‘We’re not sleeping’: Mbalula says ANC will ‘work throughout the night’ till conference concludes

African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the ruling party is “on track” to conclude its 55th national elective conference ahead of the January 8 celebrations this weekend.

The ANC conference resumed virtually on Thursday, after it was adjourned at the Nasrec Expo Centre last month due to logistical issues.

‘We not sleeping’

Addressing the media, Mbalula said the reconvened conference was well underway, with more than 4 000 delegates checked in at venues across the country.

“Registration has gone smoothly in the different provinces,” he said on Thursday.

The ANC secretary-general indicated that President Cyril Ramaphosa has already delivered the opening address and that the conference will continue into early hours of Friday.

“This session will only be interrupted by lunch, which will continue up until the evening. We will then break for supper [and] after [that] we will [deal with] the amendments of the commissions which will take beyond 12 o’clock.

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“We envisage that this conference’s declaration will be presented in the early hours of the morning and the president will then close the conference tomorrow. So we not sleeping [as] we are going to work throughout the night till we finish the conference,” he said.

Mbalula said the ANC’s reports on organisational and renewal, financial and operational sustainability, among others, will be discussed.

He further said the step-aside resolution was also on the table, however, the Phala Phala report will not be debated.

“It will be discussed when it arises in the due process as we deal with the matter,” the ANC secretary-general continued.

ANC birthday celebrations

Earlier this week, Mbalula briefed the media on the state of readiness for the ANC’s upcoming event.

The ANC will also hold its annual January 8 Statement celebrations this Sunday at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung, Free State, to mark its 111th anniversary since its formation in 1912.

According to Mbalula said the party had sorted all the issues pertaining to safety regulations of the stadium.

“All matters that were previously flagged in relation to the stadium infrastructure have been cleared, we got a certificate from the Mangaung Municipality that they have cleared all the issues and granted the ANC permission to use the stadium,” he said on Tuesday.

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Concerns about the facility were raised by the metro’s acting city manager, Tebogo Motlashuping, in a letter dated 21 December 2022.

Motlashuping warned that the northern part of the stadium “sunk after construction, toilet facilities were vandalised, there was no running water from the taps and no electrical or fire certificates were available”.

The stadium has a capacity of 15 000 and the ANC expects the stadium to be full to capacity.

The ANC will also host a golf day and a gala dinner on Saturday, ahead of its birthday celebrations on Sunday.

Mbalula said the events will be used to raise funds for the party.

Additional reporting Thapelo Lekabe.