ANC members, like football fans, must continue supporting the party even as it faces difficulties, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Polokwane in Limpopo on Wednesday, Mbalula compared the ANC to a team that keeps losing matches but continues to have the support of fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be like the Kaizer Chiefs\u2019 fans. This club loses every day, but its fans continue to support it. They fill Peter Mokaba Stadium even though they are losing. They do not give up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do not be disheartened, this thing is full of hope. Kaizer Chiefs do not get disheartened, but they lose every weekend. Their fans will go to Cape Town to support the club even if it\u2019s losing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mbalula said even in the most challenging times, ANC members must be like Orlando Pirates and be \u201chappy people\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLove the ANC, do not lose hope,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fix the ANC<\/p>\n
He also compared the ANC to a boyfriend or girlfriend who is not perfect at the beginning of a relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must fix your partner yourself. If it is a man struggling with alcoholism, you fix that man and make him stop his bad habits. One day, people will compliment this man, but they will not know that you are responsible for putting him on the right track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis ANC will be fixed by you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He appealed to those gathered at the event to continue supporting the ANC, even as more political parties emerge in South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not be enticed by what is fashionable. This is an old movement, it is 114 years old and it is still going strong. We are going to make it, comrades. Some of you are volunteers for the ANC and you do not even have jobs, but you love this organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: South Africa watches as Trump strikes Venezuela <\/a><\/p>\n The ANC\u2019s top province<\/p>\n He said Limpopo is the ANC\u2019s current stronghold<\/a>. It is not in any coalition with other parties in the province and runs most of the municipalities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that in the coming elections \u2013 with the work that you are doing at the level of the provincial government \u2013 we are going to win elections in this province.\u201d<\/p>\n Mbalula\u2019s comments come on the eve of the party\u2019s 114th birthday celebrations in Rustenburg in the North West on Saturday.<\/p>\n Electoral decline<\/p>\n For the first time in democratic South Africa, the ANC lost their majority in parliament and now has to share power with smaller parties and its political nemesis, the DA.<\/p>\n In 2019, they received 57% of the vote, but last year, 40%. They have attributed this to the formation of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, a party formed by their former president, Jacob Zuma, in 2023.<\/p>\n Despite Mbalula\u2019s optimism, some analysts predict that the ANC will continue to decline and could fall below 30% in some municipalities, especially in urban areas.<\/p>\n Political analyst Andre Duvenhage said the ANC is at its weakest since coming into power in 1994.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not be surprised if the current trajectory continues that the ANC is definitely going to get below 40% and maybe even below 30% in the national general elections, they are performing weaker when it comes to local government elections in comparison to national and provincial elections.<\/p>\n \u201cThe party is in trouble how are they going to finance their election campaign we are talking about 23\u00a0000 voting points how are they going to manage that, the question is how are they going to create the momentum and do they have the leadership,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Duvenhage sad the odds are stacked against the ANC in terms of a number of challenges they face.<\/p>\n He described it as a hopeless situation. \u00a0<\/p>\n Factionalism and positions<\/p>\n