Cape Town — Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has accused the ANC of dishonesty regarding the venue for its January 8 celebrations in Khayelitsha.
The ANC’s 113th birthday will be marked at the Mandela Park Stadium, which accommodates only 22,000 people, making it one of the smallest celebrations in over a decade.
ANC’s Gwede Mantashe said that the party chose not to prioritise grand stadiums for its celebrations, opting instead to connect directly with its supporters.
He said that Mandela Park in Khayelitsha was selected as the ideal location for the event.
“We decided to take the ANC to the people rather than look for good, fancy stadia. I love it, I must confess. I love it because it is the ability to interact directly with the people,” Mantashe said.
But Hill-Lewis alleged on X (formerly Twitter) that the ANC failed to secure larger venues, blaming incompetence rather than concern for residents.
He said that attempts to book Cape Town Stadium and Athlone Stadium were too late as both were already reserved for other events. He dismissed claims that the City sabotaged the ANC’s bookings.
For the record, the ANC did not book the Khayelitsha stadium “out of concern” for residents. They’re lying.
They booked it because they were too incompetent to book any other venue in time. They only tried to book Cape Town Stadium in mid-November 2024! It was already booked…
— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) January 9, 2025
“For the record, the ANC did not book the Khayelitsha stadium “out of concern” for residents. They’re lying. They booked it because they were too incompetent to book any other venue in time. They only tried to book Cape Town Stadium in mid-November 2024! It was already booked for a Stormers game. Then they tried Athlone Stadium. It was also booked, for the Klopse Carnival,” said the mayor.
He dismissed claims that the City sabotaged the ANC’s bookings.
“Several ANC office bearers called me asking for help in late November and even early December. They said we were trying to sabotage them by refusing the Stadium. In November! Lol! The last conversation I had was 5 December, and by then they still hadn’t made a booking. So please don’t believe their nonsense.”
In response, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri refuted the mayor’s claims, saying that the venue choice was intentional and pre-planned.
She criticised the DA for “catching feelings” over the ANC’s activities in the Western Cape, a DA stronghold since 2009, IOL reported.
The January 8 rally, an annual ANC event since 1972, commemorates the party’s founding in 1912.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
