Ramaphosa during ANC celebrations: 'Many of our people still live in poverty'

African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa has conceded that more still needs to be done to free South Africans from poverty as the party marks its 114th anniversary on Thursday.

The party celebrated 114 years of its existence with festivities in Rustenburg, in the North West. 

While Ramaphosa maintained the ANC has made significant progress in addressing past racial injustices, he acknowledged that many South Africans continued to face poverty and unemployment. 

Ramaphosa led a cake-cutting ceremony in Rustenburg to commemorate the milestone on Thursday. 

When delivering the keynote address at the ceremony, Ramaphosa reflected at length on the impact of apartheid laws on black South Africans. 

He traced this history as far back as 1652, reminding the Rustenburg community of how black people were divided by colonialists, and later by the apartheid regime. 

Ramaphosa acknowledged that racial injustices could not simply be undone in 30 years, but reaffirmed that the ANC remained committed to the fight against poverty. 

"Many of our people still live in poverty and we are never going to run away from that. But efforts are being made and we are working day and night." 

Ramaphosa will deliver the ANC’s January 8 statement on Saturday, where he is expected to outline the party’s priorities for the year.