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The ANC wants to transmit its own message and not rely on others who may misconstrue President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address.
This was one of the reasons the party gave journalists for hosting the so-called People's Assembly parallel to the Sona in Cape Town.
ANC's head of organising, Fikile Mbalula, told journalists on Tuesday that it is in the interest of the ANC to become the transmitter of good news to the people, arising from Sona.
"All our documents state that we are a mass party; it is in our interest to take our people along to profile and to ensure that people understand beyond any shenanigans that may take place, the content of what the president will be saying," said Mbalula.
"That plan of action includes popularising what the ANC does in government."
Mbalula said the ANC had decided that Parliament and all institutions of the state will be not be "isolated ivory towers" and that they must be accompanied by rigorous visible programmes that takes the people along in all that the governing party does.
"So, that is what the People's Assembly is all about.
"We are not doing that in response to anybody. The ANC wants to live up to its character of being the people's movement.
"For years, we have allowed all sorts of people to come and gather in Parliament, protest and do all what they do.
"All we do, because we are a ruling party, is to put on our nice suits and lock ourselves inside and leave our people outside. We are shedding that off," he said.
Mbalula said Zuma will not be delivering a speech, but will appear for "a meet and greet" together with the entire ANC leadership that would have been in Parliament.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa told City Press at the weekend that Zuma would address the crowd.
Mbalula said that was their original thinking but later realised that it would be a contradiction to what the day is about.
"It would be double speeches. There is no need to do that, to bore people with speech after speech," he added.
The speech of the president would have been the state of the nation and it would be beamed live on big screens on the Grand Parade.
Mbalula revealed there has been tensions between the ANC's organisers of the gathering and the DA-led City of Cape Town.
He insisted the ANC will assemble 30 000 people on the Parade but the City told City Press that it only approved an event for 10 000 people.
Mbalula said the City has been changing its permissions "every hour".
"That's the City of Cape Town, we are not in charge, we have to beg. Every day they change. We've been asking for this permission for the whole month.
"But where we are in power we give them stadiums, and they dance the whole night like KCi & Jojo non-stop for 24 hours (but) here they restrict us," he said.
Mbalula said they expected Zuma to capture in his Sona the ANC's 12 urgent tasks for this year and the People's Assembly will "popularise" the urgent tasks which are to:
» return the land to the people using constitutional means
» Invest money in township and rural communities and ensure we build post-apartheid cities in our rural areas and vibrant businesses in our townships.
» No less than 30% of all government spending must go to black businesses and small, medium and micro enterprises
» Massive rollout of broadband infrastructure ensuring connectivity of schools, universities, hospitals, police stations and other public spaces
» Implement the Maputo Declaration and ensure 10% of GDP goes to agricultural development.
» Turn South Africa into a construction site; deliver water, sanitation, roads, electricity and houses.
» Diversify ownership in the financial services sector, license the Post Bank, introduce new players and transform the industry in favour of the people as a whole
» Finalise the national minimum wage to give income security to all the people
» Increase the requirement for black ownership in mines, ensure that a significant amount is in the hands of the workers and advance local beneficiation
» Implement free higher education for the poor and produce no less than 5000 PhDs per annum by 2030 and urgently generate more artisans
» Review SA’s trade policies to prioritise national interest and support and promote local businesses.
» Mercilessly deal with corruption, fighting both the tigers and the flies
