SOUTH Africa’s ruling ANC marked its 110th anniversary Saturday in low-key fashion as the country reels from the devastating fire in parliament, last year’s deadly riots and emerging details of corruption.
In the stands of a stadium in Polokwane, in northern Limpopo province, a few hundred party members sporting the African National Congress signature yellow, green and black dotted the terraces.
It was a far cry from the noisy and large crowds of supporters traditionally bused in for the annual festivities, thanks to Covid-19 restrictions limiting outdoor gatherings to just 2,000 people.
And the speech from President Cyril Ramaphosa, in which he referred to acts that had had “the effect of subverting our constitutional democracy”, further dampened the party atmosphere.
“These acts include blatant acts of state (corruption) and criminality… the concerted campaign of public violence and destruction that took place in July last year, as well as ongoing theft,
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