Reverend Kenneth Meshoe has been re-elected as the African Democratic Christian Party’s (ACDP) President once again after 29 years of leading the party.
Whilst Wayne Thring made a comeback as the party’s second in command. The party whose values are based what they call a Godly Government held its three day National General Conference, which culminated in the election of its leadership and adaptation of the party’s polices.
The policies will inform the party’s direction over the next couple years. The NGC takes place over a three-year period.
Hundreds of ACDP branch members from across the country’s nine provinces gathered over three days to discuss the party’s policy positions.
The party used the conference to affirm its stance on the COVID19 pandemic and vaccines used against the virus. It’s been critical of mandatory vaccinations policies and last year launched a legal bid to stop COVID19 vaccinations for children.
Earlier this year; the party submitted two petitions to Parliament aimed at preventing South Africa from committing itself to a World Health Organisation pandemic treaty.
Meshoe addressed members on the party’s approach.
“The ACDP opposes the World Health Organisation plan to implement a power grab in the form of a global pandemic agreement while the world’s attention is diverted by the Russia and Ukraine crisis. We call on the South African public to ensure that government does not support the World Health Organisation’s plan to unilaterally control the world health agenda without the direct and transparent participation of the citizenry of the economy.”
The party used the conference to affirm its stance on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines used against the virus. It’s been critical of mandatory vaccinations policies and last year launched a legal bid to stop COVID-19 vaccinations for children.
Current energy crisis
The party lamented the ongoing rolling blackouts crisis faced by the country and has called for accountability for the current energy crisis.
In a special sitting in Parliament on Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would need about 1,5 trillian for the country’s Just Transition Plan.
The five-year plan aims to move the country from the current high carbon emissions from electricity generation to cleaner sources of energy. It also seeks to close the gap in the current electricity deficit. South Africans have been subjected to bouts of rolling blackouts for several weeks.
Re-elected ACDP Deputy President, Wayne Thring, says the blackouts are affecting vulnerable citizens.
“It’s devastating to our economy, it impacts people’s lives on the ground, those in hospitals, in clinics and even those who have to use ventilation machines in their homes, the aged and the frail. So, the ACDP certainly cannot be happy with the current trajectory and the huge amount of load shedding that we currently have and we have consistently called for those to be herein.”
On closing rural schools
The ACDP also called for provincial and national government to place a moratorium on the closure of rural schools. This as the Department of Basic Education says it seeks to improve rural schools that are seen to be too small or not capable of growing, with plans of merging them or ultimately closing them down.
The plan was outlined in the party’s Department of Basic Education’s draft rural education policy framework.
Meshoe lambasted the plan.
“The ACDP calls on national and all provincial governments to place a moratorium on the closing rural schools and on parliament to exercise effective oversight to ensure the best interests of children are served and the rights of rural communities are respected in the rural education framework.”
Zondo Commission’s recommendations
Meshoe further called on the Zondo Commission’s recommendations which are before parliament to be implemented speedily.
This, as the Parliamentary Research Unit called for a parliamentary monitoring mechanism to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the State Capture Commission Report.
ACDP re-elects Reverend Kenneth Meshoe as its president:
