Past January 8 speeches focused on people, Africa

The ANC was founded on 8 January 1912 and for many years the occasion of this anniversary was marked with the release by the National Executive Committee of a major statement for the forthcoming year.

During the height of the apartheid era such statements mapped out the main activities for the year ahead and usually named the year with these tasks in mind.

This tradition has been maintained since the first democratic elections in 1994.

Under President Jacob Zuma’s leadership, the January 8 statements of the past five years have focussed mostly on South Africa, people, government, and Africa.

Below is a visualisation of the last five years’ January 8 statements, illustrating words and themes that appear most often in those addresses.

To access past January speeches, click here.

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