections continue to reflect the will of the people. This is not our declaration only, this is what those outside our country have observed," he stated.

Cape Times