ANC: let’s get the party started
CAPE TOWN SET TO HOLD ITS BIGGEST RALLY FOR 103-YEAR BIRTHDAY BASH
THE ANC’s 103rd birthday celebrations at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow is set to go down in the record books as the biggest rally the city has seen, with more than 60 000 supporters and 40 000 minstrels due to attend.
With the venue in sight of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela served more than two decades in prison, together with the main speaker at the event, President Jacob Zuma, tomorrow’s occasion had a special significance, ANC leaders said. But it was bitter-sweet for the party to have so many people at its celebrations in a city where Mandela made his first public speech as a free person, a city controlled by its rivals, the DA, they said.
“It is all systems go. We have arranged transport for no less than 60 000 people from across the province. People are going to be coming from all areas.
“We arranged many buses and many taxis. We have also paid for trains to bring people from places like Wellington,” ANC national executive committee (NEC) and organising committee member Nomvula Mokonyane said yesterday.
Gates open at 6am and about 3 200 special guests would also attend, she said.
Cape Cultural Events and Carnival Committee chief executive Richard Stemmet said 40 000 minstrels would use the fan walk to attend.
The city said Fritz Sonnenberg and Vlei roads, and Helen Suzman Boulevard would be temporarily closed or restricted for the event. Additional parking restrictions would be in place from midnight to 7pm on Strand, Keizersgracht and Prestwich streets. From 12am until 7pm public transport operating in Green Point and the CBD might be deviated.
Preparations started in July, culminating in a series of doorto-door visits in areas across the province by ANC NEC members.
It reached fever pitch this week with senior party leaders like ANC president Zuma, his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, and secretary-general Gwede Mantashe mobilising in the townships and staging minirallies.
The build-up to tomorrow’s historic occasion has been marred by what the ANC called “draconian measures” by the DA-run city about issues like ticketing access control to the stadium and the type of posters to be displayed.
Tomorrow’s celebrations, preceded by a gala dinner tonight, would get under way at 7am and included top-class entertainment by traditional singers, hip-hop, kwaito, soul and R&B groups, said Mokonyane, who would not be drawn on big-name artists in the line-up.
“We got the stadium booked for the whole day. The official programme starts at 10am and the main part is the ANC president’s statement. There will be messages from religious denominations and members of the tripartite alliance.
“We will then cut the cake and after that we’ll party… We’ll wrap up things at about 4pm,” Mokonyane said.
Organising such big events was nothing new for her party, she said, and cited rallies the ANC had held at bigger venues like FNB Stadium in Joburg.
The Western Cape hosting the ANC’s 103rd anniversary celebrations had special meaning as many a Struggle activist had hailed from the province, Mokonyane said.
“Every part of South Africa has a rich history. Here in the Western Cape there is a heritage of activism. Our late president Nelson Mandela was released from prison here.
“In party regional structures this part of Cape Town is named after Dullah Omar (democratic South Africa’s first justice minister). It is quite significant – there is a lot of Struggle heritage here,” she said.
ANC Western Cape secretary Songezo Mjongile said that despite obstacles in the run-up to the event, the public’s response to mobilising had been overwhelming.
“We are claiming our space,” he said, when asked if ANC supporters felt welcome in Cape Town. “Many people do not speak about the Struggle heritage of this province and Cape Town in particular. This 103rd anniversary of the ANC gives us another opportunity to reconnect with our heritage,” Mjongile said.