The African National Congress (ANC) in Free State maintains Dr Rantlai Petrus Molemela Stadium is ready for the party’s January 8 celebrations. Bloemfontein will host the party’s 111th birthday celebrations in Bloemfontein.
The ANC claims it will provide all necessary resources that may be lacking at the stadium, despite reports that the Mangaung Metro municipality has raised a number of concerns about the venue.
Preparations are underway in Mangaung ahead of the ANC’s January 8 celebrations. The party will converge at its birthplace to celebrate 111 years since its formation.
Mangaung Metro maintains that it has held events of large magnitude successfully before. The spokesperson for Mangaung Metro, Qondile Khedama says they are doing their utmost to ensure that the venue is fully compliant.
“Generally all the issues like your water, ablution and other areas of the stadium have been taken care of. And it will be able to accommodate 15 500 people. Look, we have done even bigger events than your ANC, we have done all your political parties that are in government. We do sports and during that period to the municipality make sure that visitors find everything in order including our facilities,” says Khedama.
The governing party says it is aware of a report about the condition of the stadium. ANC Interim Provincial Committee spokesperson, Oupa Khoabane says that it’s all systems go for the party’s January 8 Statement.
“We get facilities that are needed so that we can have a successful rally. Things like toilets will try to procure mobile toilets and ensure that we have water available, and try to bring water tanks so that we have our rally in that stadium, and that rally must be successful. So there’s no way the report says that we cannot have the event there. So that’s what we are working on. To ensure that we have things that the stadium is not having so that we can have a successful rally,” says Khoabane.
A series of activities are lined up as part of the celebrations. The party has indicated that there will be overflow areas to accommodate people who will not make it to the stadium.
VIDEO: Preparations for ANC’s January 8 Statement at Dr. Rantlai Petrus Molemela Stadium
