Scores of empty seats at the ANC’s 114th celebrations in Moruleng Stadium on Saturday have served to underscore a glimpse into the ANC’s fading legacy as a leading political party.

On Saturday, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his January 8 Statement, celebrating the party’s 114th anniversary, anchored on the need for the party to strengthen its efforts in managing local government, beset by service delivery challenges and incidents of corruption.

On Saturday, media reports suggested that the Department of State Security Agency (SSA) allegedly restricted access to vehicles carrying food parcels and supporters’ buses, leading to logistical difficulties.

However, contrasting with Ramaphosa’s declaration of the party as the leader of society, were visible empty seats that were seen at the 20,000 capacity stadium, despite ANC Secretary General, Fikile Mbalula, describing the turnout as good enough.

“Thank you to the people of Moruleng for coming out in their numbers to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa declare this year as the year of decisive action. Comrades, in and outside this stadium, it has been reported that 20,000 people turned up for this rally,” Mbalula declared on Saturday.

Reacting to ANC’s dynasty, political analyst Thobani Zikalala noted that the 20,000- seater stadium used for the event was not full, contrasting it with the ANC’s historical ability to fill much larger venues, like the FNB Stadium.

“Of course, in the main, the stadium was visibly empty, or rather not full, on Saturday, as we have grown to know the ANC and its capacity to fill up stadiums, whether small or big. Over the years, the ANC has become known as a political force with a footprint in all of society which draws crowds to its events,” he said.

Zikalala also noted last year’s January 8 celebrations in Kayelitsha, which suffered a similar fate with the party’s choice of the Nelson Mandela Park Stadium questioned. However, he further noted that the lack of full capacity could also be attributed to weak mobilisation efforts from the former ruling party.

“This time around, they went to a 20,000 capacity stadium, and they failed to fill it up. While stadiums are not an indication of the party’s electoral performance, but an indication, whether or not, that the ideas of the party still captures imagination of society.

“The lack of a full stadium suggests that mobilisation in the province was either poorly executed or failed to resonate with the people, signaling a decline in the ANC’s influence as a central political idea in South Africa,” he added.

Reacting to empty seats, Andile Swana, another political commentator, said: “This event at the 20,000 capacity stadium is supposed to demonstrate the competence, superior organisational skills, and punctuality of the ANC as a leader of society. This is supposed to inspire confidence and build credible hope in the nation itself, and also in the overwhelming black majority.”

This comes as the ANC is gearing up for what many believe will be the most bruising local government elections, expected to take place between November this year and January next year.

These elections come at a time when the ANC has recently suffered significant losses, losing its majority in several municipalities.

The situation has also been compounded by the non-attendance of South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary, Solly Mapaila, with Saturday’s celebrations marking the second major ANC event where he was absent.

The SACP message of support was delivered by the second Deputy GS, Madala Masuku.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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