Cape Town - The ANC celebration of its January 8 statement in Limpopo next year, which was originally planned to be limited to 100 people, has been cancelled over Covid-19 concerns.
Party spokesperson Pule Mabe issued a statement on Monday saying the decision to cancel the event came after national officials of the party had received a briefing from Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The prognosis paints a worrying picture and all indications are that the virus will escalate in terms of the rate of infections in all provinces, other than the Northern Cape. The officials were unanimous that it was untimely to forge ahead with the celebration in view of the aggressive nature of the pandemic. We are of the view that we have to uphold measures that are prescribed to minimise the spread and impact of this pandemic.
“In this regard the national officials have taken a conscious decision to cancel the planned January 8th commemoration event that was scheduled to take place at Ga-Mphahlele in Limpopo and all regions of our country.”
Instead of a physical event, party president Cyril Ramaphosa will read the January 8 statement and this will be beamed on all ANC digital platforms.
Plans are already underway to ensure that mainstream media houses as well as community media have direct access to the address. The NEC will have a virtual meeting on January 6 to finalise the content of the statement.
The officials have agreed that Limpopo would host the January 8 event in 2022.
The party’s January 8 statement is usually accompanied by a rally and a huge event at a stadium but these plans had been scaled back when the party gave an update last week.
The party was going to celebrate its 109 years in existence without a mass rally and there would be no buses carrying party supporters to the event.
Last week, Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte said the event would honour the party’s second president, Sefako Makgatho, who was president between 1917 and 1924.
Political Bureau