07 April 2002
The Alliance Summit of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO, led by the leadership of the four organisations met in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Council from the 4th to the 7th of April 2002. The delegations were made up of members of both the national and provincial/regional leadership of all the organisations.
The objective of the Summit was to assess the current national and global situation, the progress we are making in building a better life for all South Africans and the challenges we face in leading and accelerating the process of social transformation.
This Summit has followed a period in which there were serious tensions within our Alliance through the latter half of 2001. We have been addressing these problems in a series of constructive bilaterals and tripartite meetings, and this Summit is, in part, the product of these engagements.
It is noteworthy that the Summit was not at all dominated by these tensions. The Summit has been characterised by a spirit of open engagement and debate, and by our sense of responsibility to our mass constituency which deeply cherishes the unity of our historic alliance. We have re-affirmed and consolidated our understanding of the profound strategic unity of our Alliance in this Summit.
The following matters were canvassed both in plenary and the commissions:
The Summit also deliberated on the situation in the Middle East and expressed its solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle for self-determination.
This Summit of the Alliance marks an important stage in the consolidation of the organised forces at the head of the NDR. We are at one that significant progress has been made since the last Alliance Summit, including the overwhelming victory of the ANC in both the national and local government elections and the growing role of South Africa in world affairs. However, as the Summit discussions and decisions have confirmed, many challenges remain.
In the coming weeks and months, strengthened by our deliberations over these past five days in this historic Alliance Summit, our formations will be mobilising all our forces and our broader constituency to ensure that there is a decisive acceleration of growth and development in our country.
A comprehensive summary of the decisions of the Summit is contained in the Ekurhuleni Declaration.