The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape is evoking the strategy that won in the province during the 2004 general elections.

It’s hoping that by retracing its steps then, it will wrestle control of the province back from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2019.

Hence the party’s Provincial Executive Committee has extended an invitation to its former Chairperson and Premier of the Western Cape Ebrahim Rasool.

They hope his insights into the political landscape will secure the ANC a 2019 victory.

Rasool says he wants to share his experiences with the ANC leaders of the Western Cape, which will in turn build hope, stating: “I’ve also come here as one of those leaders of the ANC, who have been successful in gaining victory for the ANC and gaining the government of the Western Cape. And so I think what I do is to share those experiences with comrades so that we can build hope in the comrades that they can win. And hope in the people that we can have a good government for the Western Cape if the ANC gets its act together in the Western Cape.”

The ANC in the province says there’s a need for genuine introspection.

ANC Provincial Secretary, Faiez Jacobs, says it is time to find a way forward: “This weekend is a time for reflection for frank talk, for robust discussion and debates and hopefully we’ll come up with a chart, a way forward for the year that will address the issues on our plans for the year.”

Meanwhile, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has stressed the importance of unity both amongst ANC members and the alliance partners.

SACP Provincial Chairperson, Anthony Dietrich, states: “The enemy is not inside the alliance, the enemy is poverty, unemployment, inequality and therefore this Lekgotla needs to focus on how we develop strategies so that we can unite all the forces within the alliance.”

The party expects to announce the outcomes of its three day Lekgotla next week.