President Cyril Ramaphosa, along with other prominent members of the political party, the African National Congress (ANC), attended the 55th National Conference. The Conference was held on 16 December, 2023, a significant public holiday for South African history.
The theme of this year's conference was: "Defend and Advance the Gains of Freedom: Unity through Renewal", said the President.
One of the most notable points of discussion presented within the President's speech, was finding ways to effectively combat poverty within the country.
As of 2022, around 18.2 million people in South Africa have lived in extreme poverty; meaning approximately 123,000 more people were pushed into poverty compared to the previous year (2021).
Poverty is one of South Africa's leading problems that only seems to worsen by the day, but it has also spawned various government aids meant to provide assistance to the country's poorest individuals.
These government aids include the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant, the Basic Income Grant (BIG), youth unemployment initiatives and others.
The provision of social grants is the main source of income for about a quarter of households. Just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants in 1999; today over 18 million people are receiving these grants.
The introduction of the special SRD grant during the Covid-19 pandemic meant that about half of all South African households received at least one grant.
According to estimates by some researchers, without this expansion of social support in the past two years, poverty would have been 5% higher among the poorest households.
Known as Day of Reconciliation, the public holiday on which the Conference was held, came into effect in 1995 after the end of apartheid, with the intention of fostering reconciliation and national unity for the country.
