ALL SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN WC PROCESS AROUND COALITION

The full ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the Western Cape met this morning to discuss the outcome of the elections in the province. The meeting was chaired by ANC provincial chairperson and premier candidate, Ebrahim Rasool, and attended by members of the National Executive Committee based in the Western Cape; Dullah Omar, Trevor Manuel, Frene Ginwala, Kader Asmal and Philip Dexter.

Commenting on the outcome of the meeting held in Athlone this morning, Ebrahim Rasool said:

"The PEC expressed its deep gratitude to the leadership and members of the ANC for their tremendous effort during the campaign. I want to thank the voters of the Western Cape for giving us a mandate to speed up change in the province and to ensure that the Western Cape becomes part of South Africa and joins the nation building process.

"The ANC believes that there is no time to waste. We have the responsibility to ensure that the provincial government moves with speed to;

• redirect resources to the poorest communities of the province
• improve the basic conditions under which the majority are living and speed up housing delivery by making land available
• transform the civil service and in particular the police management in the province
• ensure that local government becomes a vehicle to assist in meeting basic needs and an local economic development
• fight crime and terror by working with the national government

"For us to meet these urgent needs we all have a responsibility to co-operate and work together to ensure stability in the Western Cape. We need to follow the lead set by President Elect Thabo Mbeki who has called on us to get down to work.

"We are humbled by the faith which has been placed in us by the majority of voters in the province. We want to serve all the people of the province and believe that the ANC should play a leading role in the provincial government. To do this we will talk to all parties. No one should be excluded from the process.

"To this end I have made contact with all parties in the province and am in the process of setting up meetings with them. We have already met with the ACDP.

"We need cool heads over the next couple of weeks. The future of our province and our people is at stake. All of us should rise to the challenge together.

"The PEC has also decided to initiate a series of briefings with important sectors and opinion makers in the province to brief them about our perspective on coalition government.

For further information contact Cameron Dugmore on 082 894 7553 or page 418 4616 code Z7131.

5 June 1999