ANC takes January 8 Statement celebrations to ‘risky’ Mangaung venue

Amid the ANC’s apparent intent to contravene the National Building Regulations and Buildings Stand-ards Act by forging ahead with its January 8 Statement celebration at Mangaung’s Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium, legally deemed non-compliant – political analysts yesterday said the state of the Free State public facility mirrored the party’s governance, which demonstrated disregard for decaying infrastructure.

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Despite concerns raised by Mangaung municipality acting city manager Tebogo Motlashuping in a letter dated 21 December, 2022, the ANC has insisted on holding the party’s 111th anniversary at the stadium in contravention of the law.

Motlashuping is warning that:

• The northern part of the stadium “sunk after construction with the submitted correction report still to be referred to a structural engineer for a periodical assessment.
• All toilet facilities have been vandalised and there is no running water from the taps.
• No electrical or fire certificates are available.
• Lifts are non-operational while VIP suites are not available.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, who has reportedly denied there were any issues surrounding the stadium said that everything would be in order on the day, yesterday said the party will hold a briefing today about the venue.

In terms of the National Building Regulations and Buildings Standards Act – reliant on national standards published by the South African Bureau of Standards – noncompliance could lead to a fine or imprisonment.

Critically, due to the “financial position of the municipality, Motlashuping said they would not be able to do repairs in a short time so a “grading certificate” could not be issued.

With municipalities entrusted with enforcing building regulations, failure to comply with building control procedures could lead to the contravention of regulations.

Political experts said the state of the stadium reflected the bigger problem of decayed infrastructure under ANC governance.Policy analyst Dr Nkosikhulule Nyembezi said:

“The queues outside government buildings or next to water trucks because of broken community water taps are a publicly visible sign of the dilapidated state, signaling the collapse of public services and infrastructure.

“The increasing number of dysfunctional municipalities and bad management is longstanding, with rampant corruption and abuse of the government tender system having worsened things.

“Today the focus is on the stadium earmarked to host the ANC’s January 8 celebrations, but if you look elsewhere, you see government services in a state of meltdown.”

Independent political analyst Sandile Swana said Motlashuping’s letter to the ANC confirmed “beyond all doubt that the ANC can neither run the state nor ignite the African Renaissance”.

“Public infrastructure in all categories has deteriorated over the years – now only scoring a D mark when evaluated – meaning it is at risk of failure, according to the Society of Civil Engineers.

“The ANC has failed to invest in productive infrastructure and has also failed to maintain existing economic and social infrastructure to sustain the state and our civilization,” said Swana.

Political science professor Dirk Kotzé, of the University of South Africa (UNISA), said it was “highly ironic that the ANC will be travelling to Mangaung to host its January 8 celebration without having a proper facility to do so”.

“You cannot imagine that this is where the ANC was founded in 1912. The condition of the stadium is also indicative of the state of local government – specifically the Free State, which is very much a product and a result of the years of Ace Magashule as premier.

“Local government budgets were (allegedly) exploited by Magashule and others to gain access to big contracts and money. We are now reaping the results of that era.”

Petrus Molemela Stadium named after the legendary Bloemfontein Celtics soccer club founder presented the ANC and the newly elected leadership with “very direct challenges on what to do to make an impact on the situation”.

Said Kotzé: “It is nothing academic for the ANC leadership, because this is now a real issue and a real situation facing the party.

“The ANC can no longer provide excuses to justify things by saying the situation will be corrected. This is symptomatic of a much bigger issue – the state of local government and public facilities – a key issue in the 2024 elections.”

Meanwhile newly-elected secretary general of the ANC Fikile Mbalula had in recent days warned against the use of public funds for the party’s event this weekend.

The stadium in question is situated in the troubled Mangaung metro.

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