ANC did not fund speaker’s ball; it is a private dinner – Mbete

The speaker’s ball is a private dinner hosted by National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete, and will not be funded by the ANC or Parliament.

Mbete, who is both National Assembly speaker and ANC chairperson, has finally moved to allay speculation around who is behind the “speaker’s ball”, although she failed to say who was funding it.

READ: Who is behind the speakers ball

Speculation has been rife on who was hosting and paying for the ball, which will be held on Thursday following President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address.

The invitation to the speaker’s ball (with contact details removed for privacy reasons).

The ANC on Wednesday was adamant that the ball had nothing to do with the party, and the only event they were hosting was the “people’s assembly” on the Grand Parade.

On Wednesday Mbete said the ball was a private dinner hosted by the speaker of the National Assembly for stakeholders, colleagues, friends and comrades.

“This dinner is not hosted or funded by either the African National Congress or Parliament. It is a private dinner,” she said.

This annual ball, hosted for the first time in 2016, was intended as an annual meeting and networking opportunity, she said.

The ANC statement on Wednesday was issued as an attempt to deal with the confusion around the event, but its vagueness on who was paying for it did nothing to fuel the speculation on social media.

Parliament has for the past three years forgone its annual post-speech dinner to cut costs.

“In this regard, it would be both unimaginable and improbable for the speaker’s event to then be funded by the institution. Any insinuation to this effect is rejected with the contempt it deserves,” the party said.

ANC leaders are expected to head to the people’s assembly in Cape Town’s CBD immediately after Zuma’s address, where thousands of supporters will gather under the theme “radical economic transformation”. – News24