The ANC has brought its big guns ahead of the governing party’s election manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday next week.
The party is under pressure to live up to expectations by filling up the World Cup venue, which can accommodate 56 000 people.
The ANC, which has been facing an electoral decline over the years, has dubbed its election manifesto the Mayihlome rally, hoping to regain lost ground ahead of the vote.
The ANC’s first deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, was the first to arrive in KwaZulu-Natal to assess progress in mobilising support.
Mashatile to address various constituencies
She was followed by the party’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile, who was scheduled to address various constituencies on Friday, including Muslim communities in eThekwini and Pietermaritzburg.
“With 10 days left before the Mayihlome rally, the deputy president, comrade Paul Mashatile, will descend into the eThekwini region for physical interactions with key stakeholders and structures of the mass democratic movement,” the ANC said.
Provincial leadership will be with Mashatile, who is dealing with his own issues.
Mashatile is accused by the DA of being unfit and improper to serve as Ramaphosa’s deputy, and as such, the DA wants him removed from the Union Buildings.
The blue party has already opened a criminal case and asked for an investigation into the deputy president’s possible corruption.
Based on multiple media-sourced corruption dossiers, the DA asserts that Mashatile improperly profited from opulent properties owned by his son-in-law and that this was done to guarantee that the son-in-law and those connected to him receive government contracts.
Combat zone
Moses Mabhida Stadium had evolved into a combat zone as the political parties held their manifesto events in the venue.
The EFF commander-in-chief, Julius Malema, walked to a loud applause as thousands of party supporters swelled the iconic stadium last week.
The party used the event to launch its election manifesto on Saturday
About 50 000 supporters, mainly students who had been recruited from various campuses in KwaZulu-Natal, filled the venue.
The turnout bolstered the EFF’s ambitious plan to wrestle KwaZulu-Natal from the ANC.
