ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the party’s January 8th statement at Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha on Saturday.
As the African National Congress (ANC) prepares to deliver its January 8th statement, all eyes will be on the party to see if it can find grounds for celebration after its dismal performance at last year’s national and provincial elections.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the party’s January 8th statement at Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha on Saturday as the party marks its 113th birthday celebration at its weakest point after the elections and losing its Parliamentary majority and support in different provinces across the country.
The City of Cape Town said the 2 000-seater stadium can safely accommodate the more than 22 000 ANC supporters expected to attend the much-anticipated event.
ANC at all-time-low
North-West University professor and political analyst Andre Duvenhage told eNCA that the ANC needs to do a lot of work to regain support.
“IF we analyse the ANC and their support base since 1994 the 2024 election presents an all-time low for the ANC, going down to about 40.2% and having huge losses in two provinces, Gauteng as well as KZN, who are two of the biggest provinces in the country,” Duvenhage said
“There is no doubt that the ANC is facing major challenges, and I’m expecting them to make a critical analysis of the 2024 election in preparation for the 2026 local government elections, which I believe is going to be an extremely difficult election.
“Together with that, they need to manage the government of national unity (GNU) and the whole context of coalition politics. So it’s no more a one-party government. It is becoming a complicated situation. Their relationship with groupings within the broad church is very important, he said.
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Disciplinary issues
Duvenhage said the ANC is also dealing with a number of disciplinary matters.
“We know the recall of leadership from both Gauteng and KZN to Luthuli House, the disciplinary action taken against Tony Yengeni, Obed Bapela and then there’s also the letter of Jacob Zuma questioning the fact that his membership was basically taken away from him via the ANC.
“So it’s indeed a difficult and a challenging situation,” Duvenhage said.
What will Ramaphosa say?
Duvenhage said Ramaphosa will focus on a number of issues in the ANC’s January 8th statement.
“If you look at the history of the January 8th statements, there’s normally a certain structure, because we need to take into consideration that this is aligned with a cabinet lekgotla taking place towards the end of the year in preparation of the State of the Nation Address normally focusing on specific items.
“We will hear some challenges with regard to the state, things like service delivery, the state of local government, maybe the state of affairs with some of the institutions like Eskom. But also a strong emphasis on economic growth and addressing economic growth challenges,” Duvenhage said.
Africa and the world
Duvenhage added that Ramaphosa may also focus on unemployment, and inequality, with reflection on the southern African context.
“We have the problems in Mozambique, we have the big government change in Botswana, and we see challenges with regard to the election in Namibia.
“But also reflecting on the world context, thinking about the International Court case we are driving against Israel from an ANC perspective. And then I think, in a very soft way, he will touch on disciplinary matters, but probably deal with them from a perspective of ANC renewal and the challenge with regard to discipline, and people supporting the leadership,” Duvenhage said.
‘Renew or die’
Earlier this week, ANC veteran Reverend Frank Chikane had stern words for the party.
“You either renew or you die.”
Chikane said ANC renewal was “rooted in service delivery, deployment of capable cadres, and zero tolerance for corruption”.
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