Women power is Mbeki's target

2004-08-19 20:42

Johannesburg - After the 2009 elections, half of African National Congress parliamentarians and national government representatives will be women, says President Thabo Mbeki.

Addressing an ANC Youth League congress at the Nasrec Expo Centre outside Johannesburg, Mbeki said this commitment was made as the "emancipation of women is central to social transformation".

He said the recent Southern African Development Community regional summit in Mauritius had paid tribute to South Africa's struggle against sexism.

"It will be your responsibility to carry out this commitment," he told thousands of youths at the congress.

He said another challenge facing South African youth was poverty and lack of employment.

He appealed to the league to work together with the ANC in the "task and responsibilities" of eradicating poverty.

"No other ruling party has set itself that task," he said.

Aristide gets standing ovation

"People talk about poverty alleviation. We talk about poverty eradication."

Mbeki urged the meeting to mobilise the youth so they could take part in the process of changing South Africa.

"There will be many things that draw the attention of the youth away from the central task (getting youth involved)," he warned.

"Wherever we are, in the villages... townships, we must get to a position where the ordinary people must say: we are proud of these young people," he said.

Also at the congress was Jean-Bertrand Aristide - whom delegates referred to as "the Haitian president", who was given a standing ovation as he arrived with his wife, Mildred.

The couple have been living in exile in South Africa after Aristide's forced departure from the Caribbean island amid an armed uprising on February 29.

"Africans in Haiti have got worse problems than we have," said Mbeki.

He urged the youth to accept a responsibility to act together in solidarity with other African youth, including Haitians.

- SAPA