ANC will use celebrations to reclaim lost support - Mbalula
Johannesburg - The African National Congress will use this year's January 8 celebrations to rebuild confidence in the party and regain lost support, particularly in Gauteng.
This follows a dismal performance by the party, especially in the country’s richest province, during the August 3 local government elections in 2016.
For the first time since the dawn of democracy, the ANC now sits in the opposition benches in the Tshwane and Johannesburg metros as well as in Mogale City municipality in Gauteng. It also lost the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape.
National Executive Committee member Fikile Mbalula told reporters on Wednesday that the NEC statement, which will be delivered by Zuma on Sunday, would touch on self-introspection, correction and social transformation.
"The ANC will use January 8 as an opportunity to reclaim lost ground, restore the confidence of the people... in our movement and as a path to self-correction, in line with concerns raised by our people," Mbalula said.