Johnathan Paoli, Phuti Mosomane and Tlholohelo Mosala
The party’s annual January 8 presidential gala took place on Friday evening, with the party president Cyril Ramaphosa giving a keynote address alluding to some of the main themes he would be covering at the rally on Saturday.
The gala dinner was held at the Church on the Hill conference centre in Mbombela which saw various business leaders and stakeholders being addressed by the party president, deputy Paul Mashatile as well as the national executive committee members.
Ramaphosa opened the gala evening dinner with a reference to the actualization of the ruling party’s promises, despite contradictions expressed from the people.
Specifically naming an anonymous woman, the president praised the building of the “new RDP houses” valued at R160 000.
However, in March last year the government claimed that the average amount spent to build RDP houses was increased from R196 887 to R255 364 per house from 1 April.
Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi said last year that the cost for these social benefits had remained unchanged for five years, contributing to the backlog of housing provision.
The president previously claimed that these changes would include the installation of solar kits in order to allow for the provision of basic electricity and that RDP houses provided to the disabled people would be fitted with burglar bars to shield the beneficiaries against break-ins and theft.
The president said that the people were grateful for what the ANC had achieved in terms of the housing crisis.
Ramaphosa claimed that the ANC government has built 4.7-million free houses, of which, 8,245 were delivered under his government through the Integration Residential Development Programme, while more than 19,000 were through an affordable first-home finance scheme; with more than 198,000 RDP houses built and more than 183,700 serviced.
However, Kubayi said on Friday at Progressive Business Forum Colloquium held at Church on the Hill that more South Africans were living in formal housing than ever before.
“According to the Census 2022 released by Statistics South Africa last year, 88.5% of households lived in formal dwellings in 2022 compared to 77.6% in 2011. Our mandate is that we provide shelter to all citizens of this country and ensure that human settlements are integrated. The question is how do we progress in ensuring that,” Kubayi said at the colloquium held under the theme “A Celebration of SA Progress since 1994”, Kubayi said at least 88% of South Africans had access to housing.
Earlier on Friday, Inside Politics spoke to the Treasurer-General Gwen Ramokgopa and inquired as to the estimated amount of the total donations raised, however, she declined to confirm any amount.
Last year, VIP tickets to sit next to the president went for sale at a whopping R1.2 million, while those who sat next to the erstwhile deputy president, paid R1 million.
The fundraiser dinner follows on the ruling party’s increasing financial vulnerability, with a long history of outstanding debts and failure to pay staff at the party headquarters of Luthuli House.
In addition, the ruling party took advantage of the event in order to garner funds for the campaigns planned by the party for the upcoming elections this year.
Ahead of the dinner, the ANC’s Sihle Zikalala said the party has the ability to turn things around for both the party as well as the country as a whole.
“We believe the ANC is on the right path towards renewal and to restore its character of being a liberation movement that embraces the needs of the people,” Zikalala said.
However, residents at several informal settlements in Mpumalanga have voiced their outcry about service delivery, citing water supply as their worst nightmare.
Besides the glaring poverty, the area also suffers from a lack of water and electricity and residents have to walk long distances to access water.
The Barberton community shared their concerns over the rapid rise in crime, with gunfire having become a norm for the sleepy slopes of the town.
Kabokweni residents have questioned the ongoing failure of the government to provide running water, while the Hazyview community, despite expressing their support for the ruling party, nevertheless commented on the fact that service delivery in the area was non-existent.
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