Alliance summit to take place in May

The African National Congress (ANC) will join its alliance partners in a summit in May. An alliance statement said the event would focus on the priorities, policies and programmes of each of the partners. This would be the first formal meeting of the alliance - comprising the ANC, the SA Communist Party, the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the SA National Civic Organisation -- after the ANC elected its new leadership in Polokwane in December.

The last meeting was in 2005. "The summit aims to produce a common programme of action that will be implemented by all alliance structures working together," the statement said. "Following the clear mandate from Polokwane, the summit will signal a new era of improved relations and more effective co-operation within the alliance."

The meeting was also expected to further strengthen the alliance "as the leading force for progressive change in South Africa", the alliance said. - Sapa