Johannesburg – In spite of some resistance from members of the community in some parts of Free State, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe argues that the ANC has been warmly welcomed by citizens of the province.
Mabe said the party does not take the support the ANC is receiving from ordinary South Africans for granted, as this shows that people still care in spite of the challenges and service delivery issues they face on a daily basis.
Mabe was speaking during a press briefing at Imvelo Safari Lodge on the first day of the second phase of the 55th National Conference, which was being held in a hybrid format to complete some of the programme that was abandoned when the elective was adjourned to this week.
The conference, which enters its second and last day ahead of the January 8 statement to be addressed by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday to mark the party’s 111th anniversary, was preceded by a range of activities that the president presided over across the province.
Some of these events included a Women’s League Manyano event at the Free State Central University of Technology and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Seeiso cemetery in the Fezile Dabi region for former ANC leaders such as Dr James Sebe Moroka and Reverend Zacharias Richard Mahabane.
He said the party ran a successful programme in areas such as Kroonstad and other parts of the province, and whenever they interacted with locals, they were met with enthusiasm.
“We ran a successful programme in Kroonstad when we were kick-starting the revolutionary pilgrimage at the various grave sites that we went to in Kroonstad at Mahabane. We also went to Thaba Nchu, and our leadership and officials interacted with the Moraka family, where the remains of former ANC President James Moroka rest.
“So, we have been well received by the people of the Free State. We are humbled by the support that we continue to show the ANC.
“Our call to them is that they must come in numbers on Sunday and come and celebrate their own organisation. This organisation does not belong to us; it belongs to them,” he said.
Mabe added that, in spite of the support, the ANC feels strongly about its mandate of ensuring service delivery to the people. He said the newly-elected leadership of the ANC has committed itself to ensuring service delivery is prioritised across the country and in the Free State as well.
“We do not take the reception we are getting for granted. The people also continue to raise critical issues. They continue to raise issues on service delivery and all of those matters that we are seized with. The renewal programme that emerged from the conference is one that has to be carried forward with great speed.
“We have to pay attention to the critical issues and the challenges that affect our people. We have to see about resolving all of those. That is what our people are asking for, and that is what we are going to do. It is a commitment that we are making that when we sit in this hybrid conference, we are going to emerge with the resolutions that begin to shape what must be the programme of this incoming leadership,” he said.
The Star
