The ANC has challenged its members to take personal financial responsibility for attending the upcoming January 8 celebrations in Khayelitsha, Cape Town this week.
Insiders suggest that the ANC's decision is a clear indication of the party's financial struggles. The move is seen as a desperate attempt to alleviate the financial burden of hosting large-scale events and by passing the costs on to its members, the ANC is effectively admitting that it can no longer afford to foot the bill.
The party sources said the ANC's financial woes are not entirely surprising, given the party's history of financial mismanagement and corruption.
The decision to make members pay their own way may be seen as a pragmatic move, but it also raises questions about the party's ability to deliver on its promises to its members and the broader South African public, they said
Political analyst, Dr John Molepo, an Associate Professor at the University of the North West, said that the move signals a significant pivot in the ANC's operational strategy, pushing back against past practices and financial dependencies.
“Breaking with its customary practice of transporting members en masse to national festivities, the ANC is now urging its followers to pay their own way. This unprecedented shift has ignited a conversation about self-sufficiency ahead of the big jamboree this coming weekend in Khayelitsha township in Cape Town,” he said.
However, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, drumming up support for the bash, said that the party would go on despite factions.
“In the lives of our people by continuing to progress the souls of people when we come here it's not an accident,” Mbalula told IOL.
He added that the party ”in the name of continuing with the work you are doing has to go on”.
The ANC is gearing up to celebrate its 113th anniversary on Saturday but this year’s event is expected to be one of the smallest in over three decades.
The party has chosen the Khayelitsha Stadium in Cape Town in the Western Cape as the venue, which has a capacity of only 2 000 people.
In comparison, last year’s event was held at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga, which has a capacity of 43 000 people, and the previous year’s event was held at the Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein, which has a capacity of 22 000 people.
Despite the reduced turnout, Mbalula insisted that the Khayelitsha Stadium was the party’s first choice due to its strategic location.
The ANC’s 113th anniversary celebration will mark the first time the party has held its birthday rally in the Western Cape since 2015.
Addressing the media this week, ANC Dullah Omar Region chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said the party was ready for the event.
“We are very far above the target that we were given… contrary to what is said out there, the ANC is going to show force.
“We have volunteers who are activating the communities to come and join us for the celebrations… The whole point is to make the ANC attractive again.
“The celebrations are happening, interestingly, where the people are in Khayelitsha, at the year where the ANC will be marking the 70th year of the launch of the Freedom Charter,” Tyhido said.