Africa-Press – South-Africa. The ANC’s 109th anniversary celebrations, scheduled to take place on 8 January at Ga-Mphahlele in Limpopo, has been cancelled, the party announced on Monday.
This after its national officials met on Monday morning and received a briefing from Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the party, the prognosis painted a worrying picture and all indications are that the virus will escalate in terms of the rate of infections in all provinces, other than the Northern Cape.
“The officials were unanimous that it was untimely to forge ahead with the celebration in view of the aggressive nature of the pandemic. We are of the view that we have to uphold measures that are prescribed to minimise the spread and impact of this pandemic,” national spokesperson Pule Mabe said in a statement.
“As the leader of society, [the] ANC believes it would not be responsible to continue with any celebrations where people gather, albeit in smaller groups and small numbers. For this reason and in the interest of saving lives, the officials of the ANC have decided that all January 8 celebrations be cancelled.”
Instead, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa will read a statement to be broadcast across the party’s digital platforms.
“Plans are already underway to ensure that mainstream media houses as well as community media have direct access to the address. The NEC will have a virtual meeting on 6 January to finalise the content of the statement. The officials have agreed that Limpopo will host January 8 in the year 2022,” Mabe said.
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Covid-19: Keep calm and carry on sanitising, says Mkhize, following discovery of new variant
The cancellation comes just days after the minister of health announced the discovery of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 on Friday which appears to be spreading fast.
While this mutation is a cause for concern, Mkhize in a virtual briefing on Friday encouraged South Africans “to not panic” but rather to keep calm, carry on wearing masks, sanitising, cleaning hands with soap and social distancing.
The ANC encouraged the public to respect and abide by all regulations that have been announced by the government.
“This will go a long way in preserving lives and ensuring that the rippling effects of the pandemic are contained,” Mabe said.
