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The ANC celebrated its final Siyanqoba rally throughout the country today ahead of Wednesday’s local government elections, with the main events happening at both the Ellis Park Stadium and Johannesburg Stadium in Gauteng.
Party members had also gathered in provinces like Limpopo, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
Giving the keynote address at Ellis Park, President Jacob Zuma used his speech to sum up the achievements of seven of the country’s eight metros under the leadership of the ANC. Only Cape Town in Western Cape was governed by the opposition DA.
The upcoming municipal elections were expected to be highly contested in metros, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane in Gauteng, as well as Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape.
The ANC was seen to be losing support among middle-class voters but the final election rally today was intended to prove those perceptions wrong.
ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete told the audience that both the 63 000-seater Ellis Park stadium and the neighbouring 37 000-seater Johannesburg stadium were full to capacity.
Zuma said the door-to-door campaigns that had been happening in the past weeks allowed the ANC to hear what it could do better.
He said in 1994, when the ANC took over government, just over half of the households had access to clean water. Today over 95% of people had access to clean water.
“We have done exceptionally well,” said Zuma.
He talked up the ANC’s running of the City of Joburg, saying the city had received many international accolades for the good work done by the ANC to transform it.
“Johannesburg is a great African city ... It is a city where the arts come alive. Initiatives such as the Maboneng precinct give young designers and artists home to explore and grow new forms of industry,” Zuma said.
“It is a city with free Wi-Fi especially for young students to keep them connected to each other and the world.”
He said the ANC would use every opportunity to create jobs at a local level. He said the party would implement projects that create employment.
Ekurhuleni was the manufacturing hub and Tshwane was also transforming to become a great SA city and had a future under the leadership of the ANC, he said.
“We have no fear. We work hard. Tshwane is the home of the ANC.”
He said Mangaung had improved service delivery. “Mangaung has a great future under the leadership of the ANC,” said Zuma. He said Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape was also working to create jobs for the people.
Zuma also highlighted how the ANC had made strides in providing homes to millions.
“Our people are staying in RDP houses for free and they also get land,” he said, citing Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape for handing out title deeds to residents.
Nelson Mandela Bay metro had R1 billion in the bank because of the management in that metro, he added.
The ANC believes water is life and sanitation is dignity, Zuma said. Today 80% of people have access to dignified sanitation. He said the ANC also delivered electricity to a record 80% of households throughout the country.
eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal had achieved electrification of up to 89.9% of households, Zuma said.
He said no white party could run SA and the DA remained a white party no matter what it tried.
