Johannesburg, Jul 30 (IANS): South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) will seek ideas and proposals to "turn things around" over the next three days at the 6th National Policy Conference as it faces a number of challenges, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The party "has been weakened on a number of fronts", due to the "weakened state" of its branches, divisions among its members and weak state of its alliance, Ramaphosa told party members in Johannesburg at the conference, which will run through Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, state capture, service delivery failure and energy security have contributed to deepening poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa, and its people now face immediate and substantial challenges such as soaring cost of living and rise of violent crime.

"This conference is meant for us to come up with ideas, proposals and policies that should turn things around," Ramaphosa, also the ANC President, said.

The President said the future of the national democratic revolution, a process led by ANC to establish a non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic and wealth-shared society, will depend on the decisions and actions that the party takes in this conference, proposals to correct mistakes and shortcomings, and above all the unity of the party.

The National Policy Conference will review the policies of ANC and recommend new policies or amendments for consideration by the party's supreme ruling body National Conference.