The Congress National Committee of the Congress of the People met in a special session yesterday. The meeting received a report from the Congress Working Committee on the state of the organization, preparations for the strategic planning session currently in place, preparation for the National Policy Conference and the National Congress.

National Congress and National Policy Indaba

The CNC had extensive discussion on the state of the organization, current processes to establish branches, enhance policy positions of COPE, preparations for policy discussions at all levels and preparations for National Congress.
The CNC is of a view that the National Congress is a summit of COPE branches and is mainly dependent on COPE’s ability to launch branches in different provinces. In addition to the dictates of the Constitution as adopted by the Bloemfontein Inaugural Congress, the National Congress shall:

· Evaluate & assess the political work of the Organization, as shall be presented by the President in his political report to the Congress. This work will cover our ideological orientation, our character, our policies, as well as the work that is carried out by our Public Representatives.

· Evaluate & assess our Organizational Work, as shall be presented to the Congress by the General Secretary, through her Organizational report. This work includes quantitative growth and qualitative development of the organization, as well as the establishment of the administrative support to the political arm of the organization. The organizational report will focus on the state of organization since the Inaugural Congress.

· Evaluate & assess our state of finances & resource mobilization, as shall be presented to the Congress by the National Treasurer. This work covers our capacity, not only to manage and control the existing resources, but also unveil our fund raising & resource mobilization strategy that helps in furthering our agenda for change and hope as a post-apartheid Modern Political Party.

· Adopt the Constitution as the guiding document of the Congress of the People

· Adopt POLICIES that will clearly define the vision, mission and goals of COPE. In the same breath adopt policy positions that will guide the work of COPE in various sectors relevant to meeting basic needs of our people; the improvement of the quality of life of our people; fighting poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment; and providing hope for a better tomorrow.

· Develop a Clear Programme of Action with measurable targets that will make the organization to realize its agenda of bringing Change and Hope to all South Africans in its primary task of defending our Constitution and Democracy.

· Elect a leadership team that will take overall responsibility for the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by Congress. This leadership team, the Congress National Committee shall lead our organization and guide its membership until the next National Congress.
These tasks are all of equal importance to the Congress of the People. We will resist at all costs, the pressure exerted upon us by our adversaries that the election of the Congress National Committee is the most important of all the above tasks.

We are at one that the National Congress is an important part of the process of organizational renewal and internal democracy both in terms of the policy direction the organization may want to take and election of a leadership collective that shall take overall responsibility for the implementation of such policies.

The Inaugural Congress of COPE held in Bloemfontein mandated the CNC to convene a National Congress in Eighteen to Twenty-Four months from the date of the Inaugural conference. The Eighteen months will lapse in mid-June 2010 and the outer limit or the Twenty-Four months lapses in mid-December 2010. In processing this issue the CNC has noted that the official kick-off for the FIFA World Cup is on the 11th of June 2010 and the closing ceremony will be on the 11th of July 2010. This in essence means that the inner limit viz. mid-June will not be a desirable time to hold an event of this historic magnitude. Therefore as a result Mid-June 2010 falls off.

The CNC has decided that the National Congress will be held by no later than the end of May 2010.

The process leading to the National Congress will be preceded by a COPE policy Indaba to focus on formulating the draft policies that shall be adopted at the National Congress. The indaba will include delegates from COPE structures and experts in various fields or sectors of society to advise COPE on various policy options. The workshop will be preceded by Provincial General Councils where proposed policies will be tabled and provincial mandates formulated. An Extended Special Congress National Committee meeting will be held in the month of April to finalise the preparations for the National Congress.

Strategic Planning Session of the CNC

The CNC meeting held on the 27th – 28th November 2010 mandated the CWC to convene a CNC Strategic Planning Session. In line with this decision, the CWC has convened a Strategic Planning Session, which is currently underway. The objectives of the Session are as follows:

· Develop a comprehensive 2010 COPE Programme of Action;
· Build and strengthen the capacity of COPE to defend our constitution and democracy;
· Deepen the new agenda for change and hope for all;
· Reposition COPE in Parliament, Provincial Legislatures and Municipalities as an alternative to the ruling party by occupying a center stage in issues affecting our people;
· Prepare for the National Policy Conference
· Prepare for the National Congress

Themes are:

· Building COPE
· Ideological and Political Work
· Communications
· International Relations
· Governance
· Elections
· Finances and Resource mobilization

We will later in the week indicate the outcome of the strategy session including our programme of action for 2010.
The CNC also considered the period towards the outer limit and the outer limit itself and felt that with the up-coming 2011 local government elections. This will enable COPE to stabilize beyond Congress and have enough time to prepare for the 2011 Local Government Elections. In this instance, the period of the FIFA World Cup should be utilized to finalize the 2011

Local Government Election Manifesto

There is no doubt that 2010 is a critical year for the Congress of the People because our country will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup above all it is the year within which COPE shall adopt policies that will redefine its mission and vision. During this year COPE will emerge from its National Congress more united than before and more resolved to defend our country’s Constitution and Democracy.

As we undertake the above responsibilities we must be mindful of the fact that the Congress of the People remains the only feasible alternative to the ruling party and the only HOPE of our people, we dare not fail.

For more information,please contact Phillip Dexter on 082 453 4088