First deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane has asked the gods of the ANC to be with the party and forgive its members as they face the 4 November elections.
Mokonyane made the remarks while speaking at the grave of Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme on Thursday. Seme is one of the ANC founders.
“We ask the gods of the ANC to be with you when you go door-to-door. Pixley ka Isaka Seme, be with you when you enter door-to-door.
“When the voters look at you, they must not see you; they must see Pixley ka Isaka Seme when you enter somebody’s house. As you speak, they must hear Pixley ka Isaka Seme. As you chant slogans, they must appreciate that Pixley ka Isaka Seme’s product is here,” Mokonyane told party members at the graveside.
Since the ANC took power in 1994, the public has accused the former liberation movement of corruption, the decline of state institutions and party leaders enriching themselves using state resources.
For the first time since 1994, the party did not get an outright majority in the 2024 general elections .
Fears are that it would not do well in the upcoming local government elections as South Africans continue to blame it for the state of decline in the country.
In 2020, party president Cyril Ramaphosa described the ANC as “corruption accused number one” in South Africa.
Mokonyane said ANC members needed to behave differently, saying they must love being in the party to serve the people, rather than themselves. She said they must also be proud to be members.
She said the ANC looked on its forebears, whom they called upon to give them courage to represent and serve the people of South Africa.
“Let’s all begin to do a lot of self-introspection. We came here to honour the founder of the movement, who was sent to come and form this ANC,” Mokonyane said.
“Let the gods of the ANC be with us. Let the gods of the ANC forgive us because we did something and we didn’t stand for it. We ask the gods of the ANC to be with President Cyril Ramaphosa, for people to respect him and for him to have stature.
“Where we have erred, we come before them to say: ‘Be with us as we are on this path of renewal. Renewal also means getting these bones that are lying here to have life and walk with us wherever we are.’”
ANC regional chair Loyiso Masuku said the party had been working hard and strengthening its branches.
Masuku said the party understood that it needed strong and united branches and had to move away from the outcomes of the regional conference to focus on the work ahead.
She said the ANC was in a better position than it had been previously because of the work the party had been doing.
“The ANC is on the path of recovery and we are going to win these elections with a decisive victory because coalitions are not good for any municipality. The ANC is unable to implement its programme of action if we are in a coalition.”