ANC mobilises for 108th birthday party

THE ANC is busy with final preparations as its 108th birthday celebration rally in Kimberly draws closer.

Some of the preparations include mobilising communities in areas around Kimberly to attend the celebrations, which will be held at the 11 000-capacity Tafel Lager Park multi-purpose stadium also known as the Griqua Park.

Leaders of the ruling party will use the festivities to listen to the people’s plight and educate them about the party.

Conservative estimates show that the party will spend no less than R40million to stage the rally, attracting delegates from all over the country and international friends of the party.

Party spokesperson Pule Mabe said a clear and detailed programme for their activities would be known after the meeting of the national executive committee (NEC), which will take place from Sunday.

Among the issues the NEC is expected to discuss is the content of the January 8 statement, which normally outlines plans for the year ahead and gives a hint of government policy.

Mabe also said that since the main day would be on January 11, three days after the actual January 8 date when the ANC was formed in Mangaung in 1912, there would be the usual cakecutting ceremony at Luthuli House by the top six, led by party president Cyril Ramaphosa. “By then we will have a full picture,” Mabe said.

In a message posted on its social media platforms, the party said the celebrations would be preceded by an intensive programme of engagement between ANC leaders, structures and citizens. It also pleaded with supporters to show their support for the ruling party by updating their Facebook profile pictures with their 108th-anniversary frame.

Again exploiting the wide reach of social media, the party boasted of its achievements while in power during the past 25 years.

“As we head to the #ANC108 anniversary, let’s reflect on the progress we have made as we continue to #Khawuleza to deliver to all South Africans. University enrolment has doubled in the last 25 years to more than a million students,” it claimed.

Meanwhile, in the host province of Northern Cape, the provincial party spent much of yesterday mobilising people on the streets of Kimberly.

Using its fleet of Mpumalanga province-registered Toyota bakkies, which are used during elections, party volunteers used loudhailers and issued flyers to woo people to attend the birthday rally.