ANC expecting 1000s at birthday bash
2013-01-09 14:45
Durban - The ANC is expecting some 70 000 people to attend its 101st anniversary celebrations in Durban this weekend.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the party had organised 1 120 buses, 670 minibus taxis and eight trains to bring 16 000 people to Durban's Kings Park Stadium.
Speaking at a press conference in Durban, he said: "We are expecting full capacity and are ready to accommodate overflow in the adjacent grounds."
Officially the stadium, where President Jacob Zuma will deliver the party's annual January 8 statement on Saturday, can accommodate 55 000 spectators.
While the party had organised transport for 16 000, Mantashe said he expected most to attend the event using their own means of transport.
The January 8 speech traditionally maps out what the leadership plans to focus on in the coming year.
Mantashe said the speech had already been drafted and that all that was left to do before Zuma delivered it, was for the party's national executive committee (NEC) "to consider" the statement.
The NEC would be meeting in Durban on Friday for this purpose.
The party would also be hosting a gala dinner on Friday night at the International Convention Centre in Durban.
Mantashe said the birthday cake cut at the stadium would be donated to orphanages and old age homes.
The ANC's provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said the party had hoped to make use of the larger Moses Mabhida stadium across the road from Kings Park, but that Moses Mabhida was being prepared for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament.
- SAPA
