President Cyril Ramaphosa has prepared the ANC for a barrage of attacks when the Zondo Commission's report is released in October.

While delivering his political overview at the the ANC's Lekgotla on Saturday, Ramaphosa confirmed that the Zondo Commission of Inquiry is set to report back on its findings in October 2021, and the report will be made public. 

He said:

He also noted that the governing party would be, "... criticised in the main due to an exaggeration of the role of the Deployment Committee and misrepresentation of its ambit, as well as for the management of the work our MPs do in Parliament and parliamentary structures". 

Ramaphosa also acknowledged that, "... specific allegations have been levelled against leaders and deployees of the movement and there is a concerted drive to tie these allegations to the organisation and portray a picture of a corrupt and incompetent ANC and ANC-government".

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As such, he said the embattled ANC needed to be, "... ready to address", these allegations, "... and develop concise messages before the report comes out". 

Ramaphosa added that:

He also cautioned the ANC that, "... there is a palpable feeling of anger towards and disillusionment with this government", and as a result, the governing party needed not to underestimate this general feeling among the country's citizenry. 

"The people in this meeting bear the bulk of the responsibility for turning this around. It is our collective duty to address this," said Ramaphosa. 

The President also addressed the, "... high levels of gender-based violence, periodic and sometimes violent protests and persistent reports of corruption", saying these contribute, "... to an environment where South Africans feel unsafe". 

"Our most important priority should be to create a society where all citizens feel and are safe. I have already set out what steps we are taking to address gender-based violence," said Ramaphosa. 

Another area of focus for the Lekgotla was the "traumatic period" that the country had been thrust into as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

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Ramaphosa said the responsibility fell on the ANC as the governing party, "... to bring hope to the nation and prove to them we can improve their lives. We must serve the people diligently, ethically and with distinction".

As a means of addressing the end of inequalities that have been exacerbated by Covid-19, Ramaphosa said the ANC ought to place a consistent focus on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

"As we deal with the pandemic, we have to reflect on the impact that the pandemic has had on the economy and on people's lives. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been significant shifts in global economic policy trends that we can learn from.

"In several advanced economies, there has been a shift from a conservative, neo- liberal approach towards the encouragement of fiscal spending, alongside a move from debt fears to a preference for overheating.

"On corporate taxation, there has been a shift from a race to the bottom to tax increases, and there is a move in labour markets from deregulation to empowering labour and unions," said Ramaphosa.

He added that there was a demand for government to do more to alleviate unemployment and poverty, which remain unacceptably high.

"There is a significant demand for instituting the Basic Income Grant… and the rapid uptake and high numbers of applications for the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant is illustrative of the extent of the challenge before us," said Ramaphosa.